Posts Tagged ‘toledo’

Midweek MACtion comes to an end tonight with the Battle of I-80 when Akron visits Toledo at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2. 

After ripping off eight straight wins, Matt Campbell's team has now lost two straight games, including last week's 31-24  decision to cede the MAC West to Northern Illinois. A win tonight is imperative for the Rockets to improve their bowl standing, as the MAC bowl picture could be quite crowded with the possibility of producing six eight-win teams. The MAC has three direct bowl tie-ins and two secondary tie-ins, so the Rockets don't want to risk getting lost in the shuffle. 

At 1-10, Terry Bowden and Akron haven't had much success this season. The Zips can do one thing exceedingly well - throw the ball. They lead the MAC with over 317 passing yards per game, but with 28 touchdowns and 17 interceptions, the second most in the MAC, Akron drops to seventh in passing efficiency. Akron has thrown the ball a MAC-leading 537 times, and throws the ball on more than 60 percent of its snaps. 

Toledo, for its efforts, ranks just 10th in the conference in total defense and ninth in passing efficiency defense. A successful offense (455 yards, 33 points per game) will be buoyed by a defense that allows 450 yards and 36 points per game.

There may not be a whole lot on the line tonight, but, if nothing else, expect Midweek MACtion to go out in style.

There may be a presidential election going on today, but the eyes of the nation will clearly be in Toledo, Ohio, for Toledo's clash with Ball State. 

Things are going well right now for Toledo. The Rockets just entered the AP Top 25 for the first time since 2001 and are tied atop the MAC West with Northern Illinois. Ball State has also enjoyed a successful season, riding a three-game winning streak and at 6-3 the Cardinals hope to make their first bowl trip since 2008. Pete Lembo's team also won six games last year but did not play in a bowl game, so a win tonight will go a long way toward Ball State's postseason plans. 

There are many similarities between Toledo and Ball State. First, both programs are led by young head coaches. Matt Campbell and Pete Lembo were both used as examples in FootballScoop's study of the success of young head coaches. 

Next, both of these squads have played their final Saturday game in the regular season. Each team's next game is on next Wednesday as Toledo will visit Northern Illinois and Ball State hosts Ohio. The Cardinals close the regular season on Friday, Nov. 23, at Miami (Ohio), and Toledo completes its regular season slate on Tuesday, Nov. 20, at home versus Akron. Such is life inside the national phenomenons known as MACtion.

Both teams choose to win with their offense. Each squad ranks in the top third of FBS teams in rushing offense, total offense and scoring offense. They also are among the bottom 15 FBS teams in total defense, but Toledo has managed to be a touchdown per game better than Ball State in scoring defense. The Cardinals allow 33.3 points per game, while the Rockets surrender 26.7 points per game. 

Each team has been particularly vulnerable through the air (Toledo is 110th in pass defense, Ball State is 98th) but the Rockets' defense has a better touchdown-to-interception ratio, with 18 touchdowns against 12 interceptions, than Ball State's 22-to-6 ratio. 

The biggest difference between these two teams is turnover margin. Based on their average margins, Toledo should win this match-up by at least one takeaway. Ball State failed to win the turnover battle in each of its previous three losses. 

Like the presidential election, tonight's game should be close. Outside of the loss to Clemson, every one of Ball State's game has been decided by 12 points or less. Toledo's last two games have also been decided by a total of 11 points. 

Let the MACtion commence. 

Taking a look at the MAC standings earlier today, we couldn't help but notice how strong the top teams in each division look through the first eight weeks of the season.

Ohio (7-0) is the lone undefeated team, while Toledo (7-1), Northern Illinois (7-1) and Kent State (6-1) all have one loss each. MACtion at its finest.

Kent State started off their first seven games last season 1-6 under Darrell Hazell, and Hazell now has the Golden Flashes with that record reversed, sitting at 6-1 (with their only loss coming to Kentucky), and 4-0 in conference play. Their numbers on the offensive side of the ball, particularly running the rock, have made huge strides. Last season Kent State ranked 119th nationally in rushing offense through seven games (75 ypg), this season they rank 27th (210 ypg). Coach Hazell and his staff look like they're in the beginning stages of a turnaround. Dating back to last season, Kent State has won 11 of their past 13 games, with their only losses coming to Temple and Kentucky.

Ohio opened their season up with a big win over Penn State, and has carried that momentum to a 7-0 start, including three conference wins. Frank Solich has his guys playing their best in close games. All but one of their FBS games have been decided by 10 points or less,

After losing their season opener in a thrilling fashion against Arizona in OT, Toledo has come back to rattle off seven straight wins, including their big win last Saturday over a Cincinnati program that had put together 10 win seasons in four of the past five years. Very solid start under first year head coach Matt Campbell.

Northern Illinois is another MAC team off to a great start under second year head coach Dave Doeren. Their only loss of the season also came during their season opener, a disappointing one point (17-18) loss to Wisconsin  Iowa. Since that loss, the Huskies have put together four wins of with a margin of 21points or more. Now in his second season, Doeren has led the program to a record of 18-4, and has helped them collect their first MAC title since 1983 and a top five APR rating in the country. 

Below is a very well done clip from the Huskies, who are trying to put together three consectutive double digit win seasons for the first time in school history. This one is very well put together.

The Quest for Greatness - 2012 Toledo Rockets from Toledo Football Rockets Video on Vimeo.

First year Toledo head coach Matt Campbell has done a terrific job of  winning close ball games through the early part of the year, and has the Rockets picking up this season right where they left off in 2011. Their largest margin of victory through the first eight games is 20 points.

After finishing last season 9-4, the Rockets have gotten off to a fast start, currently sitting at 7-1, and 4-0 in MAC play, with their lone loss of the season coming to Arizona in an overtime thriller in the season opener (24-17). 

