Toledo Football: Rockets look for bounce-back season in 2020

How will Toledo football fare in 2020?

Toledo is just two years removed from a MAC championship. While the conference has improved significantly since then, the Rockets have the talent to push right back atop the conference if their defense can hold its own.

How might 2020 shakeout? Here’s a game-by-game glance.

• Sept. 5: at Tulsa (W) — Winning on the road to open the season is never easy, but Toledo has enough to take down Tulsa.
• Sept. 12: vs. San Diego State (L) — San Diego State and Toledo are two of the most consistent Group of Five programs. This should be a quality game, but the Aztecs are likely to come out on top.
• Sept. 19: at Michigan State (L) — Toledo kept things interesting in their game against Power Five foe Kentucky last year. They’ll likely do the same with Michigan State but fall short in East Lansing.
• Sept. 26: vs. Central Connecticut State (W) — The lone nearly automatic win on Toledo’s schedule will come after two of their most challenging contests.
• Oct. 3: vs. Ohio (W) — Ohio and Toledo are two of the best the MAC has to offer. This game can go either way, but Toledo gets the toss-up with home-field advantage.
• Oct. 10: at Western Michigan (L) — Kalamazoo is a tough place to play, while Toledo may have enough talent to come out on top, Western Michigan should be able to get the job done at home.
• Oct. 17: vs. Bowling Green (W) — Perhaps the most stunning loss for Toledo last season was falling to a woeful Bowling Green squad. They won’t let that happen this year.
• Oct. 24: at Eastern Michigan (W) — Eastern Michigan is an up-and-coming program quickly rising up the MAC food chain, but Toledo is still ahead.
• Oct. 31: at Akron (W) — Akron did not win a single game in 2019 and may not win much more in 2020.
• Nov. 11: vs. Central Michigan (L) — Jim McElwain took CMU from dead last to the MAC title game in year one as Chippewas head coach. In year two, they may win the conference and at least likely take down Toledo.
• Nov. 17: at Northern Illinois (L) — Northern Illinois heated up last in the season last year to play spoiler and with home field may steal this one over Toledo.
• Nov. 28: vs. Ball State (W) — Coming off two possible losses, facing Ball State should give Toledo a chance to get a feel-good win on their way to their bowl game.

Prediction: 7-5, 5-3 MAC

Toledo has perhaps the MAC’S best offense but the defense with the most question marks. What should get the Rockets back to a bowl game is community.

There is plenty of returning talent, especially at the skill positions and secondary, which should help the Rockets learn from last year’s experiences and improve some of the weaknesses that kept them out of a bowl game in 2019.

Wanting to leave no choice but to be included in the postseason, look for Toledo to win at least seven games and get back to a bowl.