NASSAU, Bahamas – The University of Toledo football team departed for the Bahamas on Monday, arriving at the Atlantis resort in the late afternoon for the first day of their trip at the Bahamas Bowl in Nassau. Toledo (7-5) will face Middle Tennessee State (6-6) at Thomas A. Robinson Stadium on Friday (Noon/ESPN).

The Rockets departed from Toledo Express Airport at 12:30 p.m., landing at Nassau Airport at 3:30, arriving at the hotel a short while later. Toledo will hold its first practice in the Bahamas on Tuesday morning at 9:15 a.m. Later in the day, the travel parties for both teams will attend a Beach Bash.

"This is a great experience and a great way to finish up our season," head coach Jason Candle said. "Obviously a bowl game is a reward for a good season, and this gives us a chance to end the season the right way. We have 13 seniors we want to send out the right way with a victory. If you can have that experience and have some fun doing it, that's the main goal. I'm looking forward to a great week here at Atlantis. The hospitality here is always first-rate."

The Rockets will be playing in their 19th bowl game in program history and their sixth in the last eight seasons. Toledo enters its bowl game having posted three straight wins, most recently a 49-14 home triumph over Akron. Redshirt freshman quarterback Dequan Finn threw for 257 yards and four touchdowns in the victory, with junior Bryant Koback pacing the Rockets on the ground with 135 yards and two touchdowns.

Boosted by a strong end to the regular season, the Rockets enter the Bahamas Bowl leading the MAC in both scoring offense (34.2) and scoring defense (21.0). Toledo will be led by a strong core of players that earned 11 All-MAC honors, including five first-team selections: senior offensive lineman Bryce Harris, senior defensive backs Tycen Anderson and Samuel Womack, junior running back Bryant Koback, and junior outside linebacker Jamal Hines.

Middle Tennessee has won two of its last three games, including a 27-17 road victory at Florida Atlantic on Saturday, Nov. 27 that pushed the Blue Raiders into bowl eligibility.

Toledo vs. Middle Tennessee State
Friday, Dec. 17 – Noon (ESPN)
Thomas A. Robinson Stadium

TEAM RECORDS:
Toledo (7-5, 5-3 MAC)
Middle Tennessee State (6-6, 4-4 CUSA)

SERIES RECORD: First Meeting

THE COACHES:
Jason Candle, 45-26 (6th year) at Toledo, same overall 0-0 vs. MTSU
Rick Stockstill, 100-98 (16th year) at MTSU, same overall. 0-0 vs. Toledo.
 
TV/STREAMING: ESPN
Play by Play: Kevin Negandhi
Analyst: Booger McFarland
 
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.
Rocket Roundup

• The Rockets will be playing in their 19th bowl game in program history. They own a record of 11-7 in bowl games.
• Toledo has now been bowl eligible for 11 straight seasons – every year since 2010, excluding 2020 in which bowl eligibility requirements were waived due to COVID (Toledo was 4-2 in 2020).
• 11 players earned All-MAC honors this season, the most for a UT team since 2016 (12).
• Toledo has scored 182 points in its last four games, an average of 45.5 per contest.
• No team in the country takes care of the ball as well as the Rockets: they lead the country in fewest turnovers (six in 12 games) and fewest interceptions thrown (two in 12 games).
• Bryant Koback rushed for 135 yards against Akron, his fifth straight 100-yard rushing game. He now has 1,274 yards for the season, the second time he has rushed for over 1,000 yards in a season (1187 yards in 2019).
• Koback now has 3,900 career rushing yards, good for fourth in Toledo history. The all-time leader is Kareem Hunt (2013-16) with 4,945 yards.
• Senior cornerback Samuel Womack has 15 pass breakups, third in the country. He has 40 PBUs for his career, the most in Toledo history.
• Toledo ranks first in the MAC in both scoring offense (34.2) and scoring defense (21.0).