On TheRocketNation.com

Good run-down!

(10-02-2014 03:24 AM)toddjnsn Wrote:  Good run-down!

I agree. Well done.

(10-01-2014 05:21 PM)NewMex RocketFan Wrote:  On TheRocketNation.com

Informative write up as always. Thanks.

It appears that all of Fleck's young talent is beginning to come together as a team. Looking ahead I am guessing that next year they will be the preseason favorites win the MACC, but (hopefully) this is still a bit too soon for that to happen. I also think that WMU has moved ahead of Ball State and CMU this year and that this is a game the Rockets could very easily loose if they don't bring their "A-game". Given the UT pass defense and the surprising success Ball State showed running the ball, I think that the Rockets have little margin for error if they hope to win this game. They need to win the turnover battle for a change and eliminate any stupid penalties, dropped passes and missed tackles---hopefully it will be WMU that makes these mistakes. IMO if the Rockets realistically hope to win the west they must win this game or their chances drop precipitously.

@Tom---PS: not that it has any bearing on your football discussion, but you got your "burgs" confused. Virginia Tech is in Blacksburg, VA. Liberty U. is in Lynchburg, VA.

(10-02-2014 08:30 AM)T-Town Wrote:  

(10-01-2014 05:21 PM)NewMex RocketFan Wrote:  On TheRocketNation.com

Informative write up as always. Thanks.

It appears that all of Fleck's young talent is beginning to come together as a team. Looking ahead I am guessing that next year they will be the preseason favorites win the MACC, but (hopefully) this is still a bit too soon for that to happen. I also think that WMU has moved ahead of Ball State and CMU this year and that this is a game the Rockets could very easily loose if they don't bring their "A-game". Given the UT pass defense and the surprising success Ball State showed running the ball, I think that the Rockets have little margin for error if they hope to win this game. They need to win the turnover battle for a change and eliminate any stupid penalties, dropped passes and missed tackles---hopefully it will be WMU that makes these mistakes. IMO if the Rockets realistically hope to win the west they must win this game or their chances drop precipitously.

@Tom---PS: not that it has any bearing on your football discussion, but you got your "burgs" confused. Virginia Tech is in Blacksburg, VA. Liberty U. is in Lynchburg, VA.

I don't think WMU will be favored vs. BSU or CMU this season. Might beat one of them? And with Toledo losing no skill players that start...i doubt WMU will be the favorite. Maybe 2nd or 3rd and could win it next year, but Flecks own recruits will only be sophomores in 2015. Btw: Ball State has a vanilla offense, but Edwards and Banks are proven backs and have beaten Toledo in the past. I wouldn't be surprised if they run the second most on us all year behind NIU.

(10-02-2014 08:55 AM)UofToledoFans Wrote:  

(10-02-2014 08:30 AM)T-Town Wrote:  

(10-01-2014 05:21 PM)NewMex RocketFan Wrote:  On TheRocketNation.com

Informative write up as always. Thanks.

It appears that all of Fleck's young talent is beginning to come together as a team. Looking ahead I am guessing that next year they will be the preseason favorites win the MACC, but (hopefully) this is still a bit too soon for that to happen. I also think that WMU has moved ahead of Ball State and CMU this year and that this is a game the Rockets could very easily loose if they don't bring their "A-game". Given the UT pass defense and the surprising success Ball State showed running the ball, I think that the Rockets have little margin for error if they hope to win this game. They need to win the turnover battle for a change and eliminate any stupid penalties, dropped passes and missed tackles---hopefully it will be WMU that makes these mistakes. IMO if the Rockets realistically hope to win the west they must win this game or their chances drop precipitously.

@Tom---PS: not that it has any bearing on your football discussion, but you got your "burgs" confused. Virginia Tech is in Blacksburg, VA. Liberty U. is in Lynchburg, VA.

I don't think WMU will be favored vs. BSU or CMU this season. Might beat one of them? And with Toledo losing no skill players that start...i doubt WMU will be the favorite. Maybe 2nd or 3rd and could win it next year, but Flecks own recruits will only be sophomores in 2015. Btw: Ball State has a vanilla offense, but Edwards and Banks are proven backs and have beaten Toledo in the past. I wouldn't be surprised if they run the second most on us all year behind NIU.

WMU has had 2 outstanding back to back recruiting classes so far and if it get another one for 2015 then that will be three for three outstanding recruiting years and the cupboard will be getting a lot closer to being full than empty. By then it will probably come down to how good the WMU coaching staff is at coaching all that talent----actually a somewhat similar situation to what we have at UT.

