Football Falls 38-23 At Toledo

TOLEDO, Ohio – The University of Massachusetts football team made it a one-point game, 17-16, with six minutes to play in the third quarter but Toledo responded and ultimately pulled away for a 38-23 win on Saturday afternoon at the Glass Bowl (21,688).

Jakobie Keeney-James and Jacquon Gibson led the way on offense, registering career-best games. Keeney-James recorded his first receiving touchdown as a Minuteman and caught a career-high six receptions for 93 yards. Gibson hauled in six passes of his own for a career best with a career-high 72 yards receiving, which included a career-long 39-yard catch.

Quarterback Taisun Phommachanh threw for 259 yards on 26-for-40 passing with a touchdown and an interception. Phommachanh added 44-yards rushing on 22 carries, scoring a touchdown on the run.

For the UMass defense, Jaylen Hudson totaled five tackles, while six Minutemen tallied three. Derrieon Craig had a team-high two solo tackles, as Craig and Te'Rai Powell had 0.5 tackles for loss each.

As a team, Massachusetts came away with nine pass breakups and held Rockets quarterback Tucker Gleason to an 8-for-23 mark (175 yards).

How It Happened

After UMass' first drive ended with a punt, the Minutemen forced Toledo to punt behind a Jaylen Hudson pass breakup on a third-and-six. Massachusetts and Toledo each traded a pair of three-and-outs, with another three-and-out for UMass. Toledo then started a drive at the 4:57 mark of the first quarter, resulting in a 40-yard pass completion from Tucker Gleason to Jerjuan Newton to give the Rockets the lead. Toledo's extra point was good, putting the Rockets ahead, 7-0.

Continuing a drive that started late in the first quarter, Jacquon Gibson hauled in a career-long 39-yard reception to set up a 23-yard field goal from Jacob Lurie to put Massachusetts on the board and make it a 7-3 game at 11:52 of the second quarter.

Toledo extended its lead with a 26-yard field goal to cap off an eight-play, 67-yard drive, which was aided by a pair of 15-yard penalties against the Minutemen.

Taisun Phommachanh connected with Jakobie Keeney-James for a 23-yard pass, advancing UMass from the 50-yard line to Toledo's 27-yard line. Keeney-James then caught a 14-yard touchdown pass, his first with UMass, while Lurie made the extra point to give Massachusetts another seven points. The scoring drive was 11-plays and 75-yards and tied the game up at 10-10.

The Rockets pulled ahead, 17-10, with Jacquez Stuart returning the next kickoff for 98 yards.

The Minutemen pulled within four when Laurie hit a career-long 42-yard field goal with one second remaining in the first half, making it a 17-13 contest.

After the teams traded a pair of possessions, Toledo's Braden Awls made a diving interception with the Minutemen driving deep into Toledo's end. Junior Vandeross III then caught a 73-yard touchdown pass for the Rockets on the next play, moving it to a 24-16 game with 4:08 left in the third quarter.

Toledo continued to hold the 24-16 lead to open the fourth quarter and took over at their own 45 to start their first drive of the fourth. The Rockets finished a four play, 55-yard drive with a four-yard rushing touchdown to extend their lead to 31-16.

With 7:57 on the clock, UMass took over on its own 27-yard line on a turnover on downs from Toledo. Phommachanh opened Massachusetts' drive with a 25-yard run to the Toledo 48-yard marker, before Sterling Galban grabbed a 14-yard pass up the middle to move the chains. The Minutemen converted a fourth-and-two on Toledo's 13-yard line with a seven-yard rush from Phommachanh to gain the first down with Phommachanh scrambling up the middle for eight yards into the endzone to add to UMass' tally, 31-23.

The Minutmen were unable to grab the ensuing onside kick and then a seven-yard pass ended a four play, 25-yard and 29-second scoring drive from Toledo to cement its 38-23 win late in the fourth quarter.

Notes

For the second consecutive game, Josh Atwood, Taisun Phommachanh, Te'Rai Powell and Tyler Rudolph served as the Massachusetts captains.
Playing in his first game with the Minutemen (and 46th of his career), Jaylen Hudson recorded his first career pass breakup when he deflected a pass at the line early in the first quarter.
Jacquon Gibson hauled in a career-long 39-yard reception in the second quarter (previous long was a 29-yard catch against Arkansas State on Nov. 11, 2022), while adding a career-high in receptions (six) and receiving yards (72).
Graduate student Jacob Laurie made his first career field goal, a 22-yard kick to make it a 7-3 game early in the second quarter.
Jalen Harrell notched his first career pass breakup midway through the second quarter (20th career game played).
Jakobie Keeney-James pulled in his first touchdown pass as a Minuteman for 14-yards in the second quarter, while marking the fifth touchdown reception of his career.
Keeney-James recorded a career best in receptions with six and tallied 93 reception yards on the day.
Jacob Lurie kicked a career-long 42-yard field goal in the second quarter.

Next Up
Massachusetts continues on the road to face Buffalo at 1 p.m. next Saturday, Sept. 14 at UB Stadium in Amherst, New York and on CBSSN.

Scoreboard

Next Event

Team Stats

Taisun Phommachanh

Players Mentioned

Josh Atwood

Derrieon Craig

Sterling Galban

Jacquon Gibson

Jalen Harrell

Jaylen Hudson

Jakobie Keeney-James

Jacob Lurie

Taisun Phommachanh

Te'Rai Powell

Tyler Rudolph

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics