MOTOR CITY BOWL
TOLEDO vs. CONNECTICUT - December 27TH, 5:30 pm
The Connecticut Huskies were awarded their first ever bowl bid after finishing 3-3 in the Big East while this will be the Toledo Rockets' 3rd appearance in the Motor City Bowl in the last four years. Toledo defeated Miami Ohio on this same field in the MAC Championship game on December 2nd. This game continues to offer an excellent recruiting opportunity for the Rockets as Ford Field is only an hour?s drive up I-75 from Toledo and there are currently 20 players on their roster from the Detroit area. For UConn, they find themselves in a bowl game in just their 3rd season in Division I-A which will be a big boost to their recruiting as they try to convince prospects that they are no longer just a basketball school.
The Bowl committee is undoubtedly loving this match-up, since both teams have explosive and high scoring offenses which are expected to give their national television audience and their advertisers their money's worth. Ford Field with it?s enclosed playing field should provide perfect conditions which will benefit the prolific passing offenses of both schools. Toledo plays numerous offensive formations and with finals week just ending, UConn can not possibly have found time to practice against all of them, so I think that we can expect that the Rockets should be able to put up points as they have all season. Toledo backers have fattened their wallets this year as Toledo has covered eight of their last nine games after allowing Minnesota and Kansas to each score 63 points in their first two games.
Anyone who has followed The Docket this season has heard me sing the praises of QB Bruce Gradkowski of Toledo as the Rockets have been featured in this newsletter no fewer than five times this year. On top of the fact that Gradkowski has thrown for 3,475 yards, 27 touchdowns and only 8 interceptions this year, I am here to tell you that he is one tough bastard. In the MAC Championship game on Dec. 2nd, Gradkowski had his left shoulder dislocated in the first quarter when he was tackled and driven into the ground. After the Rocket training staff popped his shoulder back into place on the sideline, he returned to the game. Then in the 2nd quarter, he broke a bone in his throwing hand on the helmet of a Miami defender while completing his throwing motion. At that point most players would have called it quits for the day, but this kid returned to the field and led Toledo to 28 second half points in a come from behind win. Despite playing with these injuries, his four touchdown passes tied the MAC Championship Game record which he now shares with Byron Leftwich and Ben Roethlisberger. The next day he had surgery on his hand which included the installation of three titanium screws. I was in Vegas at the time and unfortunately missed that heroic comeback as I had been drug by my companion to the Gladys Knight show (which, by the way, I highly recommend). However, I am happy to say that after the show, she cashed her first sports wagering ticket upon our return to the Rio. But I digress. Suffice it to say that Gradkowski is a stud.
Connecticut also has a passing game that surprisingly ranks 10th in the nation with QB Dan Orlovsky averaging over 285 passing yards per game. Toledo might have some difficulty stopping their aerial attack since the Rockets? pass defense is ranked 2nd worst in the country, giving up over 278 points per game and has allowed 25 touchdowns through the air this season. On top of that UConn has a solid running back in Cornell Brockington, who gained over 1,100 yards this year and averaged 5.1 per carry. Of course those numbers were put up against very weak Big East competition and their non-conference games were against Murray State, Duke, Georgia Tech, Army, and Buffalo. Although the Huskies beat Pittsburgh, they lost to Boston College and Syracuse. Did anyone see the Cuse in the Tangerine Bowl? That kind of schedule and competition does not exactly prepare a defense for a team like Toledo which finished their regular season with three big wins and covers and had to fight their way through a superior MAC conference.
The Huskies scored an average of 29.4 points per game this season and the Rockets averaged 38.3. If you remove the blowout losses to Minnesota and Kansas at the beginning of the season, Toledo has averaged 42.9 points per game since. Toledo has been particularly proficient in the second half lately as they were able to come back from early deficits and put up a combined 87 points in the second half of their last three games. Neither defense is worth spit so I?ll provide a prediction for the side and the total in this one.
