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TOLEDO 42, UMASS 35

UMass falls to Toledo on late TD

The UMass defense had a difficult time stopping Toledo’s Kareem Hunt, who ran for 198 yards and this 36-yard touchdown in the third quarter.KATIE RAUSCH/THE BLADE/Katie Rausch
Toledo42
UMass35

TOLEDO, Ohio — After winning back-to-back games in convincing fashion, the University of Massachusetts experienced a flashback to a number of games this year in Saturday’s 42-35 loss to Toledo.

UMass (2-7, 2-3 Mid-American Conference) went back and forth with what coach Mark Whipple called the best team in the league, but allowed a back-breaking touchdown with less than a minute to play.

“I thought our guys were ready to go,” Whipple said. “Our guys battled all the way through. We had a chance, made some mistakes in the second half, but Toledo had something to do with that.”

Minutemen quarterback Blake Frohnapfel threw a 76-yard touchdown pass to Jean Sifrin to knot the game at 35 with 5:57 to play in the fourth quarter.

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Frohnapfel completed 28 of 55 passes for 438 yards, five touchdowns, and pair of interceptions. Sifrin hauled in six catches for 185 yards and a score.

The Rockets (5-3, 4-0) were forced to punt on the ensuing possession, giving Massachusetts the ball at its own 42-yard line. But a false start on Sifrin pushed UMass back to the Toledo 40, and the Minutemen eventually had to punt.

Toledo then went 80 yards on seven plays in just 2:22. Terry Swanson ran into the end zone untouched from 19 yards. Whipple said he instructed his defense to allow Toledo to score.

“I thought it was the only chance we had to win,” he said. “They’ve got the best kicker in the league, they’ve got two timeouts. There’s nothing else you can do.”

Massachusetts got the ball back with 34 seconds left. On first down from the UMass 48, Frohnapfel forced a throw into coverage and was picked off by Trevon Mathis with five seconds remaining.

“Thirty-four seconds isn’t a lot of time, but we’ve gone down the field that fast before, so we knew we had a chance to make a play,” Frohnapfel said. “We were moving the ball pretty well and we thought we had a chance to do it.”

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The loss was UMass’s fifth this season by 7 points or fewer, and it eliminated the Minutemen from bowl contention. UMass has lost three times after carrying a lead into the fourth quarter. Although they didn’t lead after the second quarter on Saturday, it didn’t hurt any less.

“It feels the same to me,” said safety Joe Colton. “This game meant more because we felt if we win this game, we’ll run the table the rest of the way in the MAC. It feels like another game we let go. It’s the same thing.”

The Minutemen got off to a fast start with an opening 14-play, 80-yard drive that ended with Frohnapfel finding Jalen Williams open in the end zone for a 15-yard touchdown. UMass converted on third and 11, third and 18, fourth and 1, and third and 10 on the drive.

UMass’s season-long kicking troubles popped up immediately, as Logan Laurent missed his fourth extra point of the year. He also missed a 43-yard field goal wide left in the third quarter that would have given UMass a 23-21 lead.

The Minutemen went ahead, 20-7, when Frohnapfel found receiver Shakur Nesmith for a 15-yard TD with 13:05 to go in the second quarter.

Toledo took a 21-20 lead with 11:08 remaining in the third quarter. On fourth and 3 from the UMass 42, quarterback Logan Woodside fired a pass to Corey Jones, who slipped a tackle near the 30 and sprinted down the sideline for a TD.

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Two plays after a Frohnapfel interception midway through the third, Toledo’s Kareem Hunt rumbled 36 yards, breaking three tackles on his way to the end zone and a 28-20 lead.

Hunt ran wild on UMass, rushing for 198 yards on 26 carries, an average of 7.6 yards per attempt.

UMass’s Tajae Sharp caught seven balls for 75 yards, including a 36-yard TD with 11:57 to play. He got one foot down just inside the pylon. A 2-point conversion pass tied the game at 28.

UMass lost linebacker Jovan Santos-Knox to an apparent arm injury. The team’s leading tackler was wearing a sling after the game, but Whipple said he wouldn’t know the extent of the injury until next week.

The Minutemen are off until Nov. 12, when they host Ball State.

“It’s a play here, a play there,” Whipple said. “We’ve learned a lot this year, and this will be another lesson.”