Rockets prepare to open MAC play with Saturday’s game against Ball State

Take everything that has happened over the last three weeks to the University of Toledo football team (1-2), crumple it all up into a ball and throw it away.

It doesn’t matter, it’s done and the team is moving forward. The real meat of the Rockets’ 2014 schedule starts with Saturday’s game against Ball State (1-2), UT’s first Mid-American Conference game of the season.

From here on in, every week really does count for Toledo.

“Us and Ball State are 0-0 in the conference,” said UT sophomore quarterback Logan Woodside. “The first three games are not going to decide what we want to do with the rest of our season. We’ve got a fresh start and we are going to take advantage of it.”

The Rockets’ refreshing return to the Glass Bowl won’t be without its challenges. The Cardinals have bested Toledo over the past two years, and they and Northern Illinois are always fighting UT for the MAC West trophy at the end of the season.

“[Ball State has] done a really good job offensively of really taking advantage of every possession in a football game,” said Toledo head coach Matt Campbell. “I think that’s what you’ve seen again this year even though they’re playing a young guy at quarterback. It’s going to be a big challenge this week coming home.”

That young guy, Ball State sophomore Ozzie Mann, is sitting at a 54.6 percent completion rate with 598 passing yards and three touchdowns this season. He doesn’t have to do it alone for the Cardinals, who also have senior running back Jahwan Edwards to help carry the offensive load.

Edwards is currently fifth in the MAC with 88.3 rushing yards per game, and he finished with 1,110 yards in 2013.

“The biggest thing is they play almost like a military academy,” Campbell said of Ball State. “They force you to really be detail-oriented in a football game. They do a great job possession to possession. From their defensive standpoint they aren’t going to give up the big play, they are going to make you earn everything downfield. Offensively, they do a great job of methodically moving the football and controlling the game.

“I just think they do a really good job in the style of game that they play and how they match up and how they have matched up.”

Both teams failed to match up favorably with their week three opponents. Toledo is coming off a 58-34 loss to Cincinnati, while Ball State is looking to forget about a 27-20 defeat at the hands of Indiana State.

While the Cardinals have gotten the better end of the last couple face-offs with UT, they only managed to scrape by with a seven-point advantage in each of those past two contests. The overall series between the two programs sits at a 19-19-1 tie.

“It’s a big game,” Woodside said. “A MAC West game and we’ve got to do everything in our power to win. Ball State is a good team. The last two years, they’ve beat us and we’ve got to prepare like we haven’t before to have a shot to beat them.”

If Woodside plays like he did during Toledo’s game against Cincinnati, he might just give his team that shot. The sophomore Rocket went 27-of-40 for 322 yards and three touchdowns during UT’s failed attempt to dig out of the 41-7 hole they dug early against the Bearcats.

The only thing Woodside proved incapable of doing during Toledo’s first road game of the season was playing wide receiver. Senior wideout Dwight Macon switched places with Woodside late in the contest during a trick play against UC in the red zone, but Woodside bobbled the ball forcing the Rockets to settle for a field goal.

“Really good thrower, bad catcher,” Campbell quipped.

The sophomore signal caller agreed, also promising it wouldn’t be something he would waste time working on during practice this week.

“Probably not,” Woodside said smiling. “I will probably never get that opportunity again.”

What is more important during practice is the preparation of Toledo’s defense, which allowed the Bearcats to score touchdowns on their first six consecutive drives last Friday night.

“I can’t say that I’m not irritated,” admitted junior defensive lineman Orion Jones regarding his unit’s most recent performance. “But in football, you have to have a short memory. Every week is a new week, every play is a new play so I’m just looking forward to next weekend.”

Moving on seems to be the theme right now for a Rockets team ready for the reset button.

“We’ve got to take the lessons that we’ve learned the last three weeks, we’ve got to continue to grow and continue to get better,” Campbell said. “We look forward to a great challenge and a really good Ball State team coming in this weekend.”

Kickoff for the Rockets’ matchup with Ball State is set for 7 p.m. in the Glass Bowl. The game will be live streamed on ESPN3.