Nobody in the Glass Bowl on Homecoming had much to cheer until the fourth quarter, and by then it was mostly late. Buffalo beat Toledo 23-8 on Saturday, and the Rockets are 4-2 overall and 1-1 in the MAC.
The box score reads like a game Toledo gave away. The Rockets lost three fumbles and were flagged 15 times for 137 yards. Buffalo had no turnovers. Buffalo also held the ball for 35:25 to Toledo's 24:35, and Toledo converted 3 of 14 third downs.
Buffalo built the lead slowly. Oliver Hautanen kicked field goals of 24 and 29 yards in the first quarter. Jason Wright added a 3-yard touchdown run in the second, and Hautanen kicked a 31-yarder in the third for 16-0.
Toledo finally scored with 4:45 left. Connor Walendzak ran in from a yard out, and John Alan Richter threw to Adjatay Dabbs for the two-point conversion, making it 16-8. Then Messiah Burch went 87 yards on a run with 4:30 to play, and that was that. Burch finished with 137 yards on 17 carries.
Richter was 22 of 35 for 203 yards. Terrell Crosby Jr. caught eight passes for 69 yards. Armorion Smith had 13 tackles, and Andrew Zock had 1.5 sacks. Toledo ran for 105 yards on 26 carries a week after piling up 352 on the ground at Ball State.
Coach Mike Jacobs was not happy with the penalty yards, according to BCSN. Penalties and fumbles are the kind of problem a team can fix in a week, which is better than not having the talent.
Next is Eastern Michigan at Rynearson Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 17, at 3:30 p.m., on ESPN+. The Eagles were 2-0 in MAC play as of Oct. 3.
