Homecoming 2014

THE INDEPENDENT

COLLEGIAN Homecoming 2014

2 | The Independent Collegian | Homecoming 2014

A letter to our readers It’s not Rocket science To all our readers,

It’s finally time for the traditional Homecoming game.

This will be the 83rd homecoming game in Rockets’ history. Beyond celebrating this annual college moment, this also gives us a great opportunity to reflect on what UT has achieved up to the midway point of the season, and what they have yet to accomplish.

Inside this special-edition issue, you will get a closer look at what Toledo’s players have had to deal with this season, as well as what they will have to deal with when UMass comes to town on Saturday. We hope this issue proves to be enjoyable for both current students and alumni, and we hope everyone enjoys the game this week.

How well do you know your Toledo trivia? (Answers can be found on page 7)

A) From 1969 through 1971, Toledo won how many consecutive games, which currently ranks as the fifth-longest winning streak in major college football?

B) Saturday’s homecoming game will be the ___ homecoming game in school history.

C) Freshman running back Terry Swanson currently ranks 5th in the country in yards per carry. How many yards per carry does he average?

D) What is sophomore quarterback Logan Woodside’s hometown?

Happy Homecoming!

E) How many of Toledo’s starting offensive lineman have already graduated?

The IC Sports Staff

F) When is the last time the Rockets faced UMass?

G) What was the final score in Toledo’s October 11 game against Iowa State?

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The IC Sports staff is on Twitter @IC_Sports, covering all football and basketball games live. You can also head over to www.IndependentCollegian.com/Sports or Facebook.com/ICollegian to read exclusive content, like our Weekly Launch section, game notebooks, columns and game recaps.

H) How many times has senior placekicker Jeremiah Detmer won MAC West Player of the Week honors during his career at Toledo?

I) In what year did Matt Campbell take over as head coach in Toledo?

On the mend

Homecoming 2014 | The Independent Collegian |

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Junior quarterback on the grueling road to recovery after tearing ACL against Mizzou

By Blake Bacho Sports Editor

Toledo junior quarterback Phillip Ely hasn’t been interested in reliving the moment that abruptly ended his first season as a Rocket.

Going through the experience once probably robbed him of any desire to reminisce.

“I’ll be honest, I watched it for the first time this week,” Ely admitted. “I never went back to watch it, didn’t want to, didn’t care for it. I finally just said ‘the heck with it, I want to go see it, I want to see what actually happened and how it looked.’”

Nothing Ely saw on tape came as a surprise.

“Just how I kind of remember,” he said. “Just coming around on the play before on the run. I pulled the ball, just made really one hard cut to the right back inside and it kind of felt like a soda pop can crushing.

“You know how you just kind of step on [a soda can]? It felt like that with my knee, it just kind of crumbled on me.”

Ely doesn’t have a medical degree, but as he was carted off the field he didn’t need one to know that something was seriously wrong.

“I know my body,” Ely said.

“You play this sport so long that you know what a sprain is compared to what real damage is. I tried to keep optimistic and went into the MRI with some hope. I’m not a doctor so I can’t diagnose myself.”

The MRI confirmed the fears Ely felt as he was carted off the field; he had torn his ACL and wouldn’t see a football field again in 2014.

The diagnosis might as well have been a sledgehammer.

“It was hard,” Ely said. “But I took that night, I got to stay with my parents in a hotel room.

We talked about that game, we talked about other games and we just kind of slowly changed our attitude from ‘oh my God, my life is over with,’ to ‘hey, what do we need to do next?’

“I owe it really all to my parents for getting me through those first couple days. I couldn’t have done it on my own.”

Ely and his family did get through the first few days, and Ely has been making his way through the grueling recovery process ever since.

That process couldn’t include anything surgical until Ely got back into the gym.

“Before the surgery even happened, we tried to do a really good job building up his quads so he is able to come back from this surgery even better,” said Toledo head coach Matt Campbell. “For him it was about a two-and-ahalf-week process really to even get into surgery.”

“You know how you just kind of step on [a soda can]? It felt like that with my knee, it just kind of crumbled on me.”

PHILLIP ELY UT junior quarterback

But that was just the beginning.

