Toledo football suffered a shocking upset to Buffalo in the first loss at the Glass Bowl in two years.
The Toledo Rockets stumbled in a 23-8 loss to the Buffalo Bulls in a shocking upset at the Glass Bowl on Saturday.
Toledo dropped to 4-2 and 1-1 in MAC play with the stunning loss, and had its 9-game home winning streak snapped.
It was an abysmal performance for Toledo, who came into the matchup with a 4-game winning streak and an unbeaten record at home over the last two years. The Rockets finished with a season-low 304 total yards in the frustrating loss.
Toledo got off to a slow start for a second straight game, allowing Buffalo to hold a 6-0 lead following the first quarter. The Rockets simply couldn’t find a rhythm offensively, totaling just 34 yards and one first down in the opening period.
It appeared Toledo was going to cut into the deficit as quarterback John Alan Richter hit wide receiver Terrell Crosby Jr. for a 21-yard gain, followed by running back CJ Miller picking up a first down on the ground, but then the drive stalled.
Later in the second quarter, Toledo continued to shoot itself in the foot as Richter was sacked and fumbled the ball. Buffalo extended the lead to 13-0 with a 3-yard touchdown from quarterback Jason Wright with 5:21 to go in the half.
Toledo’s disastrous performance continued as Richter committed another fumble on the first drive of the second half. The Rockets recorded three consecutive tackles for loss to force another field goal as Buffalo seized a 16-0 advantage.
The ensuing possession looked promising for Toledo, picking up three straight first downs, including a 14-yard rush from running back Connor Walendzak, but the offense eventually came up empty as the Rockets missed another field goal.
Midway through the fourth quarter, Toledo finally got onto the scoreboard with a 1-yard touchdown run by Walendzak. The Rockets trimmed the deficit to 16-8 with 4:45 left in the game, but the Bulls instantly answered on the other end.
Buffalo running back Messiah Burch broke a tackle and sprinted down the sideline for an 87-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 23-8 and put the finishing touches on a win. The Rockets allowed an alarming 180 rushing yards in the loss.
Toledo was favored by 20.5 points over Buffalo, but a sluggish start and a poor offensive performance proved costly.
Now, the Rockets will lick their wounds and look to get back in the win column at the Eastern Michigan Eagles next week.
