The Toledo football team hits the road for a Wednesday game at Buffalo. The Rockets are coming off a home loss to Northern Illinois and will look for their seventh win of the season. Meanwhile, Buffalo is looking to become bowl eligible with its sixth win of the season.
Here are three things to watch in Toledo's game at Buffalo:
1. Buffalo's ground game
Jaret Patterson is the second leading rusher in the MAC with 1,136 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns. Teammate Kevin Marks has added 783 rushing yards and six scores. As a team, the Bulls are churning out 226.5 rushing yards per game, which is second in the MAC. Toledo is ninth in the conference in rush defense at 197.5 yards per game. Toledo's primary defensive task is to limit chunk plays in the running game and slow down the dynamic duo of Patterson and Marks.
2. Bulls pass rushers
Buffalo has two of the top pass rushers in the conference with Taylor Riggins and Malcolm Koonce, who have 7 1/2 and seven sacks, respectively. The duo off the edge will look to create havoc when Toledo quarterback Eli Peters is dropping back in the pocket. The Rockets’ offensive line will need to do a good job in pass protecting against Riggins and Koonce.
3. Who will emerge in Toledo's passing game?
Bryce Mitchell had a career game against Northern Illinois with six catches for 125 yards and two fourth-quarter touchdown receptions. Mitchell's production has been up and down throughout the season, but he has shown big-play ability. Will any other pass catcher emerge like Danzel McKinley-Lewis or Desmond Phillips? Peters seemed to develop a connection with Mitchell last game, but someone else will be needed to make a few big plays against a stout Buffalo defense, and that could be McKinley-Lewis or Phillips.
First Published November 19, 2019, 6:54 p.m.
