TOLEDO, Ohio – WKU Football lost 45-21 to Toledo on Saturday at The Glass Bowl.
The Hilltoppers fall to 2-1 overall with the loss.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Toledo took advantage of an WKU turnover on the first possession of the game and capped off a three-play, 34-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run.
- The Rockets took advantage of another WKU turnover, scoring on a 37-yard interception return to go ahead 14-0 with 11:52 left in the first quarter.
- WKU got on the board, making it 14-7, with a 7-yard touchdown pass from Maverick McIvor to Matthew Henry with 6:48 to play in the opening frame. The score was set up by a trick play in which wide receiver Cameron Flowers threw a 39-yard pass to Moussa Barry that put the Hilltoppers at the Toledo 2-yard line.
- Toledo extended the lead to 21-7 with a 10-yard touchdown pass with 2:34 remaining in the first quarter.
- Toledo made a 32-yard field goal with 11:57 on the clock in the second quarter to make Toledo's lead 24-7.
- The Rockets scored again on a 71-yard pass play with 1:25 left in the first half to go ahead 31-7.
- Toledo scored on a 75-yard rush on the first play of the second half to make it a 38-7 game.
- The Rockets made it a 45-7 lead with 5:30 to play in the third quarter with a 5-yard touchdown pass.
- WKU scored with 13:08 to play on a 1-yard run from Jaden McGill, making it a 45-14 game.
- McIvor connected with Flowers for an 11-yard touchdown with 6:26 to play, making it a 45-21 game.
NOTABLES
- The Hilltoppers fall to 2-1 overall and 0-1 in road games this season with the loss.
- WKU is now 1-1 all-time against Toledo. The Hilltoppers won the first meeting last season in Bowling Green, 26-21, and fell to 0-1 in games at The Glass Bowl.
- WKU's team captains for the game were K.D. Hutchinson, Harper Holloman and Dave Herard.
- Announced attendance for the game was 24,138.
- The Hilltoppers had 333 yards of offense in the game, with 274 yards through the air.
- Quarterback Maverick McIvor finished with 235 yards and two touchdowns on 23-38-1 passing.
- McIvor's touchdown passes were the ninth and 10th touchdown passes he has thrown this season and the third touchdown reception for Henry.
- Ten different WKU players caught passes in the game, and six had multiple receptions. Marvis Parrish led the team in receptions with seven, which is a career high for the true freshman, and Moussa Barry had a team-high 110 yards on three receptions. It is the third time in three games WKU has had a 100-yard receiver, and Barry is the third different receiver to reach the 100-yard receiving mark in a game this season.
- McGill's fourth-quarter touchdown run was the first touchdown of his WKU career.
- The fourth-quarter touchdown reception from Flowers was the first touchdown of his college career.
- Seventeen different Hilltoppers recorded multiple tackles in the game, led by eight from Jaylen Wester. Jaden Hardy recorded WKU's lone tackle for loss.
- Al-Ma'hi Ali intercepted a pass at the end of the first half. It is his first interception as a Hilltopper and the team's second this season.
- Cole Maynard averaged 52.0 yards on five punts. Three of the five traveled 50-plus yards, with a long of 61 yards, and two were downed inside the 20-yard line. Maynard is now averaging 51.6 yards per punt this season.
QUOTABLES
- "A lot of things weren't good tonight. There's a lot of things we need to fix. Things that stood out – we spotted them 14 points, got ourselves in a hole. Defensively, we were in position to make tackles and we didn't make the tackles or slid off of them. They had a lot of explosive plays. They controlled the line of scrimmage extremely well. I thought we got out-physicaled at the line of scrimmage with our defense. They're a good football team, good football team, but we did a lot tonight to make it easy for them. We've got to go back to the drawing board to get those things fixed." – WKU Football Head Coach Tyson Helton, on the loss at Toledo.
NEXT UP
- WKU will be off next week, before hosting Nevada on Sept. 20 for a Parent & Family Weekend game. Kickoff at Houchens-Smith Stadium is set for 6 p.m. CT.
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