DAWGS PREVIEW: MAC CHAMPIONSHIP MIAMI (OH) -V- TOLEDO

'Ford Field' Photo Credit: Jimmy Emerson, DVM via Flickr

The Miami Redhawks (9-2 7-1 MAC) and the Toledo Rockets (11-1 8-0 MAC) travel to Detroit, MI to meet in the MAC Championship Game at Ford Field.

Toledo -8 O/U 44.5.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

- Saturday, December 2, 2023, 12:00 PM Eastern Time Kickoff on ESPN

- Anish Shroff and Andre Ware will be on the call for ESPN and Paul Calcaterra will be on the sideline.

- On the Miami side; the radio broadcast will be on AM 1450. On the Toledo side; the radio broadcast will be on AM 1370.

WHAT’S AT STAKE?

If Toledo wins they have an outside chance of landing the Group of Five bid for a New Year’s 6 bowl game. They will need some help to leap teams like Tulane and Liberty, but there is a chance. It will be the 13th MAC championship for Toledo if the Rockets win. A win for Miami gives the Redhawks their 17th MAC championship. A win will also avenge the only loss in conference play that Miami has this season, a 21-17 loss at home to the Rockets.

KEY PLAYERS

Miami

RB Rashad Amos – 821 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns.

LB Matt Salopek – 118 tackles, 65 solo, 7.5 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 1 INT, 2 passes broken up, 2 quarterback hurries.

Toledo

QB Dequan Finn – 65.1% passes completed, 2,384 yards, 21 TD, 8 INT, 530 rushing yards and 6 TD.

RB Peny Boone – 5th in the country with 1,359 rushing yards and tied for 8th with 15 rushing touchdowns.

KEY MATCHUPS

Miami is more of a defensive team than offensive and they are more than happy to play a ground-and-pound style on offense. To be successful the Redhawks will need to get past Toledo linebacker Dallas Gant who leads the Rockets and is sixth in the MAC, with 97 tackles. Redhawk RB Rashad Amos will have a tough time running against Gant and the Rockets front seven.

As is the case with Miami, Toledo has a run-heavy offense averaging 211.6 yards per game, which is seventh in the country. Miami’s defense is very good against the run, only giving up 131.4 rushing yards per game, 36th in the country. Toledo running back Peny Boone and quarterback Dequan Finn lead the charge on the ground for the Rockets and they’ll have to get by linebacker Matt Salopek and the Redhawks front seven.

PREDICTION - MAC Championship

This will be a slow-paced, ground-and-pound type of game as both teams favor the run. Toledo’s offense is much better than Miami’s while Miami’s defense has the edge over Toledo. The Rockets won the regular season matchup at Miami and I feel they are destined to win again. Toledo extends their win streak to 12, winning 33-16. Take Toledo to cover and take over 44.5.