In a rematch of last year’s MAC Championship Game, the Toledo Rockets host Miami at Glass Bowl Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 5 (3:30 p.m. ET/ESPN+), in their 94th Homecoming game.
Toledo defeated Miami in Oxford in the regular season in 2023, but the RedHawks got their revenge with a 23-14 victory in the MAC Championship Game. Toledo’s 2022 MAC crown makes Saturday a matchup of the last two MAC champions.
Wide receiver Jerjuan Newton and the Rockets host Miami on Saturday in Toledo’s Homecoming game.
Toledo (3-1, 0-0 MAC), which had a bye last week, most recently suffered a 26-21 defeat at Western Kentucky on Sept. 21. The Hilltoppers scored the final 16 points in the second half and stopped a pair of Rocket red-zone opportunities in the waning moments of the contest.
The Rockets took a 21-10 lead in the third quarter before lightning paused play for 75 minutes. After the delay, a safety followed by two rushing touchdowns by WKU quarterback Caden Veltkamp in a span of 10:23 gave the Hilltoppers the lead with 5:16 left to play. The Rockets got within the 10-yard line on two different drives for the go-ahead touchdown but were unable to score. Tucker Gleason completed 19-of-33 passes for 200 yards and two passing TDs, and was Toledo’s leading rusher for 56 yards on 12 carries.
Miami (1-3, 0-0 MAC) defeated UMass at home in overtime last week, 23-20. Dom Dzioban hit a career-long 47-yard field goal on the final play of regulation to force overtime and followed it with a 43-yard kick in the extra session. The RedHawks’ three losses came at Northwestern, at Notre Dame and a home defeat vs. Cincinnati.
Prior to Saturday’s game is the annual Edward C. and Helen G. Schmakel Homecoming Parade, which begins at 10 a.m. in the Old Orchard neighborhood at West Bancroft Street and Campus Road and goes east to Cheltenham Road to Christie Street to Middlesex Drive and back to West Bancroft Street.
Sponsored by Blue Key National Honor Society and supported by the Office of Student Engagement and the Office of Alumni Engagement, the parade will feature floats, dignitaries, alumni, honorees, the Rocket Marching Band, Rocky and Rocksy and more, with Interim President Matt Schroeder as grand marshal.
Those who plan to attend are encouraged to park in Areas 1N, 1S, 2, 12 and 25.
For more information about the Edward C. and Helen G. Schmakel Homecoming Parade, visit the event’s website.
And following the parade is a Pregame Party, from noon to 3 p.m., at William and Carol Koester Alumni Pavilion. Stop by for a free hot dog, chips and non-alcoholic beverages. There will be a cash bar for those 21 and older with proper ID.
