Rockets Host Ball State Wednesday in Critical Senior Night Matchup
11/14/2016 11:53:00 AM | Football
    TOLEDO - Toledo hosts Ball State on Wednesday, Nov. 16 in the final appearance in the Glass Bowl for 23 seniors. Fittingly, the outcome of the contest is critical to the Rockets' hopes of winning the MAC West title and earning a trip to the MAC Championship Game.
         Toledo (8-2, 5-1 MAC) is one game behind MAC West leader Western Michigan (10-0, 6-0 MAC) with two games left to play for both teams. Assuming WMU wins its game vs. Buffalo on Nov. 19, the Rockets must defeat the Cardinals to stay in the race. Toledo and Western Michigan face each other in Kalamazoo in the regular-season finale on Nov. 25.
   The Rockets kept pace in the division thanks to a come-from-behind 31-24 victory vs. Northern Illinois at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago on Nov. 9. Toledo trailed the Huskies, 21-10, in the second half before rallying for the win. Senior running back Kareem Hunt scored the game-winning touchdown with 1:15 left. Redshirt freshman Aaron Covington clinched the win by intercepting NIU's Ryan Graham's pass at the UT 20-yard line with 33 seconds left. The victory snapped a six-game losing streak to NIU, with many of those previous losses knocking UT out of the hunt for a MAC title.
       Ball State (4-6, 1-5 MAC) is coming off a 48-41 home-field loss to Eastern Michigan on Nov. 8. The teams combined for Scheumann Stadium records of 89 points and 1,164 yards. The Cardinals have dropped three straight MAC games. Their sole conference win was a 31-21 victory at Buffalo on Oct. 15. BSU is led by sophomore running back James Gilbert, who leads the MAC with 1,196 yards rushing and 12 TDs.
Rocket Round-Up
• Toledo is one game behind Western Michigan in the MAC West Division, and can earn at least a share of the division title and a trip to the MAC Championship Game by defeating Ball State and WMU on Nov. 25.
• Toledo holds a 21-19-1 edge in the series with Ball State. The Rockets won in Muncie last year, 24-10, and hold a two-game winning streak in the series.
• Logan Woodside was named a "contender" for the Heisman Trophy by the Heisman Trophy Trust. Woodside leads the nation with 37 touchdown passes.
• Senior RB Kareem Hunt compiled 122 yards on 19 carries vs. NIU to surpass the 1,000-yard mark on the season (1,048). He now has 4,518 career yards, second all-time at UT and just 331 yards off the record held by Chester Taylor (4,849 from 1998-2001).
• Senior TE Michael Roberts tallied his 11th and 12th TD passes of the season vs. NIU, which moved him into second place all-time at UT for season TD catches. The school record is held by Lance Moore with 14 in 2014.
• UT is bowl-eligible for the seventh-straight season.
• Junior WR Cody Thompson cracked the 1,000-yard mark in receiving yards in the NIU game. Thompson ranks eighth in receiving yards in a single-season with 1,021. The Toledo record-holder is Lance Moore with 1,194 yards in 2003.
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Toledo vs. Ball State
• TEAM RECORDS:
   Toledo (8-2, 5-1 MAC)
   Ball State (4-6, 1-5 MAC)
• SERIES RECORD: Toledo leads, 21-19-1. The Rockets won in Muncie last year, 24-10.
• THE COACHES:
   Jason Candle, 9-2 (1st full year) at Toledo, same overall. 0-0 vs. BSU.
   Mike Neu, 4-6 (1st year) at Ball State, same overall. 0-0 vs. Toledo.
• TV/STREAMING: ESPN2/ESPN3.
 Play by Play: Dave LaMont
 Analyst: Desmond Howard
 Sideline: Quint Kessenich
• ROCKET RADIO NETWORK: Pregame begins at 5:30 p.m.
 Play by Play: Brent Balbinot
 Analyst: Austin Dantin
 Sidelines: Jim Heller
• 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:
  @UTPaulHelgren: Daily updates on UT Football.
  @ToledoFB: Live updates on Game Day.
  @ToledoRockets: Updates for all Rocket sports.
Head Coach Jason Candle previews Ball State game.
Senior safety DeJuan Rogers previews Ball State game.
Junior quarterback Logan Woodside previews Ball State game.
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