Here's a well done video that highlights the first half of the Rockets season, and one that they hope is the first step in their "Quest for Greatness." Very well produced, and really gets the message across without using more than a few words.

This weekend, Toledo takes on Buffalo on the road, and then comes back to Ohio for a night game against Ball State before rounding out the season with a big test at Northern Illinois and then wrapping up the regular season at home against Akron.

It's hard to believe we're sitting at the halfway point of the 2012 college football season. We could have sworn Labor Day was just a week or two ago. Regardless, 50 percent of the season is already in the books. Here's what we found noteworthy from Week 7 of the college football slate.

1. Move over Ohio, is New Hampshire the new Cradle of Coaches? Probably not, but this stat (courtesy of Bruce Feldman) is astounding: Coaches from the state of New Hampshire, Chip Kelly and Dan Mullen, currently sit at 12-0 so far this season. Not bad for a state with zero FBS programs and just one FBS signee in 2012. 

2. Speaking of the Buckeye State, Ohio stands as the top state in college football right now. Urban Meyer is 7-0 and ranked No. 7 in the AP poll in his first season at Ohio State. Butch Jones is 5-0 and ranked No. 21 at Cincinnati. Frank Solich has Ohio at 7-0 and No. 25 in the AP. In fact, the MAC East standings read Ohio, Kent State (5-1, 3-0), Bowling Green (4-3, 2-1) and Miami of Ohio (3-4, 2-1) while Toledo also sits atop the MAC West at 6-1 and 4-0 in the league. Ohio's seven FBS teams are a combined 38-14. Oh yeah, and Mount Union is also 5-0 and has allowed only seven points all season. 

3. Arkansas seems to have put the wheels back on the wagon. One week after handling Auburn 24-7, the Razorbacks again looked like the top 10 team many expected to see in a 49-7 dismantling of Kentucky. No coach in the country could use a two-game winning streak more than the embattled John L. Smith. Yes, the wins came against teams that are a combined 0-8 in the SEC. But when you are 1-4, a two-game winning streak is a two-game winning streak.

4. Duke missed its first chance at bowl eligibility. David Cutcliffe's team jumped out in front of Virginia Tech 20-0 only to see the Hokies reel off the game's final 41 points. Duke's next three opponents (North Carolina, Clemson and Florida State) are a combined 16-4 until a date with 2-4 Georgia Tech in Atlanta on Nov. 17.

#Duke's David Cutcliffe reiterates Tuesday statement that #Hokies' Frank Beamer is the top coach in the country

— Laura Keeley (@laurakeeley) October 10, 2012

5. Congrats to James Franklin and Vanderbilt for finally cracking the code to Florida's fourth quarter defense. After not allowing a point in any fourth quarter this season, Vanderbilt managed to register 10 points in the final frame on Saturday night. It wasn't enough to pull the upset as Will Muschamp's team improved to 6-0 with a 31-17 win. After being outscored 72-22 in fourth quarters last season, the Gators hold a 54-10 fourth quarter edge this season. Florida also claims come-from-behind wins over Texas A&M, Tennessee, LSU and Vanderbilt. Conditioning was clearly an emphasis of Muschamp in the off-season, and strength coach Jeff Dillman has definitely succeeded in transforming his team.

6. We're glad to see that Jerry Kill plans to coach again this Saturday. Kill suffered a seizure in his private locker room less than an hour after Minnesota's 21-13 loss to Northwestern on Saturday. Coach Kill was released from a Minneapolis hospital on Sunday morning.

7. Wisconsin has returned to form after a shaky start to the season. New offensive coordinator Matt Canada and interim offensive line coach Bart Miller have found their footing, and the Badgers' offense is back to its old ways. In a 38-14 win over Purdue, the Wisconsin offense rushed 57 times for 467 yards and four touchdowns. Starting tailback Montee Ball contributed 247 yards and three touchdowns on 29 rushes. After rushing for just 3.3 yards per carry over their first five games, Wisconsin is churning out 7.1 yards per attempt over its last two games. The Badgers are 5-2 and 2-1 in the Big Ten, a full two wins ahead of the pack of bowl-eligible teams in the Leaders Division.

8. Oregon will face an interesting challenge at Arizona State on Thursday night. In his first season in Tempe, Todd Graham has the Sun Devils sitting at 5-1 and ranked No. 24 in the Coaches Poll. Paul Randolph's defense is far and away the best unit in the Pac-12 on paper. Arizona State leads the league in total defense by nearly 60 yards per game over second place USC. The Sun Devils is giving up just 3.92 yards per play, nearly a full yard better than the rest of the conference. Randolph's unit also leads the conference in pass efficiency defense (4.86 yards per attempt), and its 3.23 yards per carry allowed is over a full yard better than Oregon's Pac-12 opposition to date. And then there's this: the last time Oregon traveled to the Grand Canyon State on a Thursday night was in 2007 when the No. 2 ranked Ducks lost to Arizona, 34-24. Chip Kelly and co. will hope history doesn't repeat itself this week. Scott and Zach from our staff will be at this game. More on this to come later in the week.

9. Notre Dame trailed for the first time this season on Saturday. The Fighting Irish actually trailed for a full quarter against Stanford after falling behind 10-3 at halftime; they didn't tie the game until a 24-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter. Brian Kelly's team trailed again 13-10 before scoring the game's final 10 points in a 20-13 overtime win. Bob Diaco's defense still has not (officially) surrendered an offensive touchdown in four full games. 

10. Midweek action begins this week in college football. Starting with Louisiana - Lafayette at North Texas tomorrow night, we will have Tuesday or Wednesday night football all but one week through Thanksgiving.