Saturday had long since turned into Sunday, and most of the fans at the Glass Bowl had been chased home by rain and a long wait, but the University of Toledo was happy to leave with what it wanted.
They left a lot later and a lot wetter than they thought, but the Rockets earned a necessary victory in bizarre circumstances. After a weather delay of two hours and 41 minutes, the Rockets returned to the field to defeat Ball State 34-23 Sunday at the Glass Bowl, starting off the Mid-American Conference schedule with a win for the seventh straight year.
The win also was the 500th in UT program history.
UT's players were not made available to media following the game.
“Crazy game, honestly,” UT coach Matt Campbell said. “A lot of different angles in this football game, but I'll tell you, I was really proud of our football team, proud of our kids. I really felt like, from the beginning of it, they were locked in.”
The Rockets (2-2, 1-0 MAC) scored on their opening possession for the first time this season. Kareem Hunt ripped off a 34-yard on UT's first play, then Logan Woodside hit Justin Olack for a 35-yard gain two plays later. Woodside scored on the following play, and after Jeremiah Detmer's missed extra point, the Rockets stopped Ball State (1-3, 0-1 MAC).
Then the night took a sharp left turn. Tornado sirens went off on campus, and the Rockets ran one more play before everyone was called off the field at 7:20 p.m. Rain began to pour a few minutes later.
The teams attempted to restarted at 9:11 p.m., but lightning struck at 9:09 p.m. during a 10-minute warm-up period. Both sides went into the locker room for another 50 minutes.
When play finally resumed at 10:01, the Rockets finished a drive than began nearly three hours previous with another Woodside touchdown rush.
UT led by two scores the rest of the night.
“I thought we started the game fast, and when the game started up again, I thought we started fast,” Campbell said. “I thought that really helped us, and it was certainly something we talked about this week.”
The Rockets' offensive line manhandled Ball State on Saturday. The Rockets ran for 318 yards on nearly 7 yards per carry and did not allow the Cardinals to sack Woodside. Kareem Hunt rushed for 142 yards and a touchdown for UT – his ninth 100-yard game – though he was injured and did not play in the second half for the second straight week. Campbell said Hunt is expected to be OK.
UT's defense also made strides from the past two weeks, particularly in key situations. Ball State's first five trips inside Toledo territory yielded nine points: Four field goal attempts, three makes and a punt.
The Rockets held a 27-9 lead before the Cardinals finally scored a touchdown with 1:58 to go in the third quarter when Ozzie Mann hit KeVonn Mabon for a 43-yard score.
“I think we moved the ball very well tonight. We settled for a lot of field goals,” Ball State coach Pete Lembo said. “We gotta improve our execution in the red zone.”
The two teams traded touchdowns again, but Ball State ultimately headed back home without incident.
Woodside went 13 of 22 for 152 yards. He threw a 26-yard touchdown to Alonzo Russell, an interception, and he lost a fumble.
UT outgained Ball State 470-351 in the game, which officially concluded at 12:41 a.m. Sunday.
Linebacker Junior Sylvestre recorded 13 tackles for UT, while cornerback Christian Dukes had 10 tackles and three pass break-ups.
The Rockets will play Central Michigan at the Glass Bowl next week. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Campbell said he never had been involved in a game like Saturday's, but he was happy to earn the win.
“First time for everything,” Campbell said. “We'll take it and learn from it, but I thought it was pretty interesting.”
Contact Nicholas Piotrowicz at: npiotrowicz@theblade.com, 724-6110, or on Twitter @NickPiotrowicz
First Published September 21, 2014, 6:00 a.m.
