Glass Bowl - Toledo, OH
Toledo and Nevada finish a home and home series Saturday when they square off at the Glass Bowl. Based on early results, this meeting could be similar to last year in that both teams have offenses that can put points on the board.
Toledo beat the Wolfpack 37-24 last year in Reno, UT’s advantage in the series to 4-0.
Logan Woodside completed 19 of 27 for 232 yards with two touchdowns, while Terry Swanson carried 27 times for 101 yards and a pair of scores. Both those players are gone, but the Rockets remain weaponized.
➤➤Toledo leads all MAC teams in Scoring offense (45.0 ppg) and total offense (468.5 ypg). It is second in pass offense (306 ypg) and first in pass efficiency.
➤➤ Junior Mitchell Guadagni has stepped into the starting roll well, completing 64.9 percent (234/37) of his pass attempts, good for 487 yards with five TDs and one interception.
Dionte Johnson leads the team with eight catches for 179 yards and three scores. He, Jon’Vea Johnson and Cody Thompson all have receiving touchdowns of at least 38 yards, underscoring UT’s quick strike ability.
➤➤ The Rockets can also roll in the run game, currently sitting in fourth (158 ypg) among MAC teams.
Four players have at least 12 carries, with Guadagni topping that list. He has 19 carries for 67 yards. Bryant Koback, meanwhile, is averaging 5.6 yards per carry (16/9). He, along with Shakif Seymore, combine for four of six Rocket rushing TDs.
➤➤ Toledo blasted Virginia Military 66-3 in the opener but could not keep up with No. 21 Miami (Fla) last week. The Hurricanes built up a 21-0 lead before Diontae Johnson put UT on the board with a 7-yard touchdown reception just before intermission.
The Rockets rallied to a 28-21 deficit midway through the third quarter, but Miami outscored Toledo 21-3 the rest of the way for a 49-24 final.
➤➤ Seniors Reggie Howard and Tuzar Skipper each had eight tackles against the Hurricanes.
NEVADA WOLFPACK (2-1)
➤➤ The Wolfpack were picked to finish fourth n the West Division of the Mountain West, according to a conference poll.
Nevada went 3-9 in 2017, with two of the three wins coming over the last three game.
➤➤ UN’s offensive potential showed in wins over Portland State (72-19) and Oregon State (37-35). The only road game thus far was at Vanderbilt, where the Commodores hung a 41-10 loss on Nevada.
➤➤ Despite leading 30-7 in the second quarter against Oregon State last week, Nevada found itself watching a potential game-winning field goal by the Beavers in the final minute The kick just missed, and UN held on for a 37-35 victory.
➤➤ Much of Oregon State’s success against Nevada was through the air as the Beavers passed for 459 yards compared to Nevada’s 201 yards.
➤➤ Ty Gangi completed 17 of 35 passes for 195 yards and a pair of touchdowns. On the season, Gangi has hit 55 percent (55/100, 753 yards) of his pass attempts, with six TDs and four interceptions. He has also carrie 18 times for 80 yards. Toa Taua leads the Wolfpack rushers with 26 trips for 161 yards and a score.
➤➤ Nevada defenders registered five sacks against Oregon State, which is riding a 21-game road losing streak. ➤➤ Nevada WR Brendan O’Leary-Orange was taken off the field on a stretcher during the second half against OSU.