Bernard Reedy is mobbed by teammates after his third quarter kickoff return for a TD. (Andrew Weber-US PRESSWIRE)
TOLEDO, Ohio — Bernard Reedy has now found the end zone on special teams in three straight games, and his most recent score has proved to be his best.
Reedy’s 91-yard kickoff return put Toledo back in front, and the Rockets held on from there for a 29-23 victory over 18th-ranked Cincinnati (5-1), despite not scoring an offensive touchdown, on Saturday night at the Glass Bowl.
It was the first win for Toledo (7-1) over a ranked opponent since 2004 and its sixth victory over a BCS opponent in the last seven years. Last year the Rockets came oh-so-close to defeating then-No. 15 Ohio State in the Horseshoe.
“We’ve been in these games [against ranked opponents] and been so close to winning,” Toledo coach Matt Campbell said, “but we haven’t been able to win those football games and take that next step. Tonight was all about poise.”
Cincinnati grabbed its first lead of the contest at the 2:08 mark of the third quarter when Munchie Legaux heaved a ball up for grabs to the corner of the end zone, and Damon Julian came down with it between two defenders for a 25-yard TD reception.
But Toledo had an answer on the ensuing kickoff when Reedy scampered down the middle of the field to put the Rockets back in front 26-20.
Reedy also caught five passes for 72 yards and accounted for 229 all-purpose yards.
“He’s so explosive,” Cincinnati coach Butch Jones said of Reedy. “He can change the complexion of a game in a hurry, and that’s what he did.”
Cincinnati cut into Toledo’s lead with Tony Miliano’s third field goal, a 41-yarder with 11:30 remaining that made it 26-23. That would be it for the Bearcats, though, whose defense could not get a much-needed stop down the stretch.
Jeremiah Detmer punctuated the victory with a 25-yard field goal – his fifth of the contest – with 42 seconds left, and Jordan Haden sealed it with an interception on Legaux’s deep ball with 12 seconds remaining.
Toledo cashed in on a key offensive miscue by the Bearcats to jump out to a 13-0 first quarter advantage and led 16-13 at halftime.
Legaux hit Toledo safety Jermaine Robinson in the numbers on an errant throw to the near sideline midway through the first quarter, and Robinson returned it for a 75-yard touchdown to put the Rockets ahead 10-0 at the 7:50 mark of the first quarter.
Legaux finished 15-of-36 passing for 227 yards, one touchdown and the interception. He also rushed for 86 yards on a team-high 16 carries.
“He threw it right to me,” Robinson said. “I just had to catch it and finish the play.”
Legaux made up for the error with a 2-yard touchdown run with 11:34 left in the second quarter, and Tony Miliano added a pair of field goals from 40 and 37 yards for the Bearcats in the first half.
Detmer’s other field goals came from 43, 42, 47 and 20 for the Rockets.
David Fluellen led Toledo with 161 rushing yards on 25 carries, while Terrance Owens was 13-of-24 passing for 126 yards.
“I thought offensively we played really well from the 20 to the 20, and we got down in the red zone and unfortunately had to kick field goals,” Campbell said. “J.D. Detmer had a great night, but I think what it says is that our defense has gotten leaps and bounds better from where we were.”
NOTES: Cincinnati defensive end Walter Stewart did not play due to an “undisclosed upper body injury” suffered in last week’s 49-17 win over Fordham. Stewart leads the Bearcats and is third in the Big East with five sacks. … This was the first meeting between the two schools in more than a decade. Toledo claimed a 23-16 victory over Cincinnati in the 2001 Motor City Bowl. … The Bearcats are the third-highest ranked team to face Toledo on its home field. The Rockets faced then-No. 4 Boise State last season and squared off with then-No. 9 Pittsburgh in 2003.
