The Toledo Rockets will close out the regular season against Central Michigan Friday, Nov. 29, in Mount Pleasant.
The game will start at noon and be carried on ESPNU.
Sophomore Bryant Koback leads the Rockets with 1,165 rushing yards.
The Rockets are coming off a 49-30 loss at Buffalo Nov. 20. The loss knocked Toledo out of contention for the MAC West Division title.
The Chippewas are still alive in the MAC West race. They need a win over the Rockets and a Western Michigan loss at Northern Illinois Tuesday, Nov. 26. With a win at NIU or a CMU loss, WMU will win the MAC West Division and face Miami in the MAC Championship game Saturday, Dec. 7.
Toledo was unable to stop Buffalo’s run game in the loss last week. The Rockets trailed by just eight points at halftime, 28-20, but UB outscored them 21-10 in the final 30 minutes. The Bulls racked up 503 yards of total offense, 331 on the ground. Jaret Patterson, the MAC’s second-leading rusher, ran for 192 yards and scored five total touchdowns, four on the ground and one in the air.
Central Michigan (7-4, 5-2 MAC) will be entering Friday’s game with plenty of rest, having played just twice in the month of November. CMU’s last game was a 45-44 win at Ball State Nov. 16, its fifth win in six games. After winning just one game in 2018, first-year Head Coach Jim McElwain has Central Michigan in MAC West title contention. Running back Jonathan Ward is third in the conference in rushing yards per game (107.6) and has run for at least 100 yards seven times. Wide receiver Kalil Pimpleton leads the MAC with 69 receptions and 738 receiving yards and has caught six TDs.
Toledo leads the series with CMU, 26-18-3. The Rockets won at home last year, 51-13, and have won nine consecutive games in the series.
