TOLEDO ROCKETS NOTES:
Toledo will play in its third-consecutive bowl game when it heads west to face Mountain West Conference Wyoming in the Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl at Arizona Stadium in Tucson, Ariz. on Saturday, Dec. 30 at 2:30 p.m. PT (4:30 ET). The game will be televised on the CW and can also be seen on the Barstool Sports app. Toledo (11-2, 8-0 MAC) won 11 consecutive games this season and was the West Division champion of the Mid-American Conference. Wyoming (8-4, 5-3 MWC) finished in a tie for fourth place in the Mountain West Conference, a game behind three teams that tied for first place. After a heart-breaking 30-28 loss at Illinois to open the season, Toledo reeled off 11 consecutive wins before falling to Miami in the MAC Championship Game, 23-14. Toledo went a perfect 8-0 in conference play for the first time in its history, including a 21-17 win at Miami on Oct. 21. Toledo is 12-8 all-time in bowl games, including last year’s 21-19 victory over Liberty at the Roofclaim.com Boca Raton Bowl. Toledo is 4-1 in bowl games vs. current Mountain West Conference teams, with wins over San Jose State, Nevada, UNLV and Air Force, and a loss to Utah State
Notes From the Launch Pad
• Toledo is 11-2, the second time in Jason Candle’s eight years at Toledo that the Rockets have won 11 games (11-3 in 2017). • Toledo went 8-0 in MAC play for the first time in school history. The Rockets are the first MAC school to go 8-0 since WMU had a perfect league slate in 2016. • Toledo is the MAC West Division champion for the second straight year. It is Toledo’s 13th division crown, the most of any MAC school. • The Rockets won 11 straight games for the first time since 1971. • Toledo was ranked 23rd in the Associated Press college football poll on Nov. 19 and Nov. 26. It was Toledo’s first time in the Top 25 since 2015. • Junior CB Quinyon Mitchell made second-team on four of the five major All-America teams; Associated Press, FWAA, AFCA, Sporting News. • 10 Rockets earned first-team All-MAC honors, the most of any MAC school since Marshall had 13 in 1999. • Junior RB Peny Boone was named the MAC’s Offensive Player of the Year. • Jason Candle was named MAC Coach of the Year for the second time (2017). • Toledo will be playing in its 21st bowl game and seventh under Candle. • This will be Toledo third straight bowl appearance. The Rockets defeated Liberty, 21-19, in last year’s Roofclaim.com Boca Raton Bowl. • Toledo has an 12-8 bowl record going back to its very first appearance in the Tangerine Bowl in 1969. • Toledo is 4-1 in bowl games vs. current Mountain West Conference teams, with wins over San Jose State (1981), UNLV (1984, by forfeit), Nevada (1995), and Air Force (2011), and a loss to Utah State (2012).
ROCKET UPDATE • Toledo is 11-2, 8-0 MAC and MAC West Division champion. • Toledo is the MAC West Division champion for the second straight year. It is Toledo’s 13th division crown, the most of any MAC school. • Toledo has reached the 11-win mark for the second time in Jason Candle’s eight years at Toledo (11-3 in 2017). • Toledo went 8-0 in MAC play for the first time in school history. The Rockets are the first MAC school to go 8-0 since WMU had a perfect league slate in 2016. • The Rockets won 11 straight games for the first time since 1971. • The Rockets closed out the home portion of their season with a perfect 6-0 record, their first undefeated home season since 2017 and just the second since 2004. • Toledo was ranked 23rd in the Associated Press college football poll on Nov. 19 and Nov. 26. It was Toledo’s first time in the Top 25 since 2015. • Junior CB Quinyon Mitchell made second-team on four of the five major All-America teams; Associated Press, FWAA, AFCA, Sporting News. • Junior QB Dequan Finn earned the 2023 Vern Smith Award as the MVP of the Mid-American Conference. • Junior RB Peny Boone was named the MAC’s Offensive Player of the Year. • 10 Rockets earned first-team All-MAC honors, the most of any MAC school since Marshall had 13 in 1999. • Jason Candle was named MAC Coach of the Year for the second time (2017). • Toledo will be playing in its 21st bowl game and seventh under Candle. • This will be Toledo third straight bowl appearance. The Rockets defeated Liberty, 21-19, in last year’s Roofclaim.com Boca Raton Bowl. • Toledo has an 12-8 bowl record going back to its very first appearance in the Tangerine Bowl in 1969. • Toledo is 4-1 in bowl games vs. current Mountain West Conference teams, with wins over San Jose State (1981), UNLV (1984, by forfeit), Nevada (1995), and Air Force (2011), and a loss to Utah State (2012). • Toledo is bowl eligible for the 14th consecutive season, which is the eighth-longest streak in the FBS and the second-longest among “Group of Five” schools. • Toledo leads the MAC in scoring offense (33.6), total offense (426.2), passing offense (233.5) and rushing offense (202.8). The Rockets are 10th in the nation in rushing.
TOLEDO PLAYING IN 21ST BOWL GAME
The Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl will be the 21st bowl game for the Toledo Rockets. Toledo is 12-8 all-time in bowl games. The Rockets’ first bowl was the Tangerine Bowl in 1969. Toledo defeated Davison, 56-33, in that contest in Orlando, Fla., the first of three consecutive victories in the Tangerine Bowl. While Toledo has never played in the Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl, the Rockets have played in Arizona Stadium four times against the Arizona Wildcats, most recently in 2012.
ROCKETS CONTINUE BOWL ELIGIBILITY STREAK
Toledo is bowl eligible for the 14th consecutive season, the eighth-longest streak in the FBS and the second-longest among “Group of Five” schools.