“Once the surgery occurred it’s now about an eight- to nine-month process for him of retraining that knee, from bend to walk, from walk to certainly to be able to run,” Campbell continued. “It’s a slow process, it’s kind of a grind a little bit, but if there is one kid that has the mental makeup to handle it and be detailed it’s [Ely].

“I think he’s taken it as almost a challenge.”

Ely’s challenge is one of solitude for the most part. He has the help and support of the team and his family, but he is the only one that can actually put in the work.

“It’s tough for sure,” Ely said. “You do get a lot of alone time to yourself.

You’re the only one that does the

rehab, the only one that does the reps and the sets, so you’re the only one that really goes through it.”

While Ely fights through recovery, the Rockets roll on. With sophomore Logan Woodside at the helm, Toledo sits atop the Mid-American Conference in scoring offense and total offense.

Woodside has taken full advantage of the opportunity Ely’s injury offered, and Woodside insists his fellow signal caller has been nothing but helpful throughout the experience.

“He’s been in every meeting, we’ve watched film together and he’s been helping me out,” Woodside said. “We help each other out really even though he’s not out there right now he’s doing everything he can to help this team out.”

Ely’s teaching tendencies recently led to a position in the press box on Saturdays. According to him and his coach, it is an opportunity for Ely to learn and stay sharp mentally during the rehab process.

“He’s got a coaching mentality,” Campbell said. “If you ask Logan [Woodside], I think one of the things that is really special is their relationship. You don’t see that much. From really day one, [Ely] has been there for Logan and made him a better quarterback.”

The relationship between Ely and Woodside will be put to a true test next season, when a healthy Ely will want to compete to start against the player who has led the Rockets to a 3-0 record in the MAC so far this season.

The competition to come is one that any coach would love to have, a throw down for the most important position on the field between two players of starting caliber.

“It’s one of those things where you have to take it one day at a time, try to evaluate that once you have all the information and you’re able to sit down and really

JACKIE KELLETT / IC

Junior quarterback Phillip Ely (shown above vs. New Hampshire) played less than two full games before losing his year to a torn ACL. Sophomore Logan Woodside replaced Ely on the field, and Ely is dealing with the grueling year-long task of rehabilitation.

calculate it,” Campbell said. “It’s an unbelievable situation to be in, you’ve got two kids that [are] great leaders, great competitors and really would do anything to make our football team the best it could possibly be.

“It’s hard to find just one of those guys. To have two of them, it’s a pretty special situation for us.”

The chance to once again compete for a starting spot will be the reward for Ely after what has been and will be a long grueling

struggle through recovery.

He said bring it on.

“I’m going to get better, I’m going to grind through therapy and I’m going to get myself back,” Ely said. “I just got to go into next year and battle it out again.

“I mean, why not? I’m going to be sitting at a boring desk job five or six years from now, so why not go out with a bang and just try to do what we enjoy doing, which is playing football.”

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Home against the Minutemen Rockets face UMass in Toledo’s 83rd annual Homecoming contest

By Blake Bacho Sports Editor

Toledo’s bye week is over and it is time for the Rockets to get back to work.

Not that they have been simply kicked back relaxing during their time off. The University of Toledo’s players and coaches have been busy preparing for this week’s Homecoming matchup against the University of Massachusetts (2-6, 2-2 in MAC), a contest that will give Toledo a chance to go 4-0 in Mid-American Conference play this season.

UT (4-3, 3-0 in MAC) is the only MAC West team without a conference loss this year, but for head coach Matt Campbell and his players, it is far too early to start celebrating anything.

“We are going to have to put points on the board. UMass, they’re really good on defense just like they are on offense, so we are going to have to be able to put points on the board to be able to keep us in the game.”

LOGAN WOODSIDE UT sophomore quarterback

“We’re not even halfway into playing our conference schedule; we’ve only played three conference games up until this point,” Campbell said. “What we understand is we understand how competitive this conference is right now. We’ve got to continue to worry about us.

“The moment we take our eyes off of that, we are in deep trouble.”

Toledo’s loss two weeks ago at Iowa State may have been the sobering moment Campbell needed to keep his players even-keeled about the Rockets’ success this season.

But Toledo’s head coach doesn’t

JACKIE KELLETT / IC

The Rockets host UMass for UT’s 2014 Homecoming game. Toledo is 3-0 in the Mid-American Conference going into this matchup, and the Minutemen are riding a two-game winning streak, their only victories this season but both coming within conference play. Toledo spent last week on bye after suffering a 37-30 loss at Iowa State two weeks ago. The contest will kick off at 2 p.m. in the Glass Bowl.

even want his guys to remember the 37-30 defeat to the Big 12 Cyclones.

