Off to a flying start

On an afternoon made for football — blue skies, sunshine, and temperatures in the 60s — Toledo flexed in its most dominant showing of the season, finally flashing the fluid style that had fans excited during the summer.

There was offensive pizzazz and an authoritative defense teaming up for a complete performance in a must-win game. Central Michigan couldn’t solve Dequan Finn, and UT’s defense limited the Chippewas to 285 total yards, equaling a 38-17 victory for the Rockets and an early statement to the Mid-American Conference West.

Come December, it could be viewed as a season-defining day at the Glass Bowl.

“We knew we were going to win this game,” Toledo running back Jacquez Stuart said. “We came in with the mindset [last Sunday] that we’re going to win this game. Each and every day, we’re going to work hard. We came out and executed. And that’s what we did, and we’re going to keep on doing it.”

Suddenly, Toledo (3-2, 1-0 MAC) finds itself as the MAC favorite heading to Northern Illinois, the preseason favorite and defending champion, which lost to Ball State on Saturday and lost quarterback Rocky Lombardi for the season.

The Rockets didn’t waste any time against Central Michigan (1-4, 0-1). There was no feeling-out period on defense, and the offense didn’t need a quarter to get up to speed. It was all gas and no brakes.

Toledo scored four touchdowns in the second quarter, racking up 159 total yards, almost seven yards per play, in building a 31-3 halftime lead.

Last week, Finn, dealing with a bum ankle, strapped the Rockets on his back in the fourth quarter, leading consecutive scoring drives to take a late lead. Saturday was a continuation from San Diego State, with Finn accounting for 270 yards of offense. He completed 13 of 23 pass attempts for 186 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 84 yards.

“He’s the equalizer,” Toledo coach Jason Candle said. “When a quarterback can’t move and can’t run, you’re playing with one less guy on offense. But when you’re playing a guy that can run, it’s always an option for you as a play-caller.”

Stuart (122 yards, TD) and Micah Kelly (64 yards, TD) combined for 186 yards and two touchdowns on 34 carries.

“It felt great,” Stuart said. “I want to thank the O-line. We knew we were going against a good D-line. We prepared every day in practice to make sure all of the gaps were covered. We executed today and had a great day.”

Central Michigan had one drive longer than 41 yards. Lew Nichols, the nation’s leading rusher last season, had 32 yards on 18 carries. As a team, the Chippewas had 33 rushing yards, averaging barely one yard per carry, turning into a predictable, one-dimensional offense.

Quarterback Daniel Richardson was 25 of 46 for 252 yards with two touchdowns.

“Obviously, [Nichols] is a great player, a strong player. Very dynamic,” said UT linebacker Dallas Gant, who had a game-high 13 tackles and two pass breakups. “It’s been an emphasis all week that we have to tackle him, fit our gaps, and do everything possible to stop him. The first step of beating this team is stopping Lew Nichols. I think we did a great job of doing that.”

UT sacked Richardson four times and had seven tackles for loss, and the Rockets forced three turnovers, which led to two touchdowns.

“Turnovers in college football are huge momentum swings,” Candle said. “You have to capitalize when you get turnovers. You have to try and take advantage of it. You see that all across the landscape of college football — can teams get points off of turnovers? That was big for us.”

In the fourth quarter, Central Michigan had an opportunity to cut UT’s lead to 31-24, but the defense made a stand in the red zone. Then the teams traded fumbles on consecutive plays. Another fumble would provide the final margin, with Finn losing the ball on the 1-yard line and Thomas Zsiros recovering it in the end zone.

Last week, the Rockets learned a lesson in defeat. This week, they responded by performing at their highest level all year. Next week, the tutorial is about how to follow up with another energy-filled game.

“My biggest disappointment last week was that they prepared really well, and the process didn’t pay them back with a win,” Candle said. “I thought we had a really good week this week, and the process paid them back today.”

Contact Kyle Rowland at: krowland@theblade.com, or on Twitter @KyleRowland.