Thoughts on UM Game, Focusing on NIU

It's arguably the greatest victory in Rocket football history. Toledo takes down the most storied program in college football. Michigan is the winningest program all-time, and Toledo beat them 13-10 in front of 107,267 at the Big House.

It almost sounds like a fairy tale, but it happened, and the city of Toledo, along with Rocket fans all over the country, is buzzing.

Toledo had 327 yards of total offense against the Wolverines. QB Aaron Opelt threw for 257 yards, completing 33 of 50 attempts. 20 of those 33 completions went to senior wide receiver Nick Moore. Moore broke his brother's single game school reception mark, and set a new single game reception mark at Michigan Stadium with 20 catches for 162 yards.

That's right, all of those great receivers that have played at Michigan before are all looking up to the greatest receiver performance ever at the Big House, from Rocket wideout Nick Moore.

Toledo's defense only gave up 290 yards of total offense to the Wolverines, 170 rushing and 120 passing.

Through six games Stephen Williams leads all Rocket receivers with 41 receptions, and Nick Moore is right behind him with 40 receptions. And this is on a team that has struggled offensively the last three games.

Toledo's offense looked much better against Michigan. More shotgun formations and a lot of misdirection mixed things up nicely. It's really a wonder the offense didn't score in this game.

Stephen Williams most likely would have had a touchdown on one play, but was tackled at the Michigan 3 yard line after his momentum was completely stopped due to a pass thrown behind him. He made the catch and got to the 3, but a pass on the money would have put him in the end zone. Toledo missed a field goal on that drive.

Another time was when Nick Moore had to stop his momentum to catch a pass. A more accurate pass would have resulted in an open field for Moore, he would have likely gone 60 yards or so for the touchdown.

Just little things, but those two plays would have added 14 points that the Rockets did not score.

There's no question that Toledo dominated the game. They moved the ball on offense and ran a lot of time off the clock in the process, keeping the defense fresh. The defense did a good job at shutting down Michigan and stopped most screen passes before they got started.

Excellent performance and a huge win for Toledo. However, it's time to concentrate on Northern Illinois.

Toledo beat NIU 70-21 at the Glass Bowl last season. However, the Huskies are much better this year. They are 3-3 overall and 2-1 in the MAC, though they have not played any of the top MAC teams except for the lone MAC loss to Western Michigan.

NIU runs a spread offense, but likes to run the football. Similar to Michigan, but more effective offensively......especially with their passes. Toledo's defense is going to need a great effort, and the Rocket offense has to chew time off the clock and put points on the board so that the Rocket defense is not put in bad positions.

Beating Michigan is great and it is a nice start to turning around the season. However, if Toledo wants to change this season for the better and get bowl eligible, they must stay focused and beat Northern Illinois.