Picking up its first MAC Championship since 2017, UT raised its record to 8-5 (5-3 MAC) on the year. Ohio, seeking its first MAC title since 1968, fell to 9-4 (7-1 MAC). It was the Bobcats fifth appearance in a MAC championship game, which started in 1997 after the league broke into two divisions.
"Our defense played lights out," said Rockets Head Coach Jason Candle. "Great job by . . .
Toledo surrendered just one touchdowns on the day, and Sieh Banguar's 2-yard run tied the game at 7-all with 6:47 left in the second quarter. It might have stayed that way until halftime, but UT's Nate Bauer picked off a CJ Harris pass with 4:38 to go. It was the game's only turnover, but Toledo was able to turn it into points.
The Rockets used 13 plays to move 55 yards against a stingy Ohio defense that eventually stopped Toledo at the 26-yard line. Thomas Cluckey stepped in with just 16 seconds remaining and booted a 44-yard field goal to put UT up 10-7 at intermission.
Neither team scored in the third quarter, but Toledo started a long drive late in the period. The 16-play, 90-yard trip ended with DeQuann Finn hitting Jerjuan Newton on an 8-yard TD play.
Ohio responded with a seven-play drive into Toledo territory, but Toledo stiffened and Nathanial Vakos' 56-yard field goal try was off the mark at 8:15. The Bobcat had two more possessions. However, both ended on downs.
Playing without injured quarterback Kurtis Roark, MAC Offensive Player of the Year, Ohio's potent offense was limited to 272 total yards, 14 first downs and the one score.
Harris, who also started last week's MAC East- clinching win over Bowing Green, completed 17-of-31 passes, good for 163 yards with one interception. He also ran six times for a total of 12 yards, including a long of 10.
Six Bobcats caught at least two passes, with Will Kacmarek and Jacob Jones combining for five receptions and 77 yards. It was a 32-yard pass to Kacmarek that helped set up Ohio's second quarter touchdown.
Ohio's ground game, meanwhile, was limited to 99 total yards. Thirty of those yards came on one run by WR Sam Wiglusz. Bangura did most of the work, logging 20 carries for 56 yards (2.8 ypc) and the one TD.
Toledo's ground attack fared much better, piling up 236 yards while averaging 5.1 ypc. JacQuez Stuart led the way with nine carries for 93 yards (10.3 ypc) and the game's first touchdown -- a 29-yard burst through the middle.
Sophomore quarterback Dequann Finn was also a key contributor on the ground, carrying 18 times for 86 yards. Micah Kelly added 53 yards on 17 trips.
Toledo, which totaled 390 yards of offense, also got 154 yards through the air. Finn, who had shared time with freshman Tucker Gleason in recent weeks, went the distance against Ohio. He completed 16-of-25 passes totaling 154 yards with one TD. Sophomore Jerjuan Newton was Finn's top target, snagging six passes for 77 yards.
"I'm really proud of our football team," said Candle, who is now tied with former Rocket head coaches Frank Lauterbur and Tom Amstutz with two outright MAC titles. "It takes a strong and mentally tough group of young men to get to this point. This team is resilient and has a lot of resolve. They understand the importance of responding to adversity rather than reacting to it. I've challenged them since day one to be who they said they were going to be, and they wanted to be MAC Champions. I was excited to watch those guys hoist the trophy."
"This team, we've been through a lot this whole year," added Finn, a Detroit native who won a state championship at Ford Field in high school in 2018. "It's been a rollercoaster for us, with ups and downs. We've fought through adversity and rough patches. Ultimately throughout the whole course, we stayed together as one. Even on the bad days. The whole emphasis was stay together as one, because when we splinter off, we are not the same. When we play as one, no one can stop us. I am happy for this team, happy for the coaches. It's a surreal moment."
NOTES:
~~ Offensive MVP: DeQuan Finn - Toledo
Defensive MVP: Dyontae Johnson - Toledo
Special Teams MVP: Jonathon Batzke - Toledo
~~ It was Toledo's 12th MAC Championship title overall, and fourth triumph in the MAC Championship Game. It was also Head Coach Jason Candle's second MAC title. His Rockets won the title in 2017, his second year as Toledo's head coach.
~~ UT held Ohio to the fewest points in MAC Championship game history.
~~ "I couldn't be prouder," Ohio Head Coach Tim Albin said. "Our locker room is obviously very disappointed right now. When you invest as much as this football team has and you keep stacking the days together, you're going to have some pain. I told them to keep their heads up, shoulders back and chest out."
He continued, "This had been my most fun year of coaching, and not because of the seven or eight games we won in a row or the postseason. It's because of the guys you see to my right and everybody in the locker room. They have been remarkable, resilient, battered and bruised, counted out, and they just kept coming back to work every day."