Over The Pylon

On Saturday, the second season, the most important season, the season that will determine the success or failure of 2009 as a complete body of work begins. With the opening of play in the MidAmerican Conference, Ball State has the chance to not only get its first win of the season, but compete for a conference title, Bowl berth, and redemption. It’s a tall order, given the lack of success thus far, and the extreme desire by everyone in the MAC to get a little revenge for 2008’s undefeated regular season. It’s time for the team to get win #1, and time for us to take a look at Toledo.

Team: Toledo
Head Coach: Tim Beckman
Record: 2-2 (0-0 MAC)
Series: 17-16-1, Ball State
Last Meeting: 2008, a 31-0 Ball State win

Toledo Odds and Ends
. . . Toledo owns a 2-2 overall record and will be playing Ball State in its Mid-American Conference opener
. . . The Rockets opened the season with a 52-36 loss at Purdue before defeating Colorado 54-38
. . . Toledo suffered a 38-0 loss at Cleveland Browns Stadium to Ohio State, but posted a 41-31 win at Florida International last Saturday
. . . The Rockets are averaging 31.5 points per game while allowing 39.8 per contest
. . . Aaron Opelt leads an offense that is averaging 473.2 yards per game
. . . Opelt has completed 96-of-167 passes for 1,282 yards with nine touchdowns and four interceptions.

Toledo Head Coach Tim Beckman
. . . Coach Beckman (Findlay ‘88) is in his first year as Toledo’s head coach
. . . He served as the defensive coordinator at Oklahoma State in 2007-08 and was the cornerbacks coach at Ohio State in 2005-06
. . . Beckman spent from 1998-2004 as the defensive coordinator and assistant head coach at Bowling Green.

For the Toledo Slant, Check Out:
Let’s Go Rockets: A fellow MAC Roundtable participant, a voter in the CBS Blogpoll along with us, a well designed site, and a knowledgeable, measured, passionate staff. Frankly, if OTP followed Toledo, this is what it would look like. Must read.

CoachBeckman.com: A site for Coach Beckman… and aptly named since it sort of features him and all. It’s very coachspeak heavy, not the greatest one out there, but for the MAC, it’s impressive. I wish we did something like this.

Filed under: Ball State, Better Know, MAC |