Sheffield Lake,Ohio- It may be virtually impossible for the Toledo Rockets to duplicate what Western Michigan accomplished last season by escaping the Mid-American Conference undefeated.
There are new challenges for second year head coach Matt Candle, and plenty of work to be done that makes this year’s run far from easy.
That being said, if the Rockets can hold serve and take full advantage of their home schedule, and IF they can win the majority of the high scoring games they will surely be involved in, they’ll be in Detroit for the MAC championship.
Rockets Offense———–
Toledo’s offense may not be as good as their #7 NCAA ranking last season, but they’ll still be fun to watch. QB Logan Whiteside, who led the nation in 2016 with 45 TDS, with only 9 interceptions and 4129 yds passing returns, along with speedster WR’s Cody Thompson and Jon’Vea Johnson
Gone from the backfield is Kareem Hunt, Terry Swanson returns and is more than capable of carrying the mail.
But the biggest weakness is the loss of TE Michael Roberts, and finding a red zone target for Whiteside is priority one. Hope is that Adam Kulon or Jordan Fisher, or both can fill the hole.
Rockets Defense————
In the past, the Rocket defense was just an anomaly, last year it wasn’t as bad as it was feared. In 2017, the linebackers will be the strength of the defense with Ja’Wuan Woodley leading the way.
Although the defensive line is not a dominant force, they will have enough experience along the line for a decent rotation.
The cornerback tandem of Trevon Mathis and Ka’dar Hollman are good enough one on one and in zone coverages, but the new safeties need to emerge in the new 3-3-5 set.
It all starts August 31, vs Elon, could this be the year for the Rockets? Is it finally their turn?
Team Schedule
DATE OPP TIME/TV
Aug 31 ELON 7:00-ESPN3
Sep 9 @NEV 7:00-ESPN3
Sep 16 TLSA 7:00-ESPN3
Sep 23 @MIAMI TBD-ACCN
Oct 7 EMU TBD
Oct 14 @CMU 3:30
Oct 21 AKR TBD
Oct 26 @BALL 7:00
Nov 2 NIU 6:00
Nov 8 @OHIO TBD
Nov 15 @BGSU TBD
Nov 24 WMU TBD
Vince McKee
August 17, 2017 at 11:09 pm
Great Article Ruben.
My wife Emily McKee, a Toledo Grad is very excited as well!