2009 Toledo College Football Predictions
Written July 23, 2009 by InfoPlays
The Toledo Rockets should make some progress this season under new head coach Tim Beckman after a 3-9 campaign in 2008. Don’t expect this team to knock off Central Michigan or Western Michigan in the MAC East, but they could make some noise before season’s end. But the start of the season is not built for early momentum with dates against Purdue, Colorado and Ohio State. Sportsbook.com has their NCAA football lines posted so sign up today with this trusted book to get their reduced Friday juice!
Offense: Quarterback Aaron Opelt doesn’t have comparable numbers to the elite QB’s in the MAC, but his senior season should bring plenty of chances to stuff the box score. Opelt will be working in a lot of four-wide receivers sets, though Beckman has no plans of ignoring the running game. Toledo has a bunch of potential talents at receiver, but there is only one proven wideout in Stephen Williams returning. He had 144 catches and 15 touchdowns the past two seasons. After him there’s Robin Bailey and Kenny Stafford who combined for 21 catches in ‘08.
The offensive line will be the strength of the team with five returning starters, led by seniors Buster Garrett and Jared DeWalt. The Rockets will run the ball mostly with senior DaJuane Collins, who averaged 5.5 yards/carry with five touchdowns in his junior campaign. He carried the ball 127 times for 700 yards last year. Sophomore Morgan Williams will give Collins a run for his money, though. Williams rushed for 330 yards and two long touchdowns against Miami University after Collins went down with an injury. He finished the season with 1,010 rushing yards. This faster-paced, pass-happy offense could get Williams’ hands in the mix more this season.
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Defense: It came as no surprise that Toledo hired a new coach with a defensive background. The Rockets were dominated in nearly every phase of their defense in 2008, yielding 31.4 points/game and 381 yards/game while totaling only 10 sacks. Safety Barry Church could start for almost any FBS team and he’s regarded as one of the top defensive players in the MAC. His range and versatility are unmatched. Church has a legitimate chance to leave after his senior season as a four-time All-MAC pick. He’s also on the Bronko Nagurski and Jim Thorpe watch list for national honors.
Linebacker Archie Donald is the other big playmaker on this defense after leading the team with 119 tackles last season. Seniors Daris Quinn and Beau Brudzinski are at the other linebacker spots so this group has plenty of experience and should be much-improved. But overall defensive improvement will depend on the production Beckman gets from the defensive line. This unit was pushed off the ball far too many times in ‘08, so the three returning senior starters in Derrick Summers, Skylaar Constant and Maurice Hill will have to step up big.
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