Tim Beckman did a wonderful job at Toledo from 2009 through 2011. He went 5-7 in his first season before going to back-to-back bowl games in 2010 and 2011. Beckman left before the 2011 Military Bowl to head to the Illinois Fighting Illini. Matt Campbell took over for the bowl game and Toledo won 42-41. He continued bowl streak in 2012 by going 9-4 with the Rockets despite only having 8 starters returning. The 2013 season review is below.
2013 Toledo Rockets Season
It would have been reasonable for Toledo to have a poor season in 2013 with only 3 starters back on defense. The season started as expected with losses to Florida and Missouri on the road. However, those games were not the massive blowouts that were expected. Toledo evened up their record with wins over Eastern Washington and Central Michigan. They lost another close game on the road, this time to Ball State, but the season turned after that. Toledo reeled off 5 wins in a row, including victories over Navy, Bowling Green, and Buffalo. The season ended on a down note with losses to Northern Illinois and Akron. Toledo finished the year at 7-5, but was not invited to a bowl game. Still, 2013 marked the four straight year with a winning record.
The entire 2013 schedule is below.
Offense
Seven starters return from the 2013 team and added into the mix is former highly recruited Alabama quarterback Phillip Ely. Ely played in 6 games as a redshirt freshman for Alabama in 2012, but only recorded 42 passing yards. He will be replacing Terrance Owens who is the second leading passer in Toledo history. Owens threw for 2,230 yards (60.1%), 18 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions in 2013. Ely is in a battle with Logan Woodside (240 yards (51.2%) and 1 touchdown in 2013) and Michael Julian. There will be a learning curve at the start of the season, but this group should be solid.
Toledo loses their top rusher, but the back they have ready to step in is likely to make sure the Rockets do not miss a step. David Fluellen ran for 1,121 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2013, but he is gone. His replacement will be Kareem Hunt who ran for 866 yards and 6 touchdowns. Hunt was named to the Freshman All-American second team in 2013. Damion Jones-Moore ran for 267 yards, 5 touchdowns, and an excellent 7.2 yards per carry. Also in the mix are Marc Remy (196 yards and 2 touchdowns), Cassius McDowell (137 yards), and Ricky Pringle (101 yards and 1 touchdown). This group will do quite well for Toledo.
Like the running back position, the wide receiver unit loses their top producer. Bernard Reedy led the team with 62 catches for 840 yards and 8 touchdowns. Alonzo Russell was second on the team with 59 catches for 728 yards and 6 touchdowns. He will lead the group as Dwight Macon (18 catches for 214 yards and 3 touchdowns), Justin Olack (16 catches for 205 yards and 1 touchdown), and tight end Alex Zmolik (6 receptions for 84 yards and 1 touchdown). This unit should have another solid year even with a new quarterback.
Four starters return on the offensive line, which is great news for the quarterbacks. Right guard Jeff Myers has started the last 25 games, as has right tackle Chase Nelson. Left tackle Greg Mancz will be a four-year starter in 2014 and should do well protecting the quarterback on that side of the offense. This unit has 100 career starts and that will make the quarterback and running backs feel comfortable.
Defense
As mentioned in the 2013 Season review, Toledo only had 3 starters back on defense. They performed similarly to 2012 when they gave up 473 yards and 28.4 points per game. In 2013, the defense gave up 28.6 points and 422 yards per game. 2014 will see 9 starters return with three starters returning on the defensive line.
Defensive tackle Treyvon Hester will anchor the line after recording 39 tackles, 3.5 sacks, and 4 tackles-for-loss. Nose tackle Marquis Moore is in a battle with Orion Jones to start while defensive end Allen Covington is in a competition with Keenen Gibbs. Senior Ray Bush will be at the LEO spot after recording 36 tackles, 1 sack, 1.5 tackles-for-loss, and 1 interception in 11 games last year (only 1 start). This unit gave up an average of 170 rushing yards a game in 2013 and should perform similarly, if not better, in 2014.
Toledo runs a 4-2-5, but their STAR position is being filled by Trent Voss, who has linebacker stature at 6’ 3” and 220 pounds. He finished 2013 with 60 stops, 1 sack, and 4.5 tackles-for-loss. Those stats were recorded in the first 7 games, as he broke his arm and missed the last 5 games. Junior Sylvestre and Chase Murdock, who were the top two tacklers on the team, will join him. Sylvestre had 118 stops, 5 sacks, 4.5 tackles-for-loss, 2 pass breakups, and 1 interception. Murdock finished with 109 tackles, 4 sacks, 5 tackles-for-loss, 2 pass breakups, and 1 interception. These three will provide a huge boost to the rest of the defense. Opposing MAC offense had better look out for this group.
Three starters return in the secondary led by Cheatham Norrils at cornerback. Norrils finished 2013 with 52 tackles, 1 sack, 2 pass breakups, and 1 interception. Strong safety Chaz Whittaker also had a solid season after having 45 stops, 2 pass breakups, and 2 interceptions. Jordan Haden, brother of the Cleveland Browns’ Joe Haden, is expected to take over at costless safety. These defenders will have a solid 2014.
Special Teams
Toledo will have kicker Jeremiah Detmer back and that is good news for a unit that has lost most of its key players. Detmer finished 2013 by hitting 19 of his 20 field goal attempts with a long of 47 yards and was named to the MAC 1st-Team. Nick Ellis will take over at punter, but he does not have any game experience at Toledo.
Bernard Reedy returned both punts and kickoffs last year, but he has moved on. Junior Kishon Wilcher looks set to return kicks and Corey Jones may also see action on the returns unit. Outside of Detmer, this unit may struggle in 2014.
2014 Season Outlook
At age 34, Matt Campbell is the second youngest coach in the FBS, behind only Western Michigan’s P.J. Fleck. In his two years he has assembled back-to-back winning seasons, both of which were impressive. 2014 brings his most experienced team with 16 returning starters. The non-conference schedule does provide Toledo much help. The entire 2014 schedule is below.
Toledo faces New Hampshire, Missouri, and Cincinnati to open the season. A 1-2 record is expected and any other record would be a surprise. They get Ball State and Central Michigan at home before road trips to Western Michigan and Iowa State. Neither Ball State, nor Central Michigan will be an easy game and two losses could leave the Rockets at 2-5 heading into a bye on October 18. A 3-4 or 4-3 record is more likely after seven games.
The second half of the schedule provides some intriguing games. Games versus Massachusetts and Kent State favor Toledo, but the next two will decide if Toledo can win the MAC West. They travel to Northern Illinois on November 11 and then face Bowling Green on November 19. They finish the season with a winnable game versus Eastern Michigan. Overall, Toledo should be able to achieve a winning season for the 5th year in a row and hopefully invited back to a bowl game.