DETROIT – Another game and another good performance for the University of Toledo defense. After holding Western Michigan to 10 points last game, the Rockets stifled Akron and didn’t give up any points until 30 seconds left in the third quarter of a 45-28 win.
“There was a zero on the scoreboard for a long time,” UT coach Jason Candle said. “We were kind of stuck in our way a little bit there on offense, just kind of up and down in my opinion. I really thought at times, we played kind of a sloppy. But the defense just keeps standing up.
“They probably, in my opinion, got slighted a little bit in the all-conference voting. I think there are some guys in there that probably deserve some things that they didn’t get. That’s okay, because today they got what they deserved. They got an outstanding performance in the biggest game of their career when it mattered the most. I’m really proud of them for that.”
Toledo continued to force turnovers, something that has been a focus in practice all season. Trevon Mathis notched an interception and Ola Adeniyi forced a fumble that Marquise Moore recovered.
“We feel like we have some guys in here who kind of got cheated out of the all-MAC,” Mathis said. “We came out here to prove a statement. Keeping them to zero points all the way until the fourth quarter, that is huge. Our philosophy is to get 11 hats to the ball on every play and get the ball to our quarterback and get it back to the offense and let them do what they do.”
AWARD WINNERS: Toledo’s senior quarterback Logan Woodside was selected as the Offensive MVP of the MAC championship game. Woodside was 23-of-37 passing for 307 yards and four touchdowns to go along with two interceptions. He found Diontae Johnson for scores of 5 and 27 yards, hit Jon’Vea Johnson on a 27-yard TD pass, and tossed another 12-yard TD to Shakif Seymour.
Akron’s senior linebacker Ulysees Gilbert earned Defensive MVP honors. Gilbert made 10 tackles in the game and had one quarterback hurry. He also had an interception and two pass breakups.
Toledo’s Danzel McKinley-Lewis was named Special Teams MVP. The sophomore receiver returned three punts for 66 yards, including a 48-yard return that set up Toledo’s first touchdown of the game.
SWANSON GIVES UT BALANCE: While Woodside was on his way to Offensive MVP honors, UT senior running back Terry Swanson was grinding his way to a huge game running the ball. Swanson carried 21 times for 180 yards and two TDs, including a fourth-quarter TD run of 54 yards that essentially ensured the win.
“It’s a great feeling, but those guys up front, give credit where it’s due,” Swanson said. “Those guys opened up holes and I was just able to hit them. It’s a great senior quarterback in Logan that puts pressure on the defenses by the pass game and that opens it up for the run game as well.”
The passing game of Woodside and the run game led by Swanson, when paired together, make it a dilemma on how to defend the Toledo offense.
“[Woodside] understands how he feeds off of Terry and Terry certainly understands how he feeds off of reduced boxes in the running game because Logan’s able to challenge safeties down the field and challenge corners down the field,” Candle said. “So to have that balance, that makes it really hard to defend.”
ADENIYI EJECTED: Toledo junior defensive end Ola Adeniyi was ejected from the game in the fourth quarter after he was called for targeting on a hit of Akron quarterback Kato Nelson. There was no penalty flag initially but after further review by the officials, it was deemed targeting.
As a result of a second-half targeting penalty, Adeniyi will miss the first half of Toledo’s bowl game.
Contact Brian Buckey at bbuckey@theblade.com, 419-724-6110, or on Twitter @BrianBuckey.
First Published December 3, 2017, 12:24 a.m.
