2017 DOLLAR GENERAL BOWL
Toledo (11-2, 7-1 MAC) vs. Appalachian State (8-4, 7-1 Sun Belt)
Saturday, December 23, 2017 • 7:00 pm ET • Mobile, Ala. • Ladd Peebles Stadium (40,646)
ESPN Announcers: David Neal (play-by-play), Matt Stinchcomb (analyst), Dawn Davenport (sideline)
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Toledo Notes: Toledo Notes;
MAC Notes
For the seventh time in the last eight seasons, Toledo is going bowling. But this time, the Rockets are going as champions. Toledo (11-2, 7-1 MAC) plays Sun Belt co-champion Appalachian State (8-4, 7-1 SBC) in the Dollar General Bowl on Dec. 23 in Mobile, Ala. The contest is a rematch of last year’s Raycom Media Camellia Bowl, which the Mountaineers won by a 31-28 score. The Rockets come to Mobile for the third time but the first time as Mid-American Conference Champions. Toledo defeated MAC East champion Akron, 45-28, in the MAC Championship Game at Ford Field in Detroit. It was Toledo’s 11th MAC title but first since 2004.
The Rockets are led by senior quarterback and MAC Offensive Player of the Year Logan Woodside. Woodside, who threw for 307 yards and four touchdowns in the MAC title game, has completed 64.9 percent of his passes this year for 3,758 yards and 28 TDs. He is Toledo’s all-time leader in career passing yards (10,390), TD passes (93) and passing efficiency (165.2). Toledo’s other big weapons on offense are senior running back Terry Swanson (1,319 yards, 14 TDs) and sophomore wide receiver Diontae Johnson (72 receptions, 1,257 yards, 13 TDs). The defense is led by junior defensive end Olasunkanmi Adeniyi (19.5 TFL, 8.5 sacks).
Rocket Roundup:
• Toledo (11-2, 7-1 MAC) won the 2017 Marathon MAC Football Championship Game with a 45-28 victory over Akron.
• This was Toledo’s 11th MAC championship and first since 2004.
• Toledo won the MAC West Division title, one game ahead of Northern Illinois and Central Michigan. It was the11th time Toledo has earned at least share of the MAC West title, but its first outright crown since 1998.
• This is the fifth time in UT history that a Rocket team has won at least 11 games in a season, most recently an 11-0-1 mark in 1995. The school record is 12 wins, set in 1970 and 1971 (12-0 records both years).
• Toledo has won at least nine games in six of the last seven years.
• This will be Toledo’s 17th bowl appearance and seventh in the last eight years. The Rockets are 11-5 in bowl games.
• Toledo is 2-0 in bowl games played in Mobile when the Dollar General Bowl was known by different names. The Rockets beat UTEP in 2005 GMAC Bowl by a score of 45-13, and Arkansas State, 63-44, in January of 2015 (2014 season) in the GoDaddy Bowl.
• Senior quarterback Logan Woodside was named the MAC Offensive Player of the Year, the Vern Smith Award (MAC MVP) winner and the Offensive Player of the Game in the MAC Championship Game.
• Senior Terry Swanson has rushed for 1,319 yards and now ranks fourth at UT with 3,557 career rushing yards.
• Second-year head coach Jason Candle was named 2017 MAC Coach of the Year.
• Toledo’s offense has averaged 509.9 yards and 39.2 points per game in 2017. Both figures rank second in school history.
• Toledo has had at least nine wins in six of the last seven years. This is the ninth time Toledo has won at least 10 games in a season and fifth time with at least 11 victories.
Woodside Career Leader in TDs & Yards:
Toledo senior quarterback Logan Woodside set two career passing marks toward the end of the 2017 season. Woodside tossed two TD passes in Toledo’s 66-37 win over Bowling Green on Nov. 15, giving him 87 for his career and breaking Bruce Gradkowski’s career mark of 85 set from 2002-05. He added four more TD tosses vs. Akron on Dec. 2, moving his total to 93. Woodside surpassed Bruce Gradkowski’s career passing yardage mark of 9,225 with a 361-yard performance vs. NIU on Nov. 2. Following his 307-yard performance vs. Akron, Woodside now has 10,390 career yards.
