Chips lose third straight, 32-13, to UT Rockets
Toledo ran away with this one.
Toledo's ability to run the football combined with CMU's lack of tackling led to a 32-13 victory for the Rockets Saturday.
With the win, the Rockets upped their record to 4-5 overall and 3-3 in the Mid-American Conference.
The Chippewas, on the other hand fell to 2-7 overall and 1-5 in the MAC.
The frustration was evident for CMU Head Coach Dick Flynn.
"We're all frustrated. There isn't anyone in the program who isn't," he said.
The loss was CMU's third straight and what made it even tougher to swallow was the fact that Flynn thought his crew was ready to play.
"It was a tough loss today. I thought we worked hard in practice and the team was well prepared for this game. That's why the loss was so tough for us," Flynn said.
Instead though, Toledo dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.
Toledo's ground game seemed unstoppable as it gained 472 total yards.
Junior tailback Chester Taylor led the charge rushing for 218 yards on 22 carries.
Taylor, however, wasn't surprised at his success.
"I wasn't really surprised. My line did a good job and I just had to read it," he said.
Not only was Taylor finding running room, but so did junior tailback William Bratton and quarterback Tavares Bolden.
"We like to have a balanced attack, but the running game was going real good for us," Bolden said.
Toledo Head Coach Gary Pinkel thought the strong wind may have played a factor in opting more for the run, but he also saw Bolden take off when he got into a jam.
"There was a pretty good wind and we were running the ball well. Tavares (Bolden) has a good dimension and he can take off. He's a real good weapon," Pinkel said.
Bolden actually ended the game with more yards rushing (115) than he did passing (92).
Bratton added 97 yards rushing, nearly completing a three-player 100-yard club.
"Their (Rockets backs) ability to run hurt our team. Also we couldn't convert or finish off our own plays. The key factor, and our Achilles heel, in this game was our offense was not catching balls," Flynn said.
Pete Shepherd completed 16-of-28 passes for 177 yards, despite the lack of help from the receivers.
Mark Swetz, Jammarl O'Neal and others all dropped key passes throughout the game.
Flynn had no exact solution for the problem, but he said he would address it.
"We'll work on it, emphasize it. It's got to be done in the game," he said.
Flynn left the youth of the receiving corps to be no excuse.
"I don't think experience should enter into whether you're catching the ball or not," Flynn said.
O'Neal, however, ended the game with six receptions for 106 yards, for his fifth 100-yard game of the season.
O'Neal moved up to seventh on the CMU list for receptions in a season with 49 and ninth in receiving yards with 803.
Senior tailback Eric Flowers had the most success on the offensive end, running for 120 yards on 31 carries.
He too was frustrated with the season.
"It's very frustrating. Who likes to lose? Nobody likes to finish last," he said.
Flowers noted that the final two weeks he and his teammates would not let up.
"We're going to play for class. We're going to go out and win those last two games. We're fighters. I'm not giving up," he said.
Flowers' backup and kick returner Ira Gooch put in a good performance as well, carrying the ball eight times for 38 yards and added an 82-yard kick return for a touchdown.
That was the first kick return for a TD since Reggie Allen's 95-yard return against Western Michigan in 1998.
Gooch's return came with 4:03 left in the second half and put CMU up 13-12.
The Chippewas would not score again.
Toledo owned the second half, scoring 14 points and stopping CMU whenever it needed to.
Toledo responded to Gooch's runback with a scoring drive to end the half as Bolden hit Mel Long for a 10-yard strike.
The Rockets drove 66 yards on 11 plays in 3:17 to put them back on top 18-13 heading into the locker room.
CMU also led early in the game as Flowers ran the ball for a 6-yard TD with 2:37 left in the first quarter.
CMU then took possession via a Taylor fumble on the 6-yard line.
The Chippewas have two games remaining on their schedule.
They return home next Saturday to take on Eastern Michigan in a 1 p.m. tilt at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
