(Originally published 8-29-12)
After winter conditioning, spring ball, fall
practice and nearly 250 days, it’s finally time for the Rockets to return to
the football field Saturday night when they battle the Arizona Wildcats in the
desert.
The last time Toledo stepped onto the gridiron, they
emerged victorious in the 2011 Military Bowl with a thrilling 42-41 victory
over Air Force in head coach Matt Campbell’s first game at the helm.
UT hopes to begin 2012 the way they finished 2011 –
with a big win.
“I think there comes a point in time when the
Rockets are sick of playing the Rockets and it seems like we’ve been doing that
for the last six or seven months,” Campbell said. “I know our kids are really
excited, I’m proud of how hard they’ve worked to get to this point and I think
we’re looking forward to finding a little bit more about ourselves as we get
into game week.”
Toledo is no stranger to the big stage and their
track record shows they know how to handle it.
Since 2003, UT has beaten six schools from BCS
conferences, ninth most among all non-BCS teams. Colorado, Kansas, Michigan,
Purdue and ninth-ranked Pittsburgh have all fallen victim to the Rockets.
Syracuse and no. 15 Ohio State were very close to
being added to that list last season.
“It’s the tradition of Toledo and I think we always
embrace what the tradition of this great university is in our program,”
Campbell said. “I think the biggest focus for us and our kids is certainly one
game at a time. I think that we’ve really tried to embrace that motto of ‘one
day at a time’ through camp and spring practice.”
If UT makes Arizona its next victim, it won’t the
first time they’ve gotten the best of the Cats’ new head
coach.
UT’s upset over Michigan at the Big House in 2008 occurred
in Rich Rodriguez’s first year in-charge of the Wolverine program. Rodriguez
was given the Arizona job last November, 41 days after Mike Stoops was fired
six games into the season.
2011 was a very rough year for Arizona, who dropped
five of their first six games. They finished the season 4-8 (2-7 PAC-12) and
found themselves in a last place tie in the South division.
The Wildcats do return some talented players,
however, especially on the offensive side of the ball.
“They’ve got PAC-12 talent, and that’s the first
thing I’ll say about their football team,” Campbell said. “When you look at
them across the board, they’ve got five of their offensive lineman back from
last year that played and started. So they’ve got great experience.”
Fifth year senior Matt Scott has been given the nod
at quarterback and fits Rodriguez’s patented Zone-Read Option perfectly. He
possesses an adequate arm and can also run effectively.
Scott has played sparingly during his time in
Arizona, but has put-up solid numbers in his limited opportunities. From
2008-10, he completed 114 of 177 passes for 1,301 yards and six touchdowns. He
added 632 rushing yards and two more scores on the ground.
Scott, who redshirted last year, has giant shoes to
fill that Nick Foles left behind. Foles accounted for over 352 total yards per
game in 2011, fourth best in the country.
“The quarterback, by all indications, is a man
that’s got great athleticism and he can throw the football,” Campbell said. “I
think they’ve got to feel really good about who they are offensively.”
Toledo’s spread offense is similar to what Rodriguez
will use with the Wildcats, but the quarterback situation is slightly
different.
Campbell said he will likely name a “starting”
quarterback after Wednesday’s practice, but both will play throughout the
season, as was the case last year.
Both junior Terrance Owens and senior Austin Dantin
will look to pick apart a defense that ranked second-to-last in college
football against the pass last season.
Both signal callers had outstanding seasons in 2011.
Owens set an all-time single season Mid-American Conference record by
completing 72.2 percent of his passes while Dantin posted the 21st-best QB
efficiency rating with a 149.7.
“Offensively, we’ve got to do a great job of taking
care of the football and when we have an opportunity to score points, we have
to score points,” Campbell said.
As if Toledo needed any more reason to be excited to
take the field again, their first game of the year will be in front of a crowd
of 51,811 people and nationally televised on ESPNU at 10:30 p.m. EST.
“I think any time you get a chance to go into a
great environment and you have a chance to play in front of a great crowd and a
great, historic football program, then I think your kids get excited about those
opportunities,” Campbell said. “I know we’re excited, but I think more than
anything, we’re excited just to kickoff 2012 and find out a little more about
us.”
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