MOBILE, Ala. — With a week full of activities before the Dollar General Bowl kicked off Saturday, the University of Toledo football team was offered one final chance this season to bond in anticipation of the game against Appalachian State.

Between a trip to the University of South Alabama Children’s and Women’s Hospital, a tour of the Battleship USS Alabama in the Mobile Bay, a bowling contest against Appalachian State, and a Mardi Gras celebration in downtown Mobile, there were plenty of opportunities for the Toledo players to bond.

“I’m a senior and every time we get a bowl game, it’s always good to just enjoy this last time that we have together, because it’s not going to be the same team next year,” UT senior linebacker Ja’Wuan Woodley said. “Just coming together and all the camaraderie and brotherhood, it’s just going to get us closer and allow us to bond for the game.”

“To be honest, I was just looking forward to hanging out with my teammates and enjoying them one last time,” junior defensive end Ola Adeniyi added.

For Woodley, this also serves as the final game of a successful career at Toledo, and he said he didn’t know what the feeling would be like until game time.

“I feel like this is senior day for the seniors more than actual senior day back at Toledo,” Woodley said. “It’s one of those feelings that you just have to wait until game day to see.”

While all the time together is fun, the Toledo players know the focus was on preparing for the game against Appalachian State.

“We are going to scout these guys heavily and continue to have fun,” UT senior quarterback Logan Woodside said earlier in the week. “We know the focus is to get ready for these guys and we’ll have some meetings and a couple more practices to get ready for them.”

WOODSIDE PICKED OFF: Woodside was intercepted three times in the game, the most this season. He threw one in the first quarter to Anthony Flory, one in the third to Desmond Franklin, and one in the fourth to Clifton Duck. It raised his season total to eight. He threw two in the Mid-American Championship game Dec. 2 against Akron at Ford Field in Detroit.

TOLEDO OFFENSE FIZZLES EARLY: For the first time all season, Toledo failed to score in the first half as they went into the locker room trailing Appalachian State 20-0. The Rockets managed just 85 yards on 25 plays and tallied just four first downs, two in each quarter.

ADENIYI MISSES FIRST HALF: Adeniyi sat out the first half of the game after he was called for targeting in the second half of the MAC championship game.

BOWL GIFTS: The Dollar General Bowl provided each team with 125 of the following gifts: a watch ($120), a souvenir logo football ($60), Amazon Echo Dot ($70), and Maui Jim Sunglasses ($300).

Contact Brian Buckey at: bbuckey@theblade.com, 419-724-6110, or on Twitter @BrianBuckey.

First Published December 24, 2017, 5:25 a.m.