Rockets Return Home Looking for Third MAC Win

Toledo, Ohio – The Toledo Rockets will look to make it two straight wins in a matchup with Ball State at the Glass Bowl on Saturday, Nov. 28 (Noon/ESPN3).

The Rockets and the Cardinals have identical 2-1 league records, so the winner will stay in the hunt for a shot at the MAC West Division title and the loser will be on the outside looking in. Western Michigan leads the division with a 3-0 slate.

Toledo is coming off a 45-28 win at Eastern Michigan on Nov. 18 that was not as close as the score indicates. Junior Bryant Koback rushed for a season-high 149 yards and a touchdown to lead Toledo to the victory. The Rockets were buoyed by a strong defense that held Eastern Michigan to 277 yards of total offense, including just 97 in the first half in which the Rockets led 24-7. Toledo led 38-7 late in the third quarter before yielding three late scores to the Eagles.

Ball State has won two consecutive games over Eastern Michigan and Northern Illinois following a season-opening loss at Miami. Senior Caleb Huntley ranks second in the MAC with 437 yards rushing and six TDs.

Rocket Round-Up
   • Toledo leads the all-time series with Ball State, 24-20-1. BSU snapped a five-game losing streak in the series with a 52-14 win in Muncie last year.
   • Junior Bryant Koback leads the Rocket rushing attack with 301 yards and three touchdowns. He now has 2,405 career rushing yards, moving past Joe Schwartz (2,337 from 1970-72) and Adonis Thomas (2,360 from 2008-11) for No. 14 on Toledo's     all-time list. He is 136 yards away from cracking Toledo's all-time Top 10.
   • Koback leads UT with 12 receptions and is one of six Rockets with at least seven catches this season.
   • Senior quarterback Eli Peters has completed 65.6 percent of his passes for 743 yards and seven TDs. He came out of the EMU game with a leg injury in the first half. His status for the Ball State game has not been announced. Sophomore Carter     Bradley stepped in for Peters, completing 5-of-8 passes for 108 yards and two scores.
   • Toledo leads the MAC in total defense (327.3), rushing defense (108.7) and third-down conversion defense (26.8%), and is third in scoring defense (24.0). The Rockets rank seventh in the nation in third-down conversion defense.
   • The Rockets have outscored opponents, 69-21, in the first half.
   • Toledo leads the MAC in time of possession, averaging 36:39 minutes per game.

Toledo vs. Ball State
The Glass Bowl
Saturday, Nov. 28 - Noon (ESPN3)

• TEAM RECORDS:
   Toledo (2-1, 2-1 MAC)
   Ball State (2-1, 2-1 MAC)

• SERIES RECORD: Toledo leads, 24-20-1. The Cardinals won in Muncie last year, 52-14.

• THE COACHES:
   Jason Candle, 36-20 (5th year) at Toledo, same overall. 3-1 vs. BSU.
   Mike Neu, 17-34 (5th year) at BSU, same overall. 1-3 vs. Toledo.

• TV/STREAMING: ESPN3
  Play by Play: Michael Reghi
Analyst: TBA

• ROCKET RADIO NETWORK: Pregame begins at 10:30 a.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.

• TWITTER:
   @ToledoFB: Regular updates on UT Football, live updates on Game Day.

Head Coach Jason Candle weekly press conference.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Bryant Koback

Eli Peters

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