Five keys to watch for against Toledo on Saturday
Payback will surely be on the minds of the Central Michigan football team this Saturday as the Chippewas look to end a seven-game losing streak to the Toledo Rockets.
CMU hosts Toledo for homecoming at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Kelly/Shorts Stadium. The game will be televised on ESPN3.
CMU (3-3, 1-1 Mid-American Conference) is coming off of a 26-23 victory on the road over Ohio, keeping them within one game of Western Michigan (4-2, 2-0) in the MAC West Division.
Toledo (4-1, 1-0), the preseason MAC favorite, is coming off a 20-15 victory over Eastern Michigan in its MAC opener.
Here are five keys to look for as the Rockets roll into Mount Pleasant to take on the Chippewas on Saturday.
Continuing chemistry
Senior tight end Tyler Conklin led the Chippewas in receiving with a career-game in his first contest back from a leg injury.
Transfer quarterback Shane Morris found the John Mackey Tight End of the Week Award winner 10 times for 136 yards and two touchdowns.
Morris also had a better overall completion percentage than his previous three games, completing 25-of-35 passes for 249 yards and two touchdowns.
Senior wideout Corey Willis also played for the first time in three games, but was held without a catch.
Before Willis’ injury, the Holland native recorded eight catches for 140 yards and a score against Kansas on Sept. 9.
Rocket down
Toledo’s leading receiver, Cody Thompson, broke his leg last week against EMU and will miss the remainder of the 2017 campaign.
The senior had 28 receptions for a team-high 537 yards and four touchdowns through five games this season.
Last year, the 6-foot-2, 205-pound Thompson caught four touchdowns in the Rocket’s 31-17 win over CMU.
Head coach John Bonamego said Toledo still has three or four other wideouts to account for.
“I am not going to expect that to slow them down at all or change their approach to what they do or how they game plan,” Bonamego said.
Quarterback duel
Rockets' quarterback Logan Woodside had a comparable final line to Morris last weekend against EMU, completing 23-of-34 passes for 289 yards.
On the season, the senior leads the MAC in total offense at 326.6 yards per game, with Morris right behind him at 278.2.
Woodside's play has also led Toledo's offense to a MAC-best 501.2 yards per game.
“He’s one of the best quarterbacks in the MAC,” said junior linebacker Malik Fountain. “We just have to prepare for everything he’s going to bring to us.”
Both quarterbacks have thrown 11 touchdowns on the year.
Turnover Battle
CMU continued to do what they've done all season against the Bobcats — force turnovers.
With four more turnovers on Saturday — one interception and three fumble recoveries — CMU is tied for the FBS lead in turnovers with Penn State at 17 on the year.
Senior Josh Cox leads the CMU secondary with four interceptions on the season.
Woodside has only thrown one interception so far this season and Toledo has only turned the ball over three times total this season.
Finding a ground game
CMU has not had a running back go for over 70 yards in any of their five games in 2017.
Last week against Ohio, redshirt freshman Kumehnnu Gwilly led the running backs with 24 yards on five carries. In the game, Central Michigan had a season-low 68 rushing yards.
Toledo is led by running back Terry Swanson who is averaging 88.8 yards per game in four games this season.
As a team, the Rockets are third in the MAC with 173.8 yards per game, while the Chippewas are 11th with 129.2.
