 TOLEDOROCKETS.NETYour source for information on Rocket Football! |
TOLEDOROCKETS.NETYour source for information on Rocket Football! |
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By Brian Nowicki 
After a 34-14 victory at Ball State, the Rockets are 5-1 overall and 3-0 in the Mid-American Conference. Toledo is in the driver's seat in the MAC's West Division with a one game lead on Northern Illinois and Central Michigan, and next up for Toledo is a home game against the Buffalo Bulls.Buffalo is 0-6 overall and 0-3 in the Mid-American Conference, but their record is a little deceiving. After losing to three BCS schools to start the season, Buffalo put out a good effort at Western Michigan but lost the game 31-21. The following week the Bulls played Akron in a tight contest, but fell short 13-7. Last week the Buffalo defense intercepted Bowling Green quarterback Omar Jacobs twice and held him to just 187 yards passing. Buffalo did lose the game 27-7 though as once again their offense failed to get much going. To say that Buffalo's offense is struggling is an understatement. They are averaging just 6.3 points per game through six games this season. They have been outscored 38-157 so far. And it's not just points, Buffalo really isn't moving the football at all. They are averaging just 236.2 total yards per game. Part of the problem is in pass protection. Buffalo's quarterbacks have been sacked 25 times for a loss of 184 yards so far this year. Going up against a Rocket defense that leads the MAC in sacks is not going to help those numbers. In fact, Toledo is leading the MAC in scoring defense, rush defense, and total defense. The Rockets are 3rd in the conference in pass defense. One of the main reasons for the defense playing so well is senior linebacker Anthony Jordan. He leads the team with 43 tackles, has 3 tackles for loss, one and a half sacks, a forced fumble, and an interception. Another big reason for the defense playing so well is sophomore free safety Tyrrell Herbert. Many thought that losing Patrick Body to graduation would really hurt the UT defense, but Herbert is playing very well as his replacement. Herbert has 38 tackles, 2 pass breakups, and has forced 5 fumbles. Herbert also plays hard and has made some bone-jarring hits. So with the deck stacked against the Buffalo offense in this game, the Bulls will have to rely on their defense. Only giving up 13 points to a good Akron offfense and then holding Omar Jacobs in check and keeping Bowling Green's high powered offense to just 27 points shows that Buffalo has a sound defense. However, if they are going to have any chance in this game they are gonna need to shutdown the Rocket offense and that is a very tall task. When you think of the Toledo Rockets offensively, many people think of senior QB Bruce Gradkowski and the Spread offense the Rockets run. However, the Rockets have a very good rushing game. In fact, Toledo is ranked 2nd in the MAC in rushing offense, averaging 221.2 yards rushing per game. Senior running back Trinity Dawson has rushed for 100.2 yards per game this year, including 149 yards at Ball State this past weekend. He is averaging 5.7 yards per rush this year, and as a team the Rockets are averaging 5.4 yards per rush. And when it comes to defending the Rockets' passing attack, you never know where the ball is going. Fourteen different players have caught passes this season. In the Ball State game there were nine different players with receptions. Bruce Gradkowski is spreading the ball around like never before seen in the Rockets' offense. Seven different players have caught touchdown passes this year, out of 13 touchdown passes thrown. Four different players have double-digit numbers in receptions and a total of eight different players have 8 or more receptions through six games this season. And that list of 8 players does not include David Washington, who has 4 catches in the last couple of games as he is starting to get more and more playing time after recovering from a knee injury that kept him out of the first couple of games of the season. The last time Buffalo came to the Glass Bowl to face the Rockets was in 2003. That year Buffalo had a pretty decent offense, but lost to the Rockets 56-29. This time around I wouldn't expect as many points on the board for either team, but a similar point differential is expected. At the time this article went to print, Vegas has Toledo as a 31 point favorite over the Buffalo Bulls. That might be a little high, but probably not by much. Have a question or comment for Brian? Email |