Toledo (2-2, 1-0 MAC) went ahead, 20-12, with a 22-yard field goal by Thomas Cluckey with 4:51 to play. The Rocket defense then forced Ball State (1-3, 0-1 MAC) to punt on a three-and-out and ran out all but four seconds on the clock in their final drive. Toledo gained a safety on the game's final play as Ball State tried a series of laterals.
The victory puts Toledo out front in the West Division of the Mid-American Conference and avenges losses to Ball State in each of the past two seasons.
"This game isn't any more important than any MAC game we will play in October or November, but if you were in the locker room the past two years when we played Ball State, you had a natural urgency," said UT head coach Jason Candle. "Our guys have a lot of pride. I loved our fight, loved how we came out and kept swinging for all 60 minutes. We got some tough first downs running the ball. We ran the ball well today, especially in the second half. Our defense is playing lights out. It was really a good team win."
The Rockets outgained the Cardinals 444-312 overall and collected 272 rushing yards to BSU's 122. The Toledo defense has now gone eight straight quarters without allowing an offensive touchdown, and has allowed just five in four games this season. Toledo's defensive line collected four sacks on the afternoon.
Offensively, redshirt freshman Dequan Finn ran for a game-high 106 yards, including a 70-yard touchdown, while junior Bryant Koback (84 yards) and redshirt freshman Jacquez Stuart (58 yards) contributed to the Rockets' rushing attack, as well. Junior Devin Maddox once again sparked the Toledo offense with a long touchdown, this time hauling in a 69-yard catch for a score in the first quarter.
Drew Plitt completed 21-of-35 passes for the Cardinals Justin Hall topped BSU receivers with seven catches for 97 yards. He also carried five times for another 34 yards. Clayton Coll led the Ball State defense with 15 tackles
First Quarter
Ball State opened the scoring with a 45-yard field goal on its opening drive. Toledo countered quickly with a 69-yard TD bomb from Carter Bradley to Devin Maddox to give Toledo a 7-3 lead. Later in the quarter, Ball State cut the lead to 7-6 on a 27-yard field goal.
Second Quarter
Dequan Finn broke loose for a 70-yard touchdown on a QB draw on the first play of the quarter to push Toledo's lead to 14-6. Midway through the quarter, the Cardinals cut the lead to 14-9 on a 29-yard field goal. The field goal was set up when Ball State's defense stopped Toledo on fourth-and-one from the UT 31-yard line. The Cardinals missed a chance for another field goal when they let the time run out on a pass play from the UT 14-yard line with seven seconds left in the quarter.
Third Quarter
Toledo missed a chance to pad its lead when Thomas Cluckey missed a 41-yard field goal, the first miss of his career after 13 straight conversions.
Fourth Quarter
Cluckey pushed the lead to 17-9 with a 43-yard field goal with 14:13 remaining. Ball State countered with its fourth field goal of the day, a 47-yarder, to trim the lead to 17-12 with 11:37 remaining. Cluckey came right back and nailed a 22-yarder to make the score 20-12 with 4:51 left. Toledo forced Ball State to punt, then ran out almost all the clock before punting it back to the BSU two-yard line. A Ball State penalty in the end zone following a series of laterals on the final play of the game resulted in a safety, bringing about the final score of 22-12.