With the non-conference portion of the season in their rear-view mirror, the Toledo Rockets open Mid-American Conference play against an up-and-coming Eastern Michigan squad. Toledo hosts the Eagles in its annual Homecoming game on Saturday, Oct. 7 (noon on CBS Sports Network).

        Toledo (3-1) had an extra week to prepare for EMU thanks to a bye last week. UT's most recent game was a 52-30 defeat at No. 14 Miami (Fla.) on Sept. 23. Senior quarterback Logan Woodside threw for 342 yards but it wasn't enough to overcome the Hurricanes. Toledo led at the half, 16-10, but Miami controlled the final 30 minutes of the contest. 

        The Miami loss came after three consecutive Rocket victories vs. Elon, Nevada and Tulsa to open the season. Woodside has been superb, leading the MAC in just about every passing category, and ranking eighth in the nation in passing yardage (336.5 yards/game) and 10th in passing efficiency (169.3). Senior Cody Thompson has been his top target, hauling in a team-best 27 receptions and 126.2 receiving yards per game.

    Eastern Michigan (2-2, 0-1 MAC) may have its best team in many years. EMU, which lost 24-20 at Kentucky last week, defeated Rutgers, 16-13, on Sept. 16, its first win ever against a Big Ten opponent. The Eagles nearly pulled off another big win in their conference opener, falling to defending East Division champion Ohio, 27-20, in double overtime on Sept. 23. The Eagles are led by senior quarterback Brogan Roback, who ranks third in the MAC with 263.5 yards passing per game.

Toledo vs. Eastern Michigan

• TEAM RECORDS: 
    Toledo (3-1, 0-0 MAC)
    Eastern Michigan (2-2, 0-1 MAC)

• SERIES RECORD: Toledo leads, 33-11. The Rockets have won 10 consecutive games in the series and 16 of the last 17.

• THE COACHES: 
    Jason Candle, 13-5 (2nd year) at Toledo, same overall. 1-0 vs. EMU.
    Chris Creighton, 12-29 (4th year) at EMU, 151-75 overall (21st year). 0-3 vs. Toledo.

• TV/STREAMING: CBS Sports Network
    Play by Play: Ben Holden
    Analyst: Jay Feely 
    Sideline: John Schriffen

• ROCKET RADIO NETWORK: Pregame begins at 10:30 a.m.
    Play by Play: Brent Balbinot
    Analyst: Bruce Gradkowski
    Sidelines: Mike Robinson

• WEB-AUDIO: Free live audio streaming of the UT Rocket Radio Network broadcast on UTRockets.com. 

• UT COACH'S SHOW: Coach Jason Candle and host Brent Balbinot talk Rocket Football every Monday from 6-7 p.m. at Frickers in Maumee. Carried live on WSPD-AM1370 and online on UTRockets.com.

• TWITTER: 
    @ToledoFB: Regular updates on UT Football, live updates on Game Day.
    @UTPaulHelgren: Regular updates on UT Football.
    @ToledoRockets: Updates for all Rocket sports.

Rocket Round-Up
• Toledo (3-1, 0-0 MAC) had a bye last week. UT's most recent game was a 52-30 defeat at Miami (Fla.) on Sept. 23. 
• Toledo leads the series with EMU, 33-11. Toledo won at Ypsilanti last year, 35-20. The Rockets have won 10 consecutive games in the series and 16 of the last 17. The last EMU victory at Toledo came in 1999, a string of eight straight Rocket wins in the Glass Bowl.
• Senior QB Logan Woodside leads the MAC in passing yards (336.5), passing efficiency (169.3) and touchdown passes (11). 
• Woodside now has 7,978 career passing yards, good for third place on Toledo's all-time list. He needs 226 yards to pass Terrance Owens (8,203 from 2010-13) for the second spot. Bruce Gradkowski (2002-05) is tops with 9,225 yards.
• Woodside's 76 career TD passes also trail Gradkowski. He needs 10 scoring tosses to pass Gradkowski's record of 85.
• Junior Jameson Vest was three-for-three on field goal attempts vs. Miami, including a 49-yarder that tied his career long. Vest has made 11-of-12 field goal attempts this season. His ranks second in the nation with 11 field goals.
• Woodside and Vest were named MAC West players of the week in each of Toledo's past two games.
• Senior Cody Thompson leads the MAC is receptions (6.8/game) and receiving yards (126.2). He has gone over 100 yards receiving in each of Toledo's first four games.


Head Coach Jason Candle previews the Eastern Michigan game.


Logan Woodside previews the Eastern Michigan game.


Marquise Moore previews the Eastern Michigan game.