Asmussen | Holy Toledo! Don't sleep on the Rockets
May 20—When Jason Candle and his Toledo football team visit Memorial Stadium on Sept. 2, it will be the first time the Rockets have ever played Illinois.
Candle is looking forward to the trip.
"I think it will be cool to lead a team into that stadium and have the opportunity to go compete against a very good football team," the eighth-year coach told me this week.
Candle is a Bret Bielema fan. And not just because they are competing in 105 days.
"I've got a ton of respect for Bret and what he's been able to accomplish in his career as a head football coach," Candle said. "They're a physical brand of football. They always have been, whether it's Wisconsin, Arkansas or what you watch on tape from these guys. It's a talented roster.
"They had some really good wins last year. A hungry team that's looking to take the next step like we are."
The kind words continued.
"We know it will be a stiff challenge," Candle said. "We know they will be a very well-coached football team."
Illinois is 19-6 all time against teams from the Mid-American Conference. But a warning to Illinois fans who are counting on an easy win: The Rockets are different. Just check out the team's history, both recent and way back.
Toledo finished 9-5 in 2022, winning the MAC and beating Liberty in the Boca Raton Bowl.
And the season could have been even better. Other than a blowout loss to College Football Playoff semifinalist Ohio State, the Rockets were in every game. The other four losses came by a combined 23 points.
"We felt like we left a couple out there that we wish we had back," Candle said. "Turn the page this year and you are always looking for how you can take it one step farther and make it better."
Been there, done thatThe Rockets won't be intimidated playing a Big Ten school.
The program is 6-15 against conference the past 45 years, with victories against Purdue (three times), Michigan, Minnesota and Penn State. And they almost got in-state rival Ohio State, losing 27-22 in 2011. Toledo drove deep into Buckeyes territory in the final seconds and had a chance to win at Ohio Stadium, but came up short. Only two of the six Toledo wins against the Big Ten were at home, with Minnesota and Purdue dropping games at the Glass Bowl in 2004 and 1997, respectively.
Cautious optimismEvery coach in the country wants to win the opener. Only half of them will succeed. Even harder for the MAC schools.
"We definitely understand in our league that's going to be a stiff ask every year because you are going to have to play a big boy," Candle said. "Any win is a great win."
Toledo returns 16 starters from the 2022 team, including third-year starting quarterback Dequan Finn. The junior from Detroit threw 23 touchdowns passes and ran for another nine scores in 2022. Finn was second-team All-MAC last season.
"He is one of the great leaders we have on our team and a guy that the guys rally around," Candle said. "When he is healthy and he is playing well, he is really a special player. Great kid, great human being, someone the guys in the locker room love to be around. He makes the other people around him better."
Last year, Toledo was one of five teams in the country to win its conference title game and bowl game.
"Those two games put a really good stamp on the end of our season," Candle said. "We were able to accomplish those things because of the connectedness of our team.
Going into last year, Toledo had only one returning starter on offense. It found a way.
"We felt like we had to play really good defense throughout the season to hang in there, which we did," Candle said.
The outlook is optimistic going into 2023, with seven returning All-MAC players on a team that wrapped up its spring practices on April 8.
"We had a very productive spring," Candle said. "Our injuries that we dealt with were postseason surgeries, so we had some guys that were out. You'd love to have them out there, but the flip side of that coin is they don't have a chance to get hurt during spring ball. Our team is progressing in the right direction."
The program is in a happy place. Candle is 54-32 with two MAC titles. Nine of his players have been drafted by the NFL. The team grade-point average is above 3.9 and players are graduating at a high rate.
"We feel like we are doing things off the field in the right way," Candle said.
Miami (Ohio) is called the Cradle of Coaches, but Toledo has produced its fair share of stars too: Nick Saban, Gary Pinkel and Matt Campbell to name a few.
"It's very humbling," Candle said. "I tell our guys all the time, 'You can't go anywhere unless you respect where you've come from.' Our hallways, just like the guys at Illinois, we do have a rich tradition here. It's a tremendous amount of responsibility to uphold the tradition. We take it serious."
