Things seem to be heading in the right direction for the Toledo Rockets under the direction of 2nd year head coach Tim Beckman. The school made headlines for all the wrong reasons over the past years, but the focus has finally returned back to the football field. Beckman led the team to a 5-7 record in his first season after accepting the position following a brief stint as defensive coordinator at Oklahoma State. His Rockets are a dark horse candidate to win the West division. View the full conference breakdown in our 2010 MAC football predictions article.
The Toledo offense had success moving the ball with offensive coordinator Matt Campbell's scheme. They had some injury issues at quarterback last year, but showed that there is depth at this position and the future is sophomore QB Austin Dantin. Dantin replaced three year starter Aaron Opelt five games into the 2009 season (torn rotator cuff) and did an admirable job as a true freshman. He threw for 447 yards the final two weeks showing the coaching staff he is ready to take the reigns for good in 2010. RB Morgan Williams burst onto the scene in 2008 as a true freshman and set a freshman school record for rushing yards with 1,010. Last season, he missed the first two games due to suspension and DaJuane Collins was the featured back. Williams has showcased his talent in the past (330 yards in one game!) and will return as the full time starter this year. Beckman's most productive player in his first recruiting class had to be WR Eric Page. He led the team in receptions, td catches and yards while earning 1st team all-conference accolades. Page actually finished with better numbers than the school's career leading receiver Stephen Williams and will top his overall stats if his production stays consistent. The Rockets return three of their top four receivers from a year ago. The offensive line loses just one starter and features NFL prospect LT Mike VanDerMeulen. There are 100 career starts up front making this unit one of the most experienced in the MAC.
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Much of the off-season had to be spent figuring out a way to slow down opposing offenses. The defense was erratic in 2009, allowing 37.7 points/game and 407 yards of total offense/game. Six starters return on this side of the ball and there seems to be enough talent to turn the corner this year. The defensive line might be the weak link, however, as they lack depth and are undersized. Beckman added two junior college transfers to the group that could pay immediate dividends. Toledo lost their best linebacker in Barry Church. He had been a fixture in the middle of the defense for the past four seasons and earned all-conference honors each year. Archie Donald returns and led the team in tackles with 116. Without the services of Church, Donald will be asked to step up his game even more and be the leader of the 2010 defense. The secondary brings back three starters including two sophomores that saw significant action as freshmen. FS Jermaine Robinson made 58 stops last year, but could be more of a ball hawk as he did not intercept one pass from his safety position. Daxton Swanson broke up a team high seven passes in 09' and is one of the top young corners in the MAC. Replacing K Alex Steigerwald will be a priority on special teams as he hit 12-16 field goal attempts and missed just one extra point.
Toledo will get three cracks at tacking down a BCS power conference team in their non-conference schedule. Arizona makes the trip east in the opener to clash with the Rockets, while road games at Purdue and Boise State will test this team. MAC play opens earlier than most conferences and Toledo will have two conference games under their belt before the end of September. Key West division games at Northern Illinois and at Western Michigan could decide how the season plays out. I predict a 6-6 finish for the Rockets.
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