Celebration was in order Saturday at the Glass Bowl.
TOLEDO, OH. – The Rockets are back.
One week after absorbing a thorough 58-26 drubbing at the hands of Western Michigan, Toledo rallied for a go-ahead touchdown and then blocked a field goal attempt to preserve a 20-19 win over visiting Northern Illinois Saturday at the Glass Bowl.
“Coach (Tim) Beckman always tells us special teams are one of the biggest factors of the game,” said senior safety Barry Church, who came through with the block. “We prepared long and hard for their field goal team because we knew they had openings up the middle.
“It was wide open, and I took advantage of it,” he continued. “I just stuck my hand up and made a play. It was a pivotal MAC game, and we needed it (in order) to stay in the hunt for the championship.
In addition to Church’s field goal block, the Rockets also blocked a PAT kick attempt after the Huskies first TD.
Toledo’s win was even more remarkable in that the Rockets were without veteran signal caller Aaron Opelt. The senior ranked second in the league in passing yardage (297.3 ypg) and guided Toledo to a No. 1 MAC ranking in total yards (320.8 ypg).
Freshman Austin Dantin stepped in and completed 17-of-24 passes for 202 yards and one touchdown before leaving with an ankle injury during Toledo’s final scoring drive.
That brought Alex Pettee into the game, and the junior responded by completing a 21-yard pass to Eric Page. Three DeJuane Collins rushes later, Toledo scored the game’s final points to give the hosts a 21-20 lead. Pettee’s pass for a two-point conversion failed.
“It was a great feeling for me,” Pettee said. “I’ve always been told to be ready, and that’s my mindset. I was staying in the game with the headset on and looking at their coverages. That’s what I do every game, and it paid off.”
Neither team could sustain its next drive, but NIU began a final drive from its own 25-yard line with 2:43 remaining. Chandler Harnish kept the drive going despite a pair of early five-yard penalties when he hit Perez Ashford on a 21-yard strike four plays into the drive. After an incompletion, the duo hooked up again – this time on a 28-yard pass play.
That, however, marked the final completion and final first down for NIU. Salerno attempted his field goal four plays later.
“We didn’t do some things right tonight, but you have to give Toledo credit,” Northern Illinios coach Jerry Kill said. “They played hard and made some good plays, while we didn’t do a good job executing. We were fortunate to even be in the game.”
After falling behind 14-0 with 6:28 left in the second quarter, NIU scored three consecutive TDs.
Meco’s Brown’s one-yard run just before the half made it a 14-6 game and that is the way it stayed through intermission as the PAT kick was blocked.
The Huskies climbed to within one-point when Harnish capped a 13-play, 72-yard drive with a one-yard TD run on the opening possession of the third quarter.
A final Northern Illinois score early in the fourth quarter followed an interception by linebacker Cory Hanson, who now has a team-leading three picks on the season.
Hanson intercepted a Dantin pass at the Toledo 12-yard line. Two plays later, Harnish went into the end zone from a yard out. A try for two points failed.
“I can’t say enough about the seniors and the job they do leading us,” Beckman said. “After fighting back from last week, it’s just an exciting time to see the victory…. It was a heck of a win.”
NOTES:
- Northern Illinois (3-3, 1-1 MAC) will be at winless Miami (0-7, 0-3) Saturday.
- Toledo (4-3, 2-1 MAC) completes a three-game home stand as it hosts Temple (4-2, 3-0) Saturday.
- Toledo has now won 16 of the last 17 contests against NIU when played in the Glass Bowl.
- Harnish was picked off for just the second time this season. His only other interception was against Purdue.
- UT tied a school record with a 99-yard scoring drive in the second quarter. Dantin hit Tim Cortazzo on a 26-yard pass to cap the drive. The last time Toledo drove 99 yard for a score was Sept. 21, 2002 against UNLV.
- NIU lost despite having more turnovers (3-1), converting more third downs 7-of-14 to 5-of-12 and holding an advantage in time of possession .
-Toledo was the first Northern Illinois opponent to put up two scores on the Huskies before NIU could get on the board.
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