Jason Candle wasn’t fond of the question, and he made his distaste apparent.
Last Monday, a reporter asked the Toledo coach about his running backs and their lack of production through the season’s first four games. He gave a combative, patronizing answer.
After Jacquez Stuart (122 yards, TD) and Micah Kelly (64 yards, TD) combined for 186 yards and two touchdowns in Saturday’s 38-17 win over Central Michigan, Candle was again asked about the running backs, this time regarding their impressive performance against the Chippewas.
“Oh, they’re good again? They must have put on their Superman suits,” Candle said. “Last week they were awful. This week they’re good. I get it. Maybe they’ll get in the phonebooth this week and have their cape on next week.”
He managed to crack a mischievous smile through the sarcasm. And his response elicited a thought bubble: Did the running back tandem morph into an alter ego because they were outstanding against the Mid-American Conference’s second-best rush defense and a unit that ranked in the top 50 nationally?
As a team, the Rockets had 261 rushing yards, averaging more than 5.2 yards per carry. Quarterback Dequan Finn got loose for 84 yards, but the running backs were finally the cause of the damage upfront.
“We just had to build, fix a couple mistakes from the last game, and then we executed,” Stuart said. “It helps take some wear and tear off DQ’s body. The offense moved way better today. It helps the run game and the passing game. We just have to keep it going.”
UT had 11 run plays that resulted in 10-plus yards. Four went for more than 20 yards.
“I felt this momentum coming,” Candle said. “It was good to see the backs find the ball and get increased yardage. In the first couple games, we were getting the yards we were blocking for. We weren’t making the safety miss. I thought those guys did a good job today of stepping through some of those arm tackles.”
Injuries have plagued the offensive line, leading to inconsistency across the board. On Saturday, Devan Rogers moved to center full time, with Kendall Rogers sliding over to guard. There were some pre-snap penalties, which are to be expected with a new center, especially one that was playing defensive line six weeks ago.
But Candle is growing comfortable with the current five linemen setup, and UT expects Michael Bergen and Mitch Berg to return in the near future.
“They did great. A lot of improvement from last week,” Stuart said. “That’s all we can do. We can work hard, get to practice tomorrow, execute, and win the next game.”
Finn called the offensive line “phenomenal.”
Entering Saturday, Toledo’s running backs had 442 yards on 105 carries (4.2 yards per rush). They had nearly 5.5 yards per carry against Central Michigan. The added dimension of runners not named Dequan Finn is a significant addition for the Rockets. Finn takes fewer hits and it benefits the rushing attack and the passing game.
There might not be a Chester Taylor, Terry Swanson, or Bryant Koback on this year’s roster — a dominant rushing threat who receives a majority of the carries and is the go-to guy during the fourth quarter — but Stuart and Kelly proved that they’re dependable against one of the MAC’s best defenses.
And they might even have a little Clark Kent in them.
“When you have [Stuart] running for 120, Micah doing his thing almost getting 100 yards, me also at 100, it’s just a remarkable job for the O-line,” Finn said. “We had trouble before today with the running game, to see all of us play our part, it opens up the whole offense.”
First Published October 2, 2022, 1:22 a.m.
