The victory moves . . .
Toledo trailed by a touchdown, 24-17, entering the fourth quarter and grabbed the lead for the first time with 2:09 left in the game.
Following an EMU punt with 6:48 remaining, Gleason led the Rockets down the field on a 12-play, 74-yard drive, the biggest being a 36-yard completion to Devin Maddox on fourth-and-10. On the next play, Gleason hit redshirt freshman tight end Lennard Kühl for a one-yard touchdown pass to put Toledo on top, 27-24.
The Toledo defense stood tall in the final minutes of the game, stopping Eastern Michigan on downs and forcing a game-winning interception on the final play of the game to seal the win.
In his first-career start, Gleason threw touchdowns to Kühl and wide receivers Mikel Barkley and Jerjuan Newton. Sophomore safety Maxen Hook tallied a team-high 13 tackles and had the game-clinching interception at the end of the fourth quarter. Senior linebacker Dyontae Johnson added 10 tackles and a sack. Making his Rocket debut, sophomore kicker Luke Pawlak knocked through both of his field goal attempts, connecting from 27 and 44 yards.
Senior running back Samson Evans led Eastern with three touchdowns and 88 yards rushing in the contest, while junior running back Jaylon Jackson also added 21 yards on the ground, averaging 4.2 yards per carry.
Eastern Michigan passers combined to complete 13-of-24 pass attempts, good for 99 yards with one interception. The most prolific target for Eastern Michigan quarterbacks was graduate student Tanner Knue, who caught three passes for 39 yards.
First Quarter
Eastern Michigan got on the scoreboard first, marching 61 yards in 11 plays. Samson Evans finished the drive with a three-yard TD run.
Second Quarter
Toledo scored on the first play of the second quarter, a 27-yard field goal by Luke Pawlak that cut the lead to 7-3. Moments later, EMU countered with a 34-yard field goal to increase its lead to 10-3. Toledo squared things up at 10-10 on a 14-yard TD reception by Mikel Barkley with 6:12 left in the half. The Eagles took advantage of a Toledo fumble that they recovered on the UT five-yard line. Evans found paydirt on third-and-1 to give EMU a 17-10 halftime advantage.
Third Quarter
Toledo tied the score at 17-17 on its first drive of the half on a 35-yard TD pass from Tucker Gleason to Jerjuan Newton. The Eagles answered with a 10-play, 65-yard drive that was culminated by Samson's third touchdown of the day, an 11-yarder that put EMU up 24-17 with 3:17 left in the quarter.
Fourth Quarter
Toledo trimmed the lead to 24-20 early in the fourth quarter on a 44-yard field goal by Pawlak. Following an EMU punt with 6:48 to go in the game, Gleason marched the Rockets down the field for the game-winning score. The touchdown pass to Kühl was set up after a fourth-down conversion two plays prior; facing a fourth-and-10, Gleason found Devin Maddox for a 36-yard completion that put the Rockets at the EMU three-yard line. Following the go-ahead score, EMU's second-to-last drive was stopped on downs and its last offensive drive of the game was cut short by Hook's interception.
(UT Athletics/MRO Edit)