Toledo football finds value in preparation

Sep. 28—Each game week for a college football program is like a mini-season.

The amount of planning, the details, and the scheming are arduous. Ask any coach, there aren't enough hours in the day for them to feel completely comfortable prior to the opening kickoff.

Sometimes, however, they come out of a week feeling like every ounce of time was given the proper respect. Jason Candle entered that rare level of fulfillment last week.

"The valuable lesson is, we had a great week of preparation," the Toledo coach said Monday. "We were really good from the start of the week all the way to the end. We had a chance to be on the road and get away from some of the distractions around here. It was good to see our team come together. I didn't see any division or cracking when things didn't go our way. Good senior leadership."

The response from Toledo — winning 22-12 at Ball State — after a meager performance against Colorado State was the type of answer a veteran team should have delivered. It wasn't guaranteed, though, as UT's recent foibles lingered like a pesky moth. In one fell swoop, or 60 minutes, the negativity was extinguished, and now the Rockets have an opportunity to build on their production.

The next destination on Toledo's two-week road trip is Massachusetts, arguably the worst team in the country. UMass has lost 15 consecutive games, with its last victory coming in September, 2019. The 0-4 Minutemen have been outscored 191-66. The fewest points they've allowed is 42.

Dismissing the opponent isn't an option in the Larimer Athletic Complex, where Candle can quickly rattle off a laundry list of reasons why you can never be lax during game week.

"The only time I've seen us lose in the last couple years is when Toledo beat Toledo," senior offensive lineman Bryce Harris said. "We're a physical team. I've always thought we were the most athletic team on the field. But a lot of times we beat ourselves with penalties and undisciplined things. We have to eliminate that."

Life in the Mid-American Conference is different than the Power Five or upper-echelon of Group of Five. It's not College Football Playoff or bust for the Toledos and Bowling Greens of the world. Sure, the Rockets are trying to win every week, but a conference championship is a more meaningful prize when the playoff and New Year's Six bowls are unrealistic expectations.

That truth can help provide warnings and teachable examples before a season is declared dead. A loss to Colorado State stings UT, but it doesn't prevent a MAC championship. Teams shouldn't be in the practice of no-show games. They do happen, though, and Toledo is now granted a reprieve of sorts by avoiding any lapses during the MAC schedule.

Could the Colorado State game have acted as a savior instead of the beginning of a slide into mediocrity?

"I think it taught us a lesson," Harris said. "We have to respect everybody that we play. We have to understand that it's not about who we play, it's about the Toledo Rockets and making sure we're in the best position and best mindset to win."

Toledo's buses pulled into the Glass Bowl parking lot after darkness fell Saturday night. The coaches were back in the facility early Sunday morning watching film of Coastal Carolina's 53-3 demolition of UMass the day before, devising a plan to replicate the 16th-ranked Chanticleers' success.

The first practice of the week began at 1 p.m., 20 hours after the Ball State game ended, giving new meaning to the 24-hour rule that allows teams to bask in victory.

Candle and the Rockets have no time to waste.

"You have to respect [the opponent]," he said. "You can play Notre Dame one week, you can be playing Norfolk State, you can be playing Ball State, Colorado State, or UMass, it doesn't matter. Someone is going to have an individual battle that's really good and a tough player. There are plenty of examples in college football last week of, if you don't prepare like crazy and you don't bring it every Saturday, you can get beat.

"These are 18-to-22-year-old people that have scholarships. They're prideful, and it means a lot to them. They're going to be prepared and go play hard."

First Published September 27, 2021, 6:41pm