Experiencing the Toledo Game Live
Recap: This snippet was originally in our "Family Dinner Table article for the week, but the explanation was so lengthy that we made an executive decision to just have this stand as its own writeup!
A matchup that had everything indicating a close contest coming in delivered in a way difficult to imagine.
Toledo and Western Kentucky battled in a game that had everything: Defense, strategy, hustle plays, a lengthy lightning delay, and a comeback and magic with controversy until the final seconds.
Toledo came out and looked better for a majority of the game. Leading 21-10 in the third quarter, lightning started flashing in the distance.
“Was that lightning?”
“I think it was maybe heat lightning.”
“Uh oh. There was another.”
“Did that one hit the Big Red Water Tower?”
Right after the Toledo touchdown that put the Rockets up 21-10 and right during the “Chicken Dance” before Toledo was to kick off to the Tops, officials started instructing the teams to immediately head to the locker rooms. As everyone kind of slowly started ignoring the chicken dance and wondered what was going on, then kind of a “yeah we figured” mood ensued as the PA announcer forwarded the news to the crowd.
With clear momentum, Toledo was sitting pretty at 21-10, and WKU looking a little helpless offensively.
As many fans left and figured out who was staying and going and what kids needed to go home to night night time (me included), the players and coaches went inside to try to stay warm, regroup, and figure out the adjustments and readjustments.
WKU players interviewed after the game said during the break, they were encouraging each other, getting each other fired up and ready to go to war. Reunited again, they felt like it was a new game.
I’m sure Toledo was doing the same thing.
After the break, the Tops and Rockets came out, warmed up, and resumed play on a kickoff from Toledo. WKU came out and frankly looked the same offensively for a couple drives. They did get a first down, but not much else happened.
Before the break, WKU was on pace for less than 200 yards of offense. By the end of the game, they were over 300 total, with a majority of their yards coming in the final 23+ minutes of game time.
Besides QB sneaks at the end, WKU only had two possessions where the Tops had three or less plays that didn’t result in a score after play resumed. Even though WKU had two lengthy scoring droughts in the game, after the break, WKU moved the ball significantly better. Western had six first downs 60 percent into the game, took the long break, and flooded the final 40 percent with ten first downs, 16 points, and nearly 200 yards of offense.
Meanwhile, WKU’s defense was incredible all night. Even in the first half when the Tops gave up 21 points, they were making Toledo work for it. At the time of the break, Toledo was still not on pace to come up with 400 yards. That pace got better, with WKU’s offense nearly catching Toledo’s 325 total yards by the end of the game.
The defense won this game, and the offense did enough to produce the points. However, WKU’s defense strangled Toledo coming out of the break, really not giving them much of a chance. Toledo had one real chance at anything significant, gaining 45 yards on the penultimate drive. Despite that one blip on the radar, it resulted in a diving interception on fourth down by Devonte Matthews.
By this point, WKU had taken the lead and the Rockets were trying to take back their lead that they had held from the early minutes of the second quarter. The Rockets fought, but the Tops had the answers to keep them from breaking the atmosphere.
After WKU’s stop on fourth down, all the Tops had to do was draw Toledo’s three remaining timeouts en route to a first down. Frankly, the Tops didn’t really need to even get a first down and probably would have won. Toledo may have had 15 seconds to drive over half the field, assuming WKU ran three run plays and punted the ball.
However, that wasn’t to be, either. Instead of running a normal play with the running back, the Tops ran a QB draw, and for what projected to be a foregone conclusion of an ending, all hell broke loose, frankly.
Caden Veltkamp ran forward into the pile, a scrum ensued, the ball skitters out of the back of the pile, and whistles blew before Toledo picked up the football. The play was blown dead. Forward progress was stopped.
A big conversation ensues. Utter confusion. What is there to debate?!?
To our horror in the stands, the official’s voice comes through the speakers:
“The previous play is under review.”
WHAT IS THERE TO REVIEW?!?
They blew the play dead, right?!? You can’t overturn a play like that without a clear recovery before the whistle blows.
On top of all of the other delays, this replay review took a long time. And longer. And longer. Unbelievable. And as you’re sitting there, Toledo’s fans and sideline start celebrating something. Clearly, everyone over there was told that the ball was going to Toledo.
You’ve got to understand…the play was blown dead CLEARLY before it was recovered in wide open space. What was there to debate?
Upon reviewing the ESPN+ broadcast, there was no recovery besides the Toledo player who recovered it after the whistle.
BUT…
Officials ruled it Toledo ball.
On the one hand…Veltkamp clearly fumbled on a pretty much idiotic decision to not run the running back, who deals with this every single time he touches the ball. The quarterback does not nearly go through the training that a running back does in terms of ball security, whether it’s play to play or drills in practice. A running back spends his life and makes his hay protecting the football play-by-play. The quarterback is asked not to fumble maybe five or ten times a game, and the ball is rarely in danger of coming out.
So really, WKU was lucky the play was blown dead, but it’s also absolutely ludicrous that the officials decided that Toledo recovered the fumble before they blew their whistles. You can see the official in the middle of the field calling out that the play was over (not with his whistle) before the Toledo player recovers the football!
Outrageous. I mean, I thought they clearly must have recovered in the pile and that was the only way to overturn it. No. We are re-pissed about this! Unbelievable.
So WKU’s defense goes out. Toledo has three timeouts. Less than 40 seconds to play. Ball on the WKU 19 yard line. They have plenty of time, given the three timeouts. Tops are only up five, so a touchdown pretty much wins the game for Toledo. Toledo gets a first down to the 4 yard line after two plays. They then false start. Then the Tops get pressure, Toledo’s QB Gleason sails a ball just out of the reach of his player, ball is tipped and it falls harmlessly to the turf.
“Holding, on the offense. Ten yard penalty.”
So on third down, Gleason drops back to pass, once again faces pressure from the storming Topper front, and throws a ball to the pylon. Devonte Matthews (again) sweeps in and toe taps a toenail down for the interception.
Pande-damn-monium!
But it’s STILL not over. Toledo only used one of its timeouts despite plenty of opportunities to do so. A lesser coach would have burned more than one timeout in all of the previous melees or activity.
WKU gets the ball on the 1 yard line with a few handfuls of seconds (13) remaining. Western can’t take a knee, because that will be a safety and the Tops would have to punt the ball to Toledo’s incredibly dangerous returner, who already had a huge return. WKU just had the QB fumble, so that’s scary. WKU generally doesn’t go under center, so even that part is not exactly routine.
WKU elects to go with the QB sneak, which is the right move. The only things that can go wrong are center/QB exchange and the threat of a fumble once you hit the pile. And safety because you’re on the 1 yard line. Given the circumstances, the sneak is the best call and the least significant threat. Thankfully, no more fireworks ensued, WKU ran its three QB sneaks without event, and the Tops stole a win after a lightning delay in one of the most incredible football games in the history of L.T. Smith Stadium that truly was in doubt until a few seconds ticked off on a successful QB sneak.
It’s football time on The Hill, and the Tops have finally shown us they might be able to play some good ball this season. This is a measuring stick game. Win or lose, this one should be interesting to observe after it’s over. Make sure you start your new subscription with The Towel Rack and follow all of our articles!
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