Fresno State Game Revisited

So it's been a couple of days since Toledo's thrilling game against Fresno State. The Rocket staff and players are focusing on Florida International, who will be at the Glass Bowl Saturday night for a 7:00pm start. However, the UT/FSU game is worth another look. Read on for my thoughts about the Fresno State game.

So it's been a couple of days since Toledo's thrilling game against Fresno State. The Rocket staff and players are focusing on Florida International, who will be at the Glass Bowl Saturday night for a 7:00pm start. However, the UT/FSU game is worth another look.

Scout.com rated the game the 2nd most exciting college football game for the week. 55-54 in double overtime with Toledo going for broke and trying a 2 point conversion to either win or lose.

About that decision to go for two. Amstutz said that he felt it was time for the game to end, win or lose. The field was getting slick. The game had gone on for four hours. Players had been injured, including Fresno State's running back in their offensive drive of the 2nd overtime. Amstutz said that it was in the best interest of the safety of the players that the game ended right there, one way or another.

Let me salute Coach Amstutz for making that decision. He took the road less traveled and the less odds of winning to end the game for the safety of the players. How many coaches would do that with the safety of the players in mind?

Knowing Coach Amstutz I know he was sincere in his statement about the safety of the players.

He considers the UT football program a family. Wouldn't every father put the safety of their children above all, including the higher odds of winning at something? As a father I know I sure would, and that is exactly what Coach Amstutz. I applaud you coach!

How about Toledo's offense? UT put up 54 points and 598 yards of total offense on one of the better defenses in the country. Fresno State held Rutgers to 7 points and Wisconsin to 13 points. They also held Wisconsin's running game in check throughout the game.

Toledo scored 54 points, 41 in regulation. The Rockets had 297 rushing yards and four rushing TD's. UT also had 301 passing yards and three TD's through the air.

DaJuane Collins rushed for 138 yards and 2 TD's on just 15 carries (9.2 ypc) and Morgan Williams rushed for 142 yards and one touchdown on 23 carries (6.2 ypc). Aaron Opelt was 22 of 41 for 265 yards and three touchdown passes.

Toledo was 6 of 6 in the red zone, and is now 14 of 14 for the season. Outstanding!

Sure, Fresno State had a couple of defensive lineman out with injury, but is that enough to make that big of a difference? If so, then I guess I can understand why Toledo struggled on defense last year with six defensive players out pretty much the entire season with injuries.

Toledo is averaging 37 points per game and 396.3 yards in total offense per game this season. Through three games Toledo has rushed for 604 yards and passed for 585 yards. That's a balanced offensive attack that has to be giving defensive coordinators nightmares.

Toledo also ran two fake punts, an onside kick, and a double pass play against Fresno State. The double pass was the opening play of the first overtime and gave Toledo a first and goal at the FSU one yard line. A perfectly timed and executed play.

All of this is from first year offensive coordinator Chris Hedden. That's right, he has only been Toledo's OC for three games after stints in the last several years as the Rockets wide receiver and tight end position coach.

An incredible job by a coach that will soon be considered a fantastic offensive coordinator. Once again you have to applaud Coach Amstutz for handing over the offense to Coach Hedden when the previous offensive coordinator left in the offseason.

Defensively the Rockets didn't play as bad as the score indicates. Fresno State was given 7 points early when they recovered a fumble and ran it in for a touchdown. The defense was put in a bad position another time when Fresno State kick returner AJ Jefferson returned a kick to the Toledo 21 yard line.

And of course there was the fluke deep ball. Toledo had four defenders covering the receiver the ball was thrown to. The ball should have never been thrown, and FSU's QB was very lucky it was not intercepted. The ball was tipped and landed into the hands of another Fresno State receiver who ran it in for a touchdown. That receiver later said he saw the ball was going to be intercepted and raced over to make a tackle, but the ball was batted up and somehow came right to him. Lucky play Fresno State. I sure can't blame Toledo's defense for that one.

So if you take away the fumble TD which obviously doesn't count on the defense and take away the fluke TD catch, Fresno State would have scored 27 points in regulation. And if FSU doesn't start out at the Toledo 21 yard line after a long kick return on another drive......who knows what would have happened.

The Rocket defensive line and occassional blitzes got pressure on Fresno State's quarterback and could have sacked him more than they did. This is very good news for Toledo as they look to the remaining schedule.

So what's my beef with this game? The attendance. Only 20,096 fans in attendance. Are you kidding me? Fresno State was the 25th ranked team in the country. They played two BCS schools before Toledo, beating one 24-6 and losing a close game to then #10 Wisconsin 13-10.

I've heard excuses in the past that people in Toledo don't want to watch games against teams like Eastern Michigan and Kent State, and would instead want to see Toledo play top teams. So they bring in Fresno State, a top 25 team that is known for being one of the best non-bcs conference schools and a team that beats bcs conference schools all the time. And the end result in terms of attendance was another game with the Toledo community sitting at home.

I wonder how many people watched that game on TV and said, "wow, maybe I should have gone to that game."

I applaud the die-hard Rocket fans that go to every game, or as many as they possibly can. I applaud those die-hard Rocket fans that live far away, but search through the Internet for a way to watch and listen to Rocket games all the time while waiting for an opportunity to watch them in person every now and then.

But I have to show my lack of enthusiasm for those that wish Toledo was one of the best football programs in the country and don't show their support when they should.

Toledo's had two straight 5-7 seasons, and as Rocket fans we are not used to that. However, do you think fans of a national football power stop going to games after two straight losing seasons? The answer is no. Toledo is on their way back up again this year. They have a really good team and will have some great games coming up against teams like Ball State, Central Michigan, and Bowling Green........all at home. It's time to show our support of this great football program and pack the Glass Bowl.

I'm challenging you to show your support of Rocket football this Saturday night. Let's see a packed house!

So Florida International is next. Another performance by the Rockets like the one they had against Fresno State and FIU will be going back to Florida with a bad loss.