KALAMAZOO ? As far as early exams go, they don't come any tougher than playing in the Glass Bowl.
Western Michigan (0-2) fell behind early and couldn't recover in suffering a 56-23 loss to defending league champion Toledo in the Mid-American Conference opener for both teams.
Toledo (2-0) jumped out to a 35-0 lead in the first half, scoring on their first five possessions. Five different Rockets found the end zone with three of the scores coming off the arm of quarterback Bruce Gradkowski, who finished 25-of-35 for 338 yards.
WMU scored its first points shortly before halftime when senior quarterback Ryan Cubit hit receiver Jamako Simmons on a 37-yard touchdown pattern. A redshirt freshman, Simmons also pounced on a blocked punt in the fourth quarter, giving WMU special teams its first touchdown of the season.
Returning from an injury that kept him out of the season opener, Cubit finished 20-of-33 for 215 passing yards. Greg Jennings was the biggest recipient of Cubit's work, snagging a team-high eight catches for 72 yards. In the process, Jennings moved into second place in WMU career receptions (164) and receiving yards (2,508).
“I was just hoping that he would give us a spark out there which I thought he did,” said coach Bill Cubit. “We just didn't run the ball effectively early, but then we got a little bit better. By that time, however, it was pretty much out of hand.”
Defensively, the Broncos were led by strong safety Antwain Allen, who compiled 11 tackles.
NOTES: WMU true freshman Kirk Elsworth blocked a punt in the fourth quarter and had six carries in the backfield ... Jim Laney averaged 43.9 yards over seven punts for the Brown & Gold ... UT won its 15th straight home contest and is on a 32-1 stretch at the Glass Bowl ... the game was carried live by Comcast Local.
