Rockets Ready to Go Bowling in Mobile

Toledo, Ohio - For the seventh time in the last eight seasons, Toledo is going bowling. But this time, the Rockets are going as champions.

   Toledo (11-2, 7-1 MAC) plays Sun Belt co-champion Appalachian State (8-4, 7-1 SBC) in the Dollar General Bowl on Dec. 23 in Mobile, Ala. The contest is a rematch of last year's Raycom Media Camellia Bowl, which the Mountaineers won by a 31-28 score.

   The Rockets head to Mobile for the third time but the first time as Mid-American Conference Champions. Toledo defeated MAC East champion Akron, 45-28, in the MAC Championship Game at Ford Field in Detroit. It was Toledo's 11th MAC title but first since 2004.

   The Rockets are led by senior quarterback and MAC Offensive Player of the Year Logan Woodside. Woodside, who threw for 307 yards and four touchdowns in the MAC title game, has completed 64.9 percent of his passes this year for 3,758 yards and 28 TDs. He is Toledo's all-time leader in career passing yards (10,390), TD passes (93) and passing efficiency (165.2). Toledo's other big weapons on offense are senior running back Terry Swanson (1,319 yards, 14 TDs) and sophomore wide receiver Diontae Johnson (72 receptions, 1,257 yards, 13 TDs). The defense is led by junior defensive end Olasunkanmi Adeniyi (19.5 TFL, 8.5 sacks).

2017 Dollar General Bowl
Toledo vs. Appalachian State

• TEAM RECORDS:
   Toledo (11-2, 7-1 MAC)
   Appalachian State (8-4, 7-1 Sun Belt)

• SERIES RECORD: Appalachian State leads, 1-0. The Mountaineers defeated Toledo, 31-28, at the Raycom Media Camellia Bowl last year.

• THE COACHES:
   Jason Candle, 21-6 (2nd year) at Toledo, same overall. 0-1 vs. Appalachian State.
   Scott Satterfield, 40-22 (fifth year) at Appalachian State, same overall. 1-0 vs. Toledo.

• TV/STREAMING: ESPN/ESPN3
   Play by Play: Dave Neal
   Analyst: Matt Stinchcomb
   Sideline: Dawn Davenport

• ROCKET RADIO NETWORK: Pregame begins at 5:30 p.m. (ET)
   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.

• 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 Roundup
• Toledo (11-2, 7-1 MAC) won the MAC Championship with a 45-28 victory over Akron.
• This was Toledo's 11th MAC championship and first since 2004.
• Toledo won the MAC West Division title, one game ahead of Northern Illinois and Central Michigan. It was the11th time Toledo has earned at least share of the MAC West title, but its first outright crown since 1998.
• This is the fifth time in UT history that a Rocket team has won at least 11 games in a season, most recently an 11-0-1 mark in 1995. The school record is 12 wins, set in 1970 and 1971 (12-0 records both years).
• Toledo has won at least nine games in six of the last seven years.
• This will be Toledo's 17th bowl appearance and seventh in the last eight years. The Rockets are 11-5 in bowl games.
• Toledo is 2-0 in bowl games played in Mobile when the Dollar General Bowl was known by different names. The Rockets beat UTEP in 2005 GMAC Bowl by a score of 45-13, and Arkansas State, 63-44, in January of 2015 (2014 season) in the GoDaddy Bowl.
• Senior quarterback Logan Woodside was named the MAC Offensive Player of the Year, the Vern Smith Award (MAC MVP) winner and the Offensive Player of the Game in the MAC Championship Game.
• Senior Terry Swanson has rushed for 1,319 yards and now ranks fourth at UT with 3,557 career rushing yards.
• Second-year head coach Jason Candle was named 2017 MAC Coach of the Year.

Head Coach Jason Candle previews the Dollar General Bowl

Players Mentioned

Olasunkanmi Adeniyi

Diontae Johnson

Terry Swanson

Logan Woodside

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