TOLEDO-WYOMING SERIES
This will be the third meeting between Toledo and Wyoming. The Cowboys won in Toledo, 20-15, in 2010 while the Rockets came out on top in Laramie, 34-31, in 2012.
WYOMING COWBOYS NOTES:
• For the third consecutive season the Wyoming Cowboys will be playing in a bowl game, which is the first time that has happened in Wyoming school history. The Cowboys have accepted an invitation to the 2023 Bartstool Sports Arizona Bowl, marking the second consecutive year the Pokes will play in Tucson and the third time in the past five seasons. • In addition to making its third consecutive bowl appearance for the first time in school history, the Cowboys are making their sixth bowl appearance in the last eight seasons (2016, ‘17, ‘19, ‘21, ‘22 and ‘23), which is also a school best. UW also won three consecutive bowl game appearances (2017, ‘19 and ‘21) during the time Craig Bohl has been head coach of the Cowboys. He will coach his final game as head coach against the Rockets.
Cowboy Bowl History:
The Cowboys are 9-9 all-time in Bowl games dating back to their first contest against Washington & Lee in the 1951 Gator Bowl. Wyoming has won three of their last four bowl games dating back to 2017 and are 3-2 in Bowl Games under head coach Craig Bohl. It marks the fourth time in the last five trips to a Bowl that Wyoming has played against a team from the MAC. Wyoming owns wins over Central Michigan (37-14 in 2017) and Kent State (52- 38 in 2021) and fell last season against Ohio in overtime by a score of 30-27.
Against the MAC:
The Cowboys are 11-6 all-time against teams from the Mid-American Conference. Since 1996 when the Wyoming Cowboys first played a Mid-American Conference team in Western Michigan, the Cowboys are 11-5 all-time against current teams from the MAC. UW is 5-3 against MAC foes in Laramie, 4-2 on the road and 2-1 at neutral sites. Wyoming fell in overtime last season against Ohio in the Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl 30-27. Wyoming will meet Toledo for the third time, which is tied for the most games against a MAC team with Ohio and Central Michigan.
Forcing Turnovers:
The Cowboys head into the bowl game ranked seventh in the nation and second in the mountain West in turnover margin at 0.83. The group also rank No 20 in the nation in turnovers gained with 21, as Wyoming ranks sixth in the nation in fumbles recovered with 11 on the season. Wyoming has 10 interceptions on the season.
Against The Run:
The Cowboys have been solid against the run all season allowing 144.6 per game. The Pokes have allowed opponents to rush for under 100 yards in six games this season including three of the last four games. Nevada recorded only 18 rushing yards in the last contest. In the month of November, Wyoming allowed only 76 yards rushing per game.
November Opponent Rushing
Nevada- 18 | Hawai’i – 67 | UNLV – 165 | Colorado State – 54
Offense Over Last Two Games:
The Cowboy offense has been solid to close out the regular season. The group has averaged 440.5 yards of total offense in those two games with 198.5 yards rushing and 242.0 yards passing. The group has also averaged 22 first downs per game and have scored 42 points per game. Wyoming has scored six rushing scores and had five passing scores in the last two contests.
Getting After the Quarterback:
The Cowboys recorded a season-high six sacks in the last contest against Nevada. It was the most sacks in a game for the Cowboys since recording six against Utah State on Oct. 22, 2022. Sabastian Harsh led the Pokes with two sacks in the game, as five Cowboys had at least a half sack in the contest.
Wyoming-Toledo Previous Meetings Marked by Two Close Games Both Won by the Road Team:
This year’s Wyoming-Toledo match-up in the Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl will be only the third time the two teams have met in history. Both of the previous meetings were decided by one possession. Here is a breakdown of the previous meetings between the Cowboys and Rockets. •The road team won each of the previous two meetings. •Wyoming won the first meeting on Oct. 2, 2010, in Toledo by a margin of five points (20-15). •Toledo won the second meeting on Sept. 8, 2012, in Laramie by a margin of three points (34-31).
Other Wyoming-Toledo Comparisons:
In addition to both the Cowboys and Rockets featuring dual-threat quarterbacks, the two teams share other similarities. •Running Backs: The two teams’ leading running backs both rank among the Top 25 rushers in the nation this year. Wyoming’s Harrison Waylee has averaged 95.1 rushing yards per game this season to rank No. 23 in the nation. Toledo’s Peny Boone has averaged 107.7 yards per game, and ranks No. 11 in the country. •Linebackers: Both teams two leading tacklers are their linebackers. For Wyoming Easton Gibbs is the Cowboys’ leading tackler with 106 tackles in 12 games this season and his 8.8 average per game ranks No. 32 in the nation. Cowboy linebacker Shae Suiaunoa has been credited with 88 total tackles this season to rank second for Wyoming. Toledo’s leading tackler is linebacker Dallas Gant, who has recorded 110 tackles in 13 games and his 8.5 average ranks No. 42 in the FBS. Fellow Rocket linebacker Daniel Bolden ranks second on the team with 85 total tackles.
Wyoming Defense Among the Best in the Mountain West in 2023:
The 2023 season was an outstanding one for the Wyoming Cowboys and a big part of that was the Wyoming defense. The Cowboy defense held opponents to 22.9 points per game to rank No. 2 in the Mountain West. In terms of total defense, Wyoming’s defensive unit allowed opponents 360.2 yards of total offense per game to rank No. 3 in the Mountain West Conference. UW also ranked No. 3 in the MW in rushing defense, allowing only 144.6 rushing yards per game, and ranked No. 4 in pass defense, giving up only 215.7 passing yards per game. In terms of pass efficiency defense, the Pokes ranked No. 2 in the conference with a rating of 124.26.
