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The Toledo Rockets are 5-1 against the Central Michigan Chippewas since November of 2015, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Saturday. The Rockets and CMU will face off in a Mid-American battle at 3:30 p.m. ET at Kelly/Shorts Stadium. Toledo won't have the home-field advantage, but they do enjoy a 5.5-point advantage in the spread.
It was close but no cigar for Toledo as they fell 22-20 to the Northern Illinois Huskies last week. This was hardly the result Toledo or its fans were betting on, as they were favored by 13 points over NIU heading into this game. A silver lining for Toledo was the play of RB Bryant Koback, who punched in one rushing touchdown in addition to catching three passes for one TD and 85 yards. Near the top of the highlight reel was Dequan Finn's 75-yard TD bomb to Koback in the second quarter.
The Chippewas decided to play defense against itself last week, but the team still came out ahead despite their 95 penalty yards. They had just enough and edged out the Ohio Bobcats 30-27. It took four tries, but CMU can finally say that they have a win on the road. Their RB Lew Nichols III did his thing and rushed for one TD and 186 yards on 30 carries.
Special teams collected 12 points for CMU. K Marshall Meeder delivered a perfect 3-for-3 game.
Toledo and CMU now sit at an identical 3-3. A pair of defensive stats to keep an eye on: The Rockets are 12th worst in the nation in rushing yards allowed per game, with 145.8 on average. The Chippewas have experienced some struggles of their own as they are stumbling into the contest with the 228th most passing touchdowns allowed in the nation, having given up 13 on the season. It's possible one of these Achilles' heels will wind up tripping the losing team up.
