TOLEDO, Ohio – It's November, and in the world of college football, that means MACtion, and with MACtion comes the annual showdown between Toledo and Northern Illinois. The Rockets and Huskies meet in the Glass Bowl on Wednesday, Nov. 13 (8:00 p.m. /ESPN2). In every single season since 2010, Toledo and NIU have met in November with the MAC West title still at stake for one or both schools. Despite the fact that both teams have multiple conference losses this season, this year's matchup could be a factor in determining the West Division representative to the MAC Championship Game on Dec. 7.

     Toledo (6-3, 3-2 MAC) is still in the thick of the division race. The Rockets are a half-game behind Western Michigan and Central Michigan (both 4-2) and tied with Ball State (3-2). Toledo and CMU meet in the season finale in Mount Pleasant on Nov. 29. For NIU (3-6, 2-3 MAC), on the other hand, a loss to the Rockets would officially knock them out of the race.

    Toledo is coming off two consecutive home wins, most recently a 35-33 thriller over Kent State on Nov. 5. Junior Shakif Seymour rushed for a career-high 175 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Rockets. Seymour, taking over as Toledo's main running option due to a first-half injury to sophomore Bryant Koback, gained 40 yards and two first downs in Toledo's final possession as the Rockets ran out the clock and held on to the victory.

    Northern Illinois is coming off a 48-10 loss at Central Michigan on Nov. 2. The Huskies rank third in the MAC in total defense, allowing an average 372.7 yards per game. The offense is led by senior quarterback Ross Bowers, who is second in the MAC with 243.4 yards passing per contest.

Toledo vs. Northern Illinois

• TEAM RECORDS: 
    Toledo (6-3, 3-2 MAC)
    Northern Illinois (3-6, 2-3 MAC)

• SERIES RECORD:  Toledo leads, 31-15. NIU beat the Rockets, 38-15, in DeKalb last year.

• THE COACHES: 
    Jason Candle, 34-16 (4th year) at Toledo, same overall. 2-1 vs. Northern Illinois.
    Thomas Hammock, 3-6 (1st year) at NIU same overall. 0-0 vs. Toledo.

• TV/STREAMING: ESPN2
    Play by Play: Anish Shroff 
    Analyst: John Congemi 
   Sideline: Kris Budden 

• ROCKET RADIO NETWORK: Pregame begins at 6:30 p.m.
   Play by Play: Brent Balbinot
    Analyst: Jack Miller
    Sidelines: Mike Robinson

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

• COACH'S SHOW: Coach Jason Candle and host Brent Balbinot talk Rocket Football every Monday beginning Aug. 26 from 6-7 p.m. at Stubborn Brother Pizza. Carried live on WSPD-AM1370 and UTRockets.com,  with live streaming video on the BCSN Now app.

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

Rocket Round-Up
    • Toledo (3-2 MAC) trails MAC West Division leaders CMU and WMU (both 4-2) by a half-game, and is tied with Ball State.
    • Starting running back Bryant Koback and starting quarterback Eli Peters both left the Kent State game with injuries. Their status for the NIU game has not been announced.
    • Toledo ranks first in the MAC and 12th in the nation in rushing offense (249.9) and second in the MAC in total offense (449.2).
    • Toledo has used three different starters at quarterback this year: Mitchell Guadagni (6), Eli Peters (2) and Carter Bradley (1).
    • Toledo's defense has allowed touchdowns on 15-of-30 (50.0%) red-zone opportunities, the lowest percentage in the MAC.
    • Before coming out of the Kent State game, Bryant Koback rushed for 67 yards, giving him 1,052 for the season, the 16th Rocket ever to crack the 1000-yard mark. He is second in the league with 116.9 rushing yards per game.
     • Toledo is one of nine FBS teams that have had a winning record over the past nine years (83-40 record since 2010).


Head Coach Jason Candle gives his final thoughts on game against Kent State; previews upcoming matchup with Northern Illinois.