Western Michigan is coming off a win at Central Michigan. A victory against Toledo would give the Broncos back-to-back wins for the first time this year. To date, each of their four wins have been followed by two losses.
Toledo leads the series with WMU, 45-31. The Rockets won in Toledo last year, 34-15, and have won nine of the last 12 meetings in the series.
Here's more on the two teams . . .
TOLEDO ROCKETS (7-4, 5-2 MAC)
~~ The Rockets had won five of six before falling to BGSU last week in the Glass Bowl.
~~ With a spot in the MAC Championship game already insured, UT went with freshman Tucker Gleason at quarterback. Gleason completed 22-of-40 passes, totaling 329 yards with three TDs and two inteceptions. He was sacked four times.
~~ Nine Rockets caught passes, with DeMeer Blankumsee and Devin Maddox combining for six receptions and 156 yards.
~~ Gleason led Toledo rushing with 17 carries for 106 yards with two TDs. Three other Rockets averaged 1.6 yards per carry, totaling 47 yards on 28 trips.
~~ Toledo committed three turnovers, while BGSU had just one.
~~ Bowling Green jumped out to a 21-0 lead, but UT closed to within seven at 21-14 by intermission. The Falcons led 34-21 midway through the fourth stanza, but Toledo took a 35-34 lead on Gleason's 1-yard run and the PAT at 0:51.
Six plays after the subsequent kickoff, however, Falcon quarterback Matt McDonald hit Ta'ron Keith for a 42-yard touchdown with just nine seconds left.
~~ Sophomore QB DeQuan Finn was still listed atop this week's depth chart. However, he last played Nov. 8 against Ball State. Finn is third among MAC players in total offense, averaging 274.2 ypg.
~~ Toledo’s offense ranks first in the MAC in scoring (35.1), second in passing efficiency (142.4), and third in total offense (413.4) and rushing (179.6).
~~ Toledo’s defense ranks first in the MAC in total defense (351.3), passing yards allowed (199.4) and defensive passing efficiency (115.4).
~~ Toledo has now won or shared 12 MAC West Division crowns. This will be Toledo’s seventh appearance in the MAC Championship Game and first since 2017. Toledo is 3-3 all-time in the MCG.
WESTERN MICHIGAN BRONCOS (4-7, 3-4 MAC)
~~ The Broncos are coming off a 12-10 win over Central Michigan in snowy and cold Mount Pleasant. Defenses dominated most of the day, but each team broke off a long touchdown run during less than a minute of play in the first quarter. First, Sean Tyler went 53-yards for a Broncos touchdown. Bert Emmanuel answered with a 60-yard run when CMU got the ball.
Central Michigan went up 10-7 on a third quarter field goal, but WMU forced a safety and followed with Palmer Domshke's 25-yard field goal at 1:52. He hit just one of three field goal attempts on the night, but the last proved to be the winner.
~~ Broncos QB Treyson Bourguet completed 7-of-19 passes, good for 102 yards.
~~ Carey Crooms led WMU receivers, grabbing four balls for a total of 63 yards.
~~ Keni-H Lovely picked off a Chippewas pass. It was his third interception of the campaign.
~~ Luke Dlzinga averaged 42.8 yards per boot on five kicks in the wintery conditions.
~~ The Broncos did a remarkable job of holding on to the ball in the blizzard against Central Michigan. WMU did not turn the ball over once on the night, improving to 14-0 under head coach Tim Lester when they do not turn the ball over.
~~ The Western Michigan defense has had a special season. In MAC play the team has given up just 23.6 points per game, the second fewest since the 2019 (23.5) and the 2016 (18.4) seasons. In terms of yards per game, the Broncos are only giving up 349.3 in MAC contests. It’s the first time that a WMU defense has averaged below 350 yards per game since the 2006 season. That year, the Bronco defense gave up only 281.5
yards per game.
~~ The Broncos rank 12th/last among MAC teams in scoring (18.9 ppg), but they are second in scoring defense (22.5 ppg).
~~ WMU is 10th in rushing offense (136.5 ypg) and 11th in pass offense (175.8 ypg).