Toledo, Ohio – The Toledo Rockets will look to get back in the win column when they travel to Northern Illinois on Saturday, Dec. 5 (Noon ET/ESPN3). 

Toledo (2-2, 2-2 MAC) is coming off a 27-24 loss to Ball State at the Glass Bowl on Nov. 28. The Rockets scored 15 unanswered points in the fourth quarter against the Cardinals, but a turnover on their final drive of the game ended the comeback attempt.

Senior wide receiver Bryce Mitchell caught touchdown passes from quarterbacks Eli Peters and Carter Bradley in the final minutes of the fourth quarter to bring the Rockets within three. Toledo was driving into BSU territory with a chance to win the game, but Cardinal linebacker Anthony Ekpe broke into the backfield and forced a fumble that was recovered by Ball State to end the game.

Northern Illinois (0-4, 0-4 MAC) is looking for its first win of the season. The Huskies nearly pulled off the upset at Western Michigan on Nov. 28, falling 30-27. NIU held a 27-20 lead in the fourth quarter before the Broncos rallied. Despite its winless record, Northern is third in the MAC in total defense (382.5). Their offense is led by senior quarterback Ross Bowers, who threw for 230 yards and three TDs vs. WMU.

Rocket Round-Up
    • Toledo leads the all-time series with Northern Illinois, 31-16. NIU has won the last two meetings, including a 31-28 victory in Toledo last year.
    • Senior quarterback Eli Peters has completed 68.2 percent of his passes for 1,106 yards and nine TDs. He came out of the Ball State game with an apparent  injury in the fourth quarter. His status for the Northern Illinois game has not been determined. Sophomore Carter Bradley stepped in for Peters, completing 3-of-4 passes for 44 yards and one touchdown.
    • Junior Bryant Koback leads the Rocket rushing attack with 334 yards and three touchdowns. He rushed for 33 yards vs. Ball State, giving him 2,438 career rushing yards, moving past Morgan Williams (2,412 from 2008-11) and Roland Moss (2,421 from 1966-68) into 12th place on Toledo's all-time rushing list.    
    • Koback leads UT with 19 receptions and is one of six Rockets with at least 10 catches this season.
    • Toledo leads the MAC in total defense (357.2), rushing defense (117.2) and third-down conversion defense (29.1%), and is third in scoring defense (24.8). 
    • Toledo is second in the MAC in time of possession, averaging 34:14 minutes per game. NIU is first at 35:33.
    • Junior linebacker Dyontae Johnson leads the Rockets with 30 tackles. He led the team in tackles in each of Toledo's first three games.

Toledo vs. Northern Illinois
Huskie Stadium - DeKalb, Ill.
Saturday, Dec. 5 - Noon ET (11 AM CT)

• TEAM RECORDS: 
    Toledo (2-2, 2-2 MAC)
    Northern Illinois (0-4, 0-4 MAC)

• SERIES RECORD:  Toledo leads, 31-16. NIU beat the Rockets, 31-28, in Toledo last year.

• THE COACHES: 
    Jason Candle, 36-21 (5th year) at Toledo, same overall. 2-2 vs. NIU.
    Thomas Hammock, 5-11 (2nd year) at NIU same overall. 1-0 vs. Toledo.

• TV/STREAMING: ESPN3
    Play by Play: Shawn Kenney 
  Analyst: Bob Chmiel

• 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.