The Verdict: Toledo (-3.5) & Over (66)
TOLEDO vs. CONNECTICUT - December 27TH, 5:30 pm
The Connecticut Huskies were awarded their first ever bowl bid after finishing 3-3 in the Big East while this will be the Toledo Rockets' 3rd appearance in the Motor City Bowl in the last four years. Toledo defeated Miami Ohio on this same field in the MAC Championship game on December 2nd. This game continues to offer an excellent recruiting opportunity for the Rockets as Ford Field is only an hour?s drive up I-75 from Toledo and there are currently 20 players on their roster from the Detroit area. For UConn, they find themselves in a bowl game in just their 3rd season in Division I-A which will be a big boost to their recruiting as they try to convince prospects that they are no longer just a basketball school.
The Bowl committee is undoubtedly loving this match-up, since both teams have explosive and high scoring offenses which are expected to give their national television audience and their advertisers their money's worth. Ford Field with it?s enclosed playing field should provide perfect conditions which will benefit the prolific passing offenses of both schools. Toledo plays numerous offensive formations and with finals week just ending, UConn can not possibly have found time to practice against all of them, so I think that we can expect that the Rockets should be able to put up points as they have all season. Toledo backers have fattened their wallets this year as Toledo has covered eight of their last nine games after allowing Minnesota and Kansas to each score 63 points in their first two games.
Anyone who has followed The Docket this season has heard me sing the praises of QB Bruce Gradkowski of Toledo as the Rockets have been featured in this newsletter no fewer than five times this year. On top of the fact that Gradkowski has thrown for 3,475 yards, 27 touchdowns and only 8 interceptions this year, I am here to tell you that he is one tough bastard. In the MAC Championship game on Dec. 2nd, Gradkowski had his left shoulder dislocated in the first quarter when he was tackled and driven into the ground. After the Rocket training staff popped his shoulder back into place on the sideline, he returned to the game. Then in the 2nd quarter, he broke a bone in his throwing hand on the helmet of a Miami defender while completing his throwing motion. At that point most players would have called it quits for the day, but this kid returned to the field and led Toledo to 28 second half points in a come from behind win. Despite playing with these injuries, his four touchdown passes tied the MAC Championship Game record which he now shares with Byron Leftwich and Ben Roethlisberger. The next day he had surgery on his hand which included the installation of three titanium screws. I was in Vegas at the time and unfortunately missed that heroic comeback as I had been drug by my companion to the Gladys Knight show (which, by the way, I highly recommend). However, I am happy to say that after the show, she cashed her first sports wagering ticket upon our return to the Rio. But I digress. Suffice it to say that Gradkowski is a stud.
Connecticut also has a passing game that surprisingly ranks 10th in the nation with QB Dan Orlovsky averaging over 285 passing yards per game. Toledo might have some difficulty stopping their aerial attack since the Rockets? pass defense is ranked 2nd worst in the country, giving up over 278 points per game and has allowed 25 touchdowns through the air this season. On top of that UConn has a solid running back in Cornell Brockington, who gained over 1,100 yards this year and averaged 5.1 per carry. Of course those numbers were put up against very weak Big East competition and their non-conference games were against Murray State, Duke, Georgia Tech, Army, and Buffalo. Although the Huskies beat Pittsburgh, they lost to Boston College and Syracuse. Did anyone see the Cuse in the Tangerine Bowl? That kind of schedule and competition does not exactly prepare a defense for a team like Toledo which finished their regular season with three big wins and covers and had to fight their way through a superior MAC conference.
The Huskies scored an average of 29.4 points per game this season and the Rockets averaged 38.3. If you remove the blowout losses to Minnesota and Kansas at the beginning of the season, Toledo has averaged 42.9 points per game since. Toledo has been particularly proficient in the second half lately as they were able to come back from early deficits and put up a combined 87 points in the second half of their last three games. Neither defense is worth spit so I?ll provide a prediction for the side and the total in this one.
The Verdict: Toledo (-3.5) & Over (66)