WMU-CMU is the big rivalry game so I will not be surprised regardless of who wins it this year. I will be mildly surprised if Ball State beats WMU this year even though the game is in Muncie.

The 2013 Rockets brought back all their skill players from 2012 as well and had a great offensive line to boot but it wasn't enough to get the job done. Next year the Rockets loss the entire veteran offensive line (5 5th year players) and although some younger players have seen the field a bit, IMO that is going to hurt the offense a lot more than many people realize and for well over a decade now offense and not defense has been the Rockets strong suit.

Anyway, we will all find out about WMU vs. BSU is about a week and a half and about WMU & vs. CMU around Thanksgiving this year. Next year will take a bit longer to unfold.

(10-02-2014 09:40 AM)T-Town Wrote:  

(10-02-2014 08:55 AM)UofToledoFans Wrote:  

(10-02-2014 08:30 AM)T-Town Wrote:  

(10-01-2014 05:21 PM)NewMex RocketFan Wrote:  On TheRocketNation.com

Informative write up as always. Thanks.

It appears that all of Fleck's young talent is beginning to come together as a team. Looking ahead I am guessing that next year they will be the preseason favorites win the MACC, but (hopefully) this is still a bit too soon for that to happen. I also think that WMU has moved ahead of Ball State and CMU this year and that this is a game the Rockets could very easily loose if they don't bring their "A-game". Given the UT pass defense and the surprising success Ball State showed running the ball, I think that the Rockets have little margin for error if they hope to win this game. They need to win the turnover battle for a change and eliminate any stupid penalties, dropped passes and missed tackles---hopefully it will be WMU that makes these mistakes. IMO if the Rockets realistically hope to win the west they must win this game or their chances drop precipitously.

@Tom---PS: not that it has any bearing on your football discussion, but you got your "burgs" confused. Virginia Tech is in Blacksburg, VA. Liberty U. is in Lynchburg, VA.

I don't think WMU will be favored vs. BSU or CMU this season. Might beat one of them? And with Toledo losing no skill players that start...i doubt WMU will be the favorite. Maybe 2nd or 3rd and could win it next year, but Flecks own recruits will only be sophomores in 2015. Btw: Ball State has a vanilla offense, but Edwards and Banks are proven backs and have beaten Toledo in the past. I wouldn't be surprised if they run the second most on us all year behind NIU.

WMU has had 2 outstanding back to back recruiting classes so far and if it get another one for 2015 then that will be three for three outstanding recruiting years and the cupboard will be getting a lot closer to being full than empty. By then it will probably come down to how good the WMU coaching staff is at coaching all that talent----actually a somewhat similar situation to what we have at UT.

WMU-CMU is the big rivalry game so I will not be surprised regardless of who wins it this year. I will be mildly surprised if Ball State beats WMU this year even though the game is in Muncie.

The 2013 Rockets brought back all their skill players from 2012 as well and had a great offensive line to boot but it wasn't enough to get the job done. Next year the Rockets loss the entire veteran offensive line (5 5th year players) and although some younger players have seen the field a bit, IMO that is going to hurt the offense a lot more than many people realize and for well over a decade now offense and not defense has been the Rockets strong suit.

Anyway, we will all find out about WMU vs. BSU is about a week and a half and about WMU & vs. CMU around Thanksgiving this year. Next year will take a bit longer to unfold.

In 2013 Toledo brought back a line that was previously all sophomores with one junior and graduated a senior. This is the season we brought back the line with all the seniors.

In a prediction about the MAC.... You know all anyone will talk about is how Kareem and Alonzo and Woodside are back. No one will care in the prediction that we won't have an un-proven line. I guarantee if Toledo wins 8 games this season they will be picked to win the MAC next year, if not second. We return almost everything on D also. Toledo will lose Hayden and Sylvestre... that's it.

I get what you are saying about WMU. I agree they have loads of talent... but it's mistake prone talent and has virtually no experience in big close games. The won't be the favorite next season... it's very rare a team will go from 4/5 wins to predicted to win the division. Especially in a division that every team returns a lot of guys.

I can't see this game being very close this weekend. I fail to see how their offense is better than CMU's. Maybe their run game, but if they are run heavy we do well in stunting run games. 51-34 was my prediction, that's actually more than I think Western will score.

If Toledo plays well from start to finish, they win this game with little problem. If the players and coaches don't come out ready play until the 2nd half again, it could spell a big L.

I think this will be the closest game of the season so far.

(10-02-2014 08:17 PM)bcunn3128 Wrote:  I think this will be the closest game of the season so far.

The current spread favors the Rockets by between 5 and 6 points. The odds makers appear to agree with you. I recall they had the Rockets 14 point favorites over CMU.

