The University of Toledo football team came home from California with its seventh win of the season Wednesday night, riding a punishing ground game and a defense that gave up almost nothing on the ground in a 20-17 Mid-American Conference win over Sacramento State at Hornet Stadium, according to the University of Toledo Athletics recap of the game.
Running backs CJ Miller and Autavius Ison each topped 100 yards — Miller for 135 yards on 27 carries and Ison for 101 yards on 15 carries, including a 19-yard touchdown run that put Toledo ahead in the third quarter, Toledo Athletics reported. Quarterback John Alan Richter was 9-of-17 passing for 60 yards, including an 18-yard touchdown toss to Anthony Simpson that opened the scoring after an Andrew Zock strip sack and Nathaniel Chandler recovery set the Rockets up at the Sacramento State 32.
Toledo (7-2, 4-1 MAC) trailed 10-7 at halftime after the Hornets answered with a field goal and a 2-yard touchdown pass. The Rockets flipped the game in the third quarter: punter Markus Meincke pinned Sacramento State inside its own 5, Reice Griffith tied it with a 34-yard field goal at the end of a drive fueled by 42 Miller rushing yards, and Ison’s touchdown run on the next series made it 17-10, according to Toledo Athletics.
The defense did the rest. Toledo recorded 12 tackles for loss, five sacks and four pass breakups, with nine different players registering a tackle for loss — Chandler and Zach Johnson with 1.5 apiece — and Isaac Zay leading the team with 11 tackles, Toledo Athletics reported. Sacramento State managed just eight rushing yards and 224 yards of total offense all night; the eight rushing yards were the fewest by a Toledo opponent since Arkansas State was held to negative-14 in 2015, and Hornets running back Isaiah Ene, who ran for 107 yards and two touchdowns against Kent State the week before, was held to one yard on 12 carries.
Griffith’s 40-yard field goal with 7:51 left stretched the lead to 20-10. Jamar Curtis cut it to 20-17 with a rushing touchdown at the 2:20 mark, but Toledo picked up a first down to burn Sacramento State’s timeouts, and the Hornets’ final possession stalled at their own 26, according to Toledo Athletics.
The win kept Toledo tied with Western Michigan and Buffalo for second place in the MAC standings with three games remaining, and it was the Rockets’ fifth consecutive MAC road win dating to last season, Toledo Athletics noted. Simpson’s touchdown catch was notable on its own — he had caught only one pass all season before Wednesday night and became the ninth Rocket with a touchdown reception this year.
What happens next: Toledo returns home to the Glass Bowl on Wednesday, November 11, to host Massachusetts at 7:30 p.m. The game will be televised by CBS Sports Network and carried on the Rocket Radio Network, according to Toledo Athletics.
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