The Bulls stun Toledo thanks to Al-Jay Henderson’s 142 rushing yards and Shaun Dolac’s 15 tackles.
The Toledo Rockets strolled into Week 7 as the standard bearer of the conference. Coming off back-to-back MAC Championship Game appearances, Jason Candle’s Rockets looked just as spry as usual off to a MAC-best 4-1 start.
However, none of that fazed the Buffalo Bulls led by first-year head coach Pete Lembo. The Bulls not only pulled off the upset at UB Stadium on Saturday afternoon in wire-to-wire fashion, but it was never in question. Buffalo went on a second half rampage to claim a 30-15 victory over the Rockets, leading by as many as 23 in another statement victory.
Defense has been Buffalo’s calling card all year and Saturday was no exception. The Bulls rendered Toledo one-dimensional, suffocating the run game to 46 yards on 25 attempts. FBS tackles leader Shaun Dolac continued his rampage through 2024. The star inside linebacker registered 15 tackles including 10 solo stops in the victory, while his partner-in-crime outside linebacker Red Murdock added 11 tackles. Dolac and Murdock prevented things from ever getting to the third level of defense as no Toledo running back attained more than six yards on a rushing attempt. Buffalo’s defense consistently forced Toledo off the field, limiting the Rockets to 4-of-16 on third down and winning the turnover battle 2-0.
One turnover proved to be the key turning point in the contest. Buffalo led 14-0 in the third quarter when defensive end Kobe Stewart strip-sacked Toledo quarterback Tucker Gleason deep in Rocket territory. Antonio Colclough recovered the fumble to the 2-yard line, setting up a CJ Ogbonna rushing touchdown to claim a 21-0 advantage. That play was extra costly for Toledo as Gleason exited the game due to injury and never returned.
John Alan Richter provided relief duties as the backup quarterback, and he instantly led Toledo’s first touchdown drive of the game thanks to a hyper-efficient 4-play, 84-yard sequence. The series ended in a 26-yard touchdown reception by Jerjuan Newton who reset his career-high (previously set last week) with 159 yards on seven catches. Richter finished with 227 yards on a 16-of-23 showing, tossing two touchdowns in his most substantial action to date.
Richter’s comeback effort was thwarted by a costly turnover in the early fourth quarter as Newton fumbled on a kickoff return. Not only did that fumble deprive Toledo of a critical possession, but the turnover resulted in three Buffalo points and over four-and-a-half minutes of exhausted clock.
Buffalo’s offense also played at a high level to race past Toledo. The run game looked especially stellar as junior tailback Al-Jay Henderson exploded for 142 yards in his first time ever eclipsing the century mark. Buffalo shattered its season-best with 230 collective rushing yards in the victory, thoroughly dominating Toledo on both sides of the ground battle. Ogbonna only completed 11 passes for 127 yards, but the quarterback remained turnover free. He landed his lone touchdown pass in the third quarter when faking a handoff near the goal line and lobbing the ball to tight end Jake Orlando.
Toledo (4-2, 1-1 MAC) dropped its first regular season conference game since the 2022 finale after producing an 8-0 MAC record in 2023. The Rockets look to rebound in a highly-anticipated matchup at rival Northern Illinois which kicks off next Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET.
Buffalo (4-2, 2-0 MAC) already exceeded its win total from 2023. With Lembo at the helm, the Bulls are establishing themselves as MAC contenders after knocking off a ranked Northern Illinois squad in Week 4 and upending Toledo in convincing fashion. Buffalo moves forward with another home matchup, awaiting Western Michigan’s trip to Upstate New York on Oct. 19.