“Win or lose, we do a really good job of flushing it on Sunday,” Campbell said. “I think we did a really good job of getting back to what we have done well and what we haven’t done well over the first seven weeks of the football season and really get into that over the last three or four practices. We knew we had to get better.”

Heading into a crucial stretch of the season, the Rockets are atop the MAC mountain. UMass, on the other hand, is hoping to build off their first two wins of the season, which have come against Kent State and Eastern Michigan over the past two weeks.

The Minutemen haven’t racked up wins, but junior quarterback Blake Frohnapfel is keeping them dangerous with the strength of his arm.

If you go What: Toledo’s Homecoming game against UMass Where: The Glass Bowl When: Saturday, Oct. 25, at 2 p.m.

TV/Streaming: BCSN/ ESPN3 Radio: Rockets Radio Network Prediction: UMass serves as an excellent Homecoming guest and Toledo improves to a 4-0 MAC record with a victory over the Minutemen.

Final score: 35-14 Rockets.

The upperclassman currently leads the MAC in passing yards per game with a 310.4 per contest average, a performance that can certainly be partially credited to the teachings of UMass head coach and former NFL assistant coach Mark Whipple.

“What you’ve seen is a team that has really gained confidence,” Campbell said. “Coach Whipple comes back to UMass after a really storied tradition of him coaching there when they were a powerhouse at the FCS level. Whipple went on to the National Football League, he’s been with the Steelers and he’s been with the Browns and has really done some great things as a quarterback coach.

“What you’ve seen is you’re

“Win or lose, we do a really good job of flushing it on Sunday.”

MATT CAMPBELL UT head football coach

seeing it all start to come together for this UMass football team.”

The Minutemen won’t just attack the Rockets offensively. UMass features a defense that has also earned respect from UT’s players.

“We are going to have to put points on the board,” said Toledo sophomore quarterback Logan Woodside. “UMass, they’re really good on defense just like they are on See Homecoming / 7 »

Homecoming 2014 | The Independent Collegian |

Homecoming from page 6

offense, so we are going to have to be able to put points on the board to be able to keep us in the game.”

Woodside, like his head coach, isn’t getting caught up in where Toledo stands at just a little over halfway through the football season.

“I really don’t think that we are the frontrunner right now,” he said. “We really can’t look at it that way even though we are undefeated in the conference. We can’t take it that way, we’ve got to keep preparing like we have all year and see how it plays out.”

Whatever the Rockets want to say, even top-tier rivals like Northern Illinois and Bowling Green have suffered conference losses this season. Toledo is

currently in charge of the MAC, and only they can decide how the rest of the season plays out.

“All we’ve really had the ability to look at is us,” Campbell said.

“We really haven’t had the ability to see what everyone else is doing or how they’ve played or what has happened. We’ve certainly changed, certainly from what we thought we would be at the beginning of the season to who we are right now.

“I think that’s part of football though. It’s not only in our conference or our own football team, but also over the landscape of college football. I think that is what draws us all in to college football and makes college football really special.”

Toledo kicks off against UMass at 2 p.m. in the Glass Bowl.

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It’s not Rocket science: Trivia answers A) UT won 35 straight games from 1969 to 1971, currently the fifth-longest streak in major college football.

B) This will be the Rockets’ 83rd Homecoming game. Toledo holds a 57-25 record in Homecoming games.

C) Swanson is averaging 7.76 yards per carry ever since stepping in for injured sophomore Kareem Hunt D) Woodside is originally from Frankfort, Kentucky. He completed 138-of-212 passes for 2,951 yards, also setting a school touchdown record with 41 scores in his senior year at Franklin County High School.

E) This one might be a trick question. All five of Toledo’s starting offensive lineman have already graduated.

F) The last time UT and UMass met, the Minutemen weren’t even a part of the MAC. The Rockets defeated UMass 24-3 in the Glass Bowl in 1999 and hold a 2-1 advantage in the series between the two programs.

G) Iowa State defeated Toledo 37-30 in the Cyclones’ Homecoming game. The Rockets took the game to the last snap, but failed to convert an onside kick, allowing Iowa State to kneel their way to a win.

