Sports
High-Scoring Affair Expected as Ohio Football Prepares for Toledo
By: Russ Heltman
Posted on:
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The last time the Ohio Bobcats (7-2, 4-1) defeated the Toledo Rockets (8-1, 5-0) in back-to-back seasons. Ohio gets another chance to break that trend on Wednesday night when they welcome the Rockets into Peden Stadium for a matchup between the two best offensive units in the Mid-American Conference.
Ohio and Toledo rank first and second in the MAC in points per game, setting this contest up to be an offensive showcase and a potential MAC Championship Game preview.
The Bobcats are a week removed from Nathan Rourke’s scoring explosion against the Miami Redhawks. The sophomore quarterback scored three touchdowns with his legs and tacked on three more through the air to lead the Bobcats to a 45-28 victory in the Battle of the Bricks. Rourke has been a scoring machine in 2017, he currently ranks second in the nation in rushing touchdowns (16) and needs nine total touchdowns to break Tyler Tettleton’s program record (38) set in 2011.
On the other side of the field, the Rockets come into Peden Stadium on the heels of a 27-17 victory over the Northern Illinois Huskies, who tout the best scoring defense in the MAC. Rockets quarterback Logan Woodside has been the engine driving the high-powered Rockets offense. The senior has thrown for 2,656 yards and 19 touchdowns this season while tossing just two interceptions. The most eye-popping stat of his senior campaign might just be his 10.1 yards per attempt, which ranks third nationally.
“We know from just his career in the MAC that he’s a great quarterback, very poised in the pocket, can hurt you running the ball, has got the kind of arm that can make every throw that you need to make in the game of football.” Ohio head coach Frank Solich said about Woodside during his weekly press conference.
The Rockets can attack teams on the ground as well, running back Terry Swanson leads MAC running backs in yards per game (105.5) and touchdowns (11). His talents were on limited display against Ohio last season when he was the Rockets leading rusher in the 31-26 Ohio victory, touting the rock for 58 yards on ten carries.
Ohio owns the second-ranked rushing defense in the MAC and they’ll need to show why against Swanson, turning Toledo into a one-dimensional offense is critical in Ohio’s pursuit of a fourth straight victory.
All of the action can be seen on ESPN2 with kickoff at Peden Stadium scheduled for 7 p.m.