MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. — Senior quarterback Dan LeFevour and the Central Michigan offense moved the ball at will against Toledo last night in a 56-28 win, matching a season high in points. The Chippewas beat Eastern Michigan 56-8 in their previous home game.
“This is very disappointing when you’re trying to build a program,” Toledo Head Coach Tim Beckman said.
LeFevour completed 16-straight passes in the first half and finished the game 29-of-36 for 341 yards and two touchdowns. He also had 14 carries for 19 yards and four touchdowns.
The Chippewas (8-2, 6-0 Mid-American Conference) gained 166 yards on the ground for 507 yards of total offense.
Toledo (4-6, 2-4 MAC) rushed for 131 yards and passed for 222 yards. Senior quarterback Aaron Opelt started for the Rockets, completing 14-of-22 passes for 128 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions before being removed due to injury in the third quarter.
“When you’re playing a team like that, you can’t have those turnovers,” Beckman said. “Defensively we’re giving up too many yards, and offensively we’re turning the ball over out there and putting our backs against the wall.”
Opelt’s injury, which had previously been disclosed as a bruised right shoulder, was revealed to be a partial tear in his rotator cuff that he suffered in the Western Michigan game on Oct. 10.
“There’s just a little tear in the back of my shoulder, and that’s what I’m battling right now,” Opelt said.
“It’s not any worse. I was with [the doctor] and he said I didn’t do any more tearing, so that’s just initial reaction to it. It’s not any worse than it was, so that’s encouraging for me. It’s definitely not my last play at the University of Toledo if I have anything to say about it.”
Freshman quarterback Austin Dantin replaced Opelt, completing 6-of-9 passes for 91 yards and an interception. Junior quarterback Alex Pettee threw one incomplete pass, and freshman wide receiver Eric Page completed one pass for three yards and had three carries for 22 yards out of the wildcat formation. Page also caught six passes for 77 yards and returned seven kickoffs for 208 yards for 310 all-purpose yards.
Page returned the opening kickoff 38 yards to UT’s 46-yard line.
Facing 3rd and 10 from CMU’s 14-yard line, Opelt threaded a pass to sophomore wide receiver Kenny Stafford in the deep-right corner of the end zone for a touchdown with 11:11 remaining in the first quarter. The score put UT ahead 7-0 and gave the Chippewas their first deficit in a MAC game all season.
CMU tied the game just 2:17 later with a 33-yard pass from LeFevour to Bryan Anderson.
On the final play of the first quarter, Page was stopped one yard shy of the end zone on third down. The Rockets opted to go for it on fourth down, and senior running back DaJuane Collins ran it in to open the second quarter and give UT a 14-7 lead. Collins finished with 15 carries for 40 yards and two touchdowns and caught three passes for 28 yards.
CMU controlled the game from there, scoring 49-straight points. LeFevour had four rushing touchdowns, all for two yards, Bryan Schroeder had two touchdown runs and Antonio Brown caught a 42-yard touchdown from LeFevour.
“We were rolling in the beginning of the game, and we just don’t know what happened to us,” Collins said.
Schroeder had 13 carries for 105 yards and three catches for 32 yards. Brown caught 13 passes for 129 yards and ran twice for 13 yards.
The Rockets broke the Chippewas’ run with a one-yard touchdown from Collins with 8:15 left in the game. Sophomore running back Morgan Williams scored on a one-yard run with 4:22 remaining for his first rushing touchdown of the season.
Injuries continued to pile up for UT in the loss. Senior linebacker Beau Brudzinski, who had five tackles and the Rockets’ only sack in the game, is out for the season with a left knee injury. Senior wide receiver Stephen Williams caught six passes for 54 yards before leaving with a right ankle injury. The extent of his injury is unknown.
The Rockets host Eastern Michigan at 7 p.m. on Nov. 20 and close out the regular season at Bowling Green on Nov. 27.
“We have two opportunities left to give our seniors six wins and give them the opportunity to be considered a winner,” Beckman said.
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