Nine months of speculation and conjecture were put to rest on Thursday night at the Glass Bowl.
The University of Toledo’s 37-0 season-opening victory over Long Island had bright spots, moments of distress, and clarity at several positions. Coaches always talk about the most improvement of the season coming between the first and second weeks. That old adage will be a welcomed development for the Rockets.
“There are a couple of things that we’re going to watch the film on and clean up and improve from Week 1 to Week 2,” UT coach Jason Candle said.
Here are three thoughts from the first game of the 2022 season.
1. The offensive line is a work in progress
Perhaps it was too much to ask a group that had zero starters in Week 1 of the 2021 season to look like All-Americans. The Rockets were playing a below-average FCS school, though, so you would have thought the line could punish LIU. But that never really happened.
“We were a little less aggressive to start,” Candle said. “You want to be conservative to see how to fit in and not make a bunch of mistakes.”
He added that playing against a new coaching staff made preparing difficult, and then the Sharks didn’t do a lot on defense that was unfamiliar to Toledo.
The night ended with 37 points and nearly five yards per rush, but 442 total yards and 4 of 15 on third down wasn’t up to Toledo’s standard. Left tackle Kelvin Ateman and center Kendall Major looked shaky at times. The Rockets actually played defensive tackle Devan Rogers at center for long stretches. He finished with one tackle, as well.
“We had to come up with a game plan throughout the game, because we expected something different from Long Island,” quarterback Dequan Finn said. “We just tried to execute when we got on the field and when chances were presented to us.”
Finn was the game’s leading rusher with 64 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries. In the first start of his second season as QB1, he was efficient passing the ball, but looked impatient and wanted more explosive plays. He had touchdown passes of 69 and 40 yards.
Toledo had 226 rushing yards, with 123 of them coming on seven plays. With the starters in the game, the Rockets had 18 rushing plays of two yards or less. Eight came in the first quarter and five were on runs by Micah Kelly, who only had 11 yards on seven carries. (Maryland transfer Peny Boone looked like the most talented ball carrier.)
UT had 46 total rushes.
“We probably could have cut those guys loose a little bit more early on,” Candle said. “But we were conservative to get settled in, get the quarterback moving, and let him play efficient. [LIU] made it hard to get some rhythmic chunk plays that we’re used to having. I think once the offensive line settled in, we ran it fairly well at times.”
2. The defense is who we thought they were
Long Island is going to be one of the worst offenses Toledo plays this season, but that doesn’t diminish how productive Toledo’s defense was on Thursday. UT limited the Sharks to 113 yards, seven first downs, and fewer than two yards per play.
The Rockets had two sacks, 11 tackles for loss, and only allowed four plays of 10 or more yards. A 14-yard pass play was LIU’s biggest gain of the night.
The ferocious defensive line (and front seven) that was lauded all offseason lived up to the hype in Week 1.
“I’m very impressed with the guys here,” linebacker Dallas Gant said. “My teammates are awesome, not just talent-wise but as people. … The talent is incredible. Good people to play on the football field with. Great communication. I can’t say enough good things about the players on defense. Obviously, we started out the right way with a shutout. I’m very excited about trending upwards through the season.”
Gant, a former St. John’s Jesuit standout who began his career at Ohio State, had a team-high 10 tackles, one forced fumble, and a pass breakup in his first game as a Rocket.
Defensive end Desjuan Johnson had three tackles for loss, and fellow edge rusher Jamal Hines had 1½ tackles for loss.
“They had command of the game from the first snap until the very last possession,” Candle said. “The front seven is hard to deal with. The core of that defense had some really good bright spots. Those guys on the edge were very disruptive.”
3. G’game, mate
Australian Bailey Flint was UT’s punter for five years and became a staple in the community with his service to Toledo area children. The Flint era came to an end in the Bahamas, however, ushering in fellow Aussie Jonathon Batzke to take the reins.
“How many balls did Batzke down inside the 5? That was a major question mark. ‘What are you going to do with Bailey Flint not being here?’” Candle said. “Did I read that right, a 43-yard average and three downed inside the 20? I thought he had a great game for his first showing as a Rocket.”
Statistically, yes, it was three inside the 20. But he actually pinned LIU inside the 5 on all three of those punts.
Batzke punted five times for 215 yards, with a long of 53 yards.
First Published September 4, 2022, 2:25 p.m.
