For the first time in 13 years, the University of Toledo enters a football season preparing to defend the Mid-American Conference Championship. But third-year Head Coach Jason Candle and his team will neither be looking back nor looking ahead to what could be on the horizon in December. The focus is on getting better right now.

    The first item in front of the Rockets is the season opener on Sept. 1 vs. VMI, an FCS team from the Southern Conference. 

    "It's a long process to even have a chance to play for a championship, and we are certainly a long way away from that right now," said Candle, the 2017 MAC Coach of the Year. "But I'm pleased with how we are doing to this point. We are doing a good job of honing in on the details that lead to success. Our guys are coming together as a team. At this point, that's all you can really ask for."

    Candle announced on Monday that junior Mitchell Guadagni will be the Rockets' starting quarterback, though he added that sophomore Eli Peters could see some reps at signal-caller, as well.

    The Rockets were 11-3 in Candle's second season as head coach, defeating Akron in the MAC title game and then advancing to the Dollar General Bowl vs. Appalachian State. Toledo did lose some key players on both sides of the ball but returns 14 starters, plus two other starters who missed most of 2017 due to injury.     

    VMI is rebuilding after an 0-11 season in 2017. Fourth-year head coach Scott Wachenheim's squad returns 60 letterwinners, including seven starters on offense and five on defense.   

Rocket Round-Up
    • Toledo (11-3, 7-1 MAC in 2017) returns 14 starters and 49 letterwinners from last year's MAC Championship squad. Six starters return on offense, six on defense and two on special teams.
    • The Rockets were picked to finish second in the West Division in voting by members of the league's media contingent. 
    • Toledo and VMI have never played in football. The Rockets are 23-2 all-time vs. schools from the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) since Division I schools were split into two divisions in 1978.
    • Toledo has won at least nine games in six of the last seven years. Its 11 wins last year were the most since an 11-0-1 season in 1995.
    • In 2017, Toledo led the MAC in total offense (483.9), was second in scoring offense (36.4) and passing offense (279.9), and was third in rushing offense (204.0). 
    • Diontae Johnson set the school record with 1,278 receiving yards in 2017, breaking the previous mark of 1,269 set by teammate Cody Thompson in 2016.
    • Leading returning rushers for Toledo are sophomore Shakif Seymour (702 yards, 12 TDs in 2017) and junior Art Thompkins (629 yards).
    • Toledo will feature a new quarterback this fall to fill the shoes of its all-time passing leader Logan Woodside. Woodside, who set UT records for TD passes (93) and passing yardage (10,514), was selected in the seventh round of the NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals. 

Toledo vs. VMI

• TEAM RECORDS (2017): 
    Toledo (11-3, 7-1 MAC)
    VMI (0-11, 0-8 Southern)

• SERIES RECORD: First meeting.

• THE COACHES: 
    Jason Candle, 21-7 (3rd year) at Toledo, same overall. 0-0 vs. VMI.
    Scott Wachenheim, 5-28 (fourth year) at VMI, same overall. 0-0 vs. Toledo.

• TV/STREAMING: ESPN3
    Play by Play: Michael Reghi
    Analyst: Barrett Brooks

• ROCKET RADIO NETWORK: Pregame begins at 5:30 p.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 beginning Sept. 3 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.


Head Coach Jason Candle previews the Week 1 matchup against VMI.