There won't be many fans in attendance if the rain stays put so I am throwing out the home field advantage factor. If we don't pound a team like WMU, we are not better than NIU and not going to win the West. A 5/6 point win would be unsettling for me as a fan... Seems to be the trend of our fans thinking though?

I was the one giving us a shot vs. Mizzou, and post-game realized that teams in college football are flat out better than some other teams. Vegas put it at 3.5 because of a false showing vs. SDSU and had a feel good pick of Toledo making the upset at home. To me this line of 5/6 that got down to 4.5 is sort of the same. Betters want to believe WMU is back, and the way they played (tough) vs. VT shows they can handle a MAC West foe. In 2012 they lost by 5 @Minnesota and beat Uconn the previous weeks to us before Toledo beat them 37-17. In 2010 the WMU game was hyped going into Waldo also... 37-24 and a dominating performance vs. Alex Carder. It's a place I feel comfortable in and I (THINK) our team will too.

My expectations exceed that of Vegas...

If Fleck can take that team from a 1 win season last year to beating us this year, we have to seriously ask ourselves what the hell we have been doing. Losing is not an option.

(10-03-2014 10:27 AM)Toledo Football 1st Wrote:  If Fleck can take that team from a 1 win season last year to beating us this year, we have to seriously ask ourselves what the hell we have been doing. Losing is not an option.

I don't expect UT to lose but I do think WMU is better this year than either Ball State or CMU so a loss it certainly not outside the realm of possibility if the Rockets don't take care of business. Having said that, I would expect the score to be something like 38-28 in favor of the Rockets.

If Toledo loses it will be because they beat themselves with turnovers, dropped passes, missed tackles, stupid penalties, etc. Hopefully it will be WMU making those mistakes and not UT.

I was at Waldo in 2000 and didn't expect the Rockets to loose but they did and it cost them dearly.

Personally, I'm not quite as charmed by WMU's chances as the article. However, it broke things down very well, even with a positive-WMU spin on it (every team's opponent will have a positive spin on them; always prepare for the biggest possible challenge).

I see WMU hanging in there. Possibly taking a temporary lead mid-way thru the 1st half.... but Toledo leading at halftime by 6-10 pts... and winning by 13-17 pts.

Chances of Toledo winning by 20+ points? About the same as WMU winning by 10.

(10-03-2014 08:10 AM)UofToledoFans Wrote:  In 2012 they lost by 5 @Minnesota and beat Uconn the previous weeks to us before Toledo beat them 37-17

WMU lost carder after the Uconn game and had to throw in unexperienced VanTubbergen. WMU's scheme at that time relied heavily on having an excellent QB, no Carder meant no chance of a win in that game.

(10-03-2014 01:30 PM)toddjnsn Wrote:  Personally, I'm not quite as charmed by WMU's chances as the article. However, it broke things down very well, even with a positive-WMU spin on it (every team's opponent will have a positive spin on them; always prepare for the biggest possible challenge).

I see WMU hanging in there. Possibly taking a temporary lead mid-way thru the 1st half.... but Toledo leading at halftime by 6-10 pts... and winning by 13-17 pts.

Chances of Toledo winning by 20+ points? About the same as WMU winning by 10.

I was trying to be more objective than charming. I'll work on that in the future. :-)

(10-03-2014 12:10 PM)T-Town Wrote:  

(10-03-2014 10:27 AM)Toledo Football 1st Wrote:  If Fleck can take that team from a 1 win season last year to beating us this year, we have to seriously ask ourselves what the hell we have been doing. Losing is not an option.

I don't expect UT to lose but I do think WMU is better this year than either Ball State or CMU so a loss it certainly not outside the realm of possibility if the Rockets don't take care of business. Having said that, I would expect the score to be something like 38-28 in favor of the Rockets.

If Toledo loses it will be because they beat themselves with turnovers, dropped passes, missed tackles, stupid penalties, etc. Hopefully it will be WMU making those mistakes and not UT.

I was at Waldo in 2000 and didn't expect the Rockets to loose but they did and it cost them dearly.

I was at that game as well, huge disappointment. I believe had Toledo tried to run the ball more in that game, they would have won. Chester Taylor had 19 carries for 132 yards. Toledo only rushed the ball 29 times in that game 6 by Bolden, as compared to 50 pass attempts.

http://www.utrockets.com/ViewArticle.dbm...ID=1229899

On to this year, WMU has definitely improved. If UT comes out flat they could be in trouble, but if they come out focused they should handle the boat rowers by a couple of scores. Go Rockets!!!