H) Detmer has won the award eight times, the most recent coming from his performance against Iowa State.

I) Matt Campbell was named head coach of the Toledo program in December of 2011.

ALEX CAMPOS / IC

Sophomore quarterback Logan Woodside drops back for a pass during Toledo’s matchup earlier in the season with Central Michigan University. Saturday marks the 83rd Homecoming game in UT history. Toledo will enjoy this game even more, as it is one of only two remaining home games this season. They will next face Kent State and Northern Illinois before returning to take on Bowling Green on Nov. 19. The Rockets conclude the 2014 regular season with a trip to Eastern Michigan on Friday, Nov. 28.

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Examining the Rockets’ season so far

ROBERT HEARONS

ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR

The University of Toledo football team has visited both ends of the college football spectrum and just about everywhere in between over the first half of the 2014 season.

From a three-hour lightning delay to a game-clinching missed extra point, multiple injury setbacks and offensive fireworks galore, the Rockets have endured a season with its fair share of twists and turns.

The only thing we know so far is that UT currently sits in the driver seat of the Mid-American Conference with sole possession

of first place in the MAC West division.

Toledo’s players control their own destinies moving into the rest of MAC play. To use a metaphor from a different sport, the ball is now in the Rockets’ court.

The goal should be simple and straightforward from here on out: don’t drop that ball.

Coming into the season, Toledo was picked by many to win the MAC West, even with the program’s recent issues dealing with fellow MAC West member Northern Illinois, the team that has been consistently keeping UT away from postseason play.

With a veteran offensive line consisting entirely of fifth-year graduate students, along with former SEC quarterback Philip Ely under center, the Rockets seemed poised to win plenty in 2014.

If only championships were decided in August.

After a season-opening blowout victory over New Hampshire, a series of crucial injuries in the initial weeks of the season gave way

for some legitimate concern in the early going.

Ely would go on to tear his ACL the second week during a game against Missouri, prematurely ending his season. To make matters worse, sophomore running back Kareem Hunt has struggled with a leg injury and starting sophomore defensive tackle Marquise Moore was lost for the season.

A strong strength of a schedule that included matchups against three power conference teams also put a damper on the season in the early going, as the Rockets failed to win any of those games.

But those are Toledo’s only losses this year. UT’s fourth 3-0 conference start in five years finds the Rockets in position to truly lock up a West division title this season.

Sophomore quarterback Logan Woodside has helped calm any turbulent waters this season, grabbing the number one spot on the depth chart following Ely’s injury and never look-

JACKIE KELLETT / IC

This is the fourth time in five years that Toledo starts Mid-American Conference play with a 3-0 record. UT is the only team in the MAC West without a conference loss so far this season, placing the Rockets in the sole control of first place in the division.

ing back.

The trio of freshman Terry Swanson and sophomores Marc Remy and Damion Jones-Moore at running back has also helped the Rockets deal with injuries.

Swanson now ranks fifth in the nation in yards per carry with 7.76 yards per clip.

No matter what the preseason polls said, Toledo’s path to a division title and ticket to Detroit will still hinge on what happens when they travel to DeKalb to face Northern Illinois. The Huskies, with two MAC championships in the past three years and three straight West division titles, will be UT’s toughest test of the season within the West division.

Although NIU already has a division blemish on their record, a win over UT could stack the cards in their favor and send them to Detroit if both teams win out the rest of their division schedule.

Even with former Northern Illinois quarterback Jordan Lynch long gone, it will take a stellar performance to get the Rockets by the

Huskies in the latter’s own house.

In the meantime, Toledo will still have to fight off the likes of UMass and Kent State, both worthy opponents and sure to give the division-leading Rockets their best shots.

From a defensive standpoint, UT will have to bury the previous weak performances and continue to progress, particularly in the secondary where injuries have wreaked havoc.

Even with their issues, it should not be forgotten that the Rockets lead the MAC in rushing defense, allowing a mere 113.9 yards per game.

Regardless of the opponent on the other side of the field in the coming weeks, it will be the Rockets who decide what team represents the West division in the MAC Championship game this December.

If any other team takes the division title, Toledo will only be able to look in the mirror to find fault.

If they can’t get to Detroit this season, the Rockets will have dropped the ball.