For the 16th consecutive year, the Toledo Rockets will finish .500 or better. The only longer streaks in the FBS belong to Boise State (28 seasons) and Alabama (19 seasons).
Toledo extended that impressive streak Saturday with a dominant 38-9 victory over Ball State on senior day. The Rockets (7-4, 5-2 MAC) remain in play for their third MAC Championship Game appearance in a three-year span with the decisive home win.
The Glass Bowl has been a sanctuary where everything has gone right for Toledo all
year. The Rockets finished the season 6-0 at home with a scoring differential of 265-46, handling visitors by an average score of 44-8. Toledo had been dominant to the point where the 38 points and 404 yards generated on Ball State this weekend — a great offensive showing by all means — were actually season-lows inside the venue.
Sixth-year senior quarterback Tucker Gleason delivered 218 passing yards and matched his career-high with four touchdown deliveries on his senior day. Fellow senior, wide receiver Junior Vandeross III, contributed 127 receiving yards on seven receptions, securing two touchdowns for his 10th and 11th scores of the year — now ranking third in the FBS in the category. Rounding out the star senior offensive contributions was sixth-year veteran Chip Trayanum, who racked up 128 rushing yards and extended his touchdown streak to 8-straight games.
Toledo’s offense was sharp, but as usual with the 2025 Rockets, the defense was even better. The nation’s fifth-ranked scoring defense and second-ranked scoring defense held a third-straight opponent to single-digits, and Ball State attained its lone touchdown with 3:43 remaining in the contest. The Cardinals’ offense was plagued by three turnovers and an inefficient passing game, completing 14-of-32 attempts against the only FBS defense that forces opponents to a sub-50 completion percentage.
The Rockets corralled two interceptions, and while that’s a frequent occasion for this team, it wasn’t the usual suspects coming up with the ball. Sophomore safety Dylan Hohler and freshman cornerback DJ Kelly each obtained their first collegiate interceptions, with both transpiring in the fourth quarter long after the game was decided.
Toledo’s defense imposed its will in other ways as well, invading the Ball State backfield to the tune of seven sacks and 17 tackles for loss. Outside linebacker K’Von Sherman led the bunch with 3.5 tackles for loss, in addition to eight tackles, a share of a sack, and a fumble recovery in one of his best all-around showings. Future NFL free safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, in his final time suiting up at the Glass Bowl, tallied eight tackles and two tackles for loss for a spectacular senior sendoff.
Ball State (4-7, 3-4 MAC) is officially denied bowl eligibility in year one of the Mike Uremovich era. The Cardinals are still chasing their first winning season since claiming the 2020 MAC championship, and they’ll need to wait until at least 2026 before doing so. But Ball State still has a trophy to play for, as the Redbird Rivalry at Miami (OH) awaits on Saturday, Nov. 29 in Oxford, OH.
Toledo (7-4, 5-2 MAC) is one of four teams wielding a 5-2 record in MAC play — sharing the designation with Ohio, Central Michigan, and Miami (OH). Toledo plays a championship elimination game at Central Michigan on Saturday, Nov. 29, but the Rockets aren’t necessarily guaranteed a ticket to the MAC Championship with a victory. Their best bet is to find themselves in a tie with either Ohio or Miami but not both, since the three-way tiebreakers do not favor Toledo. Thus, a win over the Chippewas, combined with an Ohio loss to Buffalo or a Miami loss to Ball State is the Rockets’ clearest path to Detroit.
