The Arizona offense played with a spark and the defense played respectively, but two sloppy turnovers and the play of Toledo’s quarterback Terrance Owens gave the Rockets a 14-10 lead.
Toledo received the opening kickoff, and other than a a 19-yard pass by Toledo quarterback Austin Dantin on 3rd-and-15, the Arizona defense held strong and forced a punt.
The Wildcat offense came sprinting out of the gate, as the new no-huddle offense was on full display in their opening drive.
Arizona went on an 12-play, 71-yard drive that was capped of with a 26-yard field goal by John Bonano, giving Arizona a 3-0 lead.
Scott went 3-for-5 with 50 yards, but his second incompletion was a drop by wide reciever Richard Morrison. The drop came on a third down pass which would have been an easy touchdown if caught.
Toledo continued to struggle with breaking big plays, but Arizona couldn’t get them off the field as the Rockets converted four-straight third downs.
The Wildcats finally got a stop, forcing a long field goal. The 48-yard kick by Jeremiah Detmer went wide right, keeping the score 3-0 for the UA.
The Arizona offense kept the momentum going on its next drive. After a Scott scramble resulted in a first down, he followed it up with a 33-yard pass to Austin Hill to put the Wildcats in scoring position.
But Morrison again made a mistake in the redzone, as the junior receiver coughed the ball up on the Toledo 11-yard line and the Rockets recovered.
Quarterback Terrance Owens was subbed in for Toledo’s third drive and brought the added spark they needed.
After struggling to produce much with the ground game, the 6-foot-4 Owens scrambled twice for first downs with the Rockets facing third-and-longs.
Then Owens delivered a big play, hitting receiver Alonzo Russell for a 59-yard strike after the redshirt freshman ran past Arizona cornerback Shaquille Richardson, giving Toledo a 7-3 advantage.
The Arizona receivers responded with some nice plays of their own. Senior Dan Buckner caught two passes for 43-yards and then Hill made a spectacular diving catch in the endzone for a 30-yard touchdown, putting Arizona back in the lead 10-7.
Toledo pinned the down to the 1-yard line, but the Wildcats were able to get out of the trouble with some help from Toledo. A long pass interference call and a roughing the passer penalty gave the Wildcats an easy 30-yards.
But Arizona paid them right back with a hold by right tackle Fabbians Ebbele, negating a 67-yard touchdown run by Daniel Jenkins.
The Wildcats couldn’t recover from the penalty and ended up punting after a sack and two incompletions.
Toledo went on a methodical 10 play, 64-yard drive dominated by the running of David Fullen and Cassius McDowell. Fullen capped it off with a 1-yard touchdown run to put Toledo on top 14-10.
Arizona quickly drove down the field through the air, but a receiver again made a crucial mistake.
After catching a 32-yard pass, Hill fumbled the ball as he tried to stretch it into a bigger play and Toledo recovered. But the fumble was just one blemish on an otherwise solid first half for Hill as he finished with 122 yards on five catches with a touchdown.
The Wildcats tried a last-ditch effort to take a lead into half as Scott threw a deep pass from the Toledo 44-yard line. But the pass sailed harmlessly out of bounds. Scott finished the half 17-for-25 with 275 yards and a touchdown.
Arizona had some injuries on the line during the first half. Left guard Chris Putton got hurt in the first quarter and then the backup Cayman Bundage had to leave the game in the second. Senior Shane Zink took over the left guard duties.
