Toledo Hosts Ball State on Halloween Night
The Ball State Cardinals and the Toledo Rockets will meet when they meet at Glass Bowl Stadium on
Halloween Night. Toledo is a huge favorite as the injury bug has hit Ball State.
TV: ESPN2, 7:30 PM ET.
LINE: Toledo -19; O/U 65
Ball State lost twice last time they took the field. They not only got beat 52-14 by Ohio, but they lost their starting quarterback as well. Now they will have to take on one of the more explosive teams in the MAC with a backup signal-caller.
The Toledo Rockets are coming off a dreadful second half in their loss to Buffalo. They really found themselves on the offensive side of the ball in their last outing. They also have some questions to answer at the quarterback spot.
Toledo will most likely be going to some kind of bowl game when all is said and done. But Ball State will have to win all three of its remaining games to be eligible.
Ball State has Tall Order Tonight
It was thoroughly disappointing to the Cardinals (3-6 SU, 4-5 ATS) to have lost 52-14 to the Ohio Bobcats. They gave up 31 points in the second quarter, along with 411 yards rushing and 30 first downs.
They lost quarterback
Riley Neal, who tore a meniscus and won’t be available this week. Neal actually played through the injury for a little while, but wasn’t able to move laterally all that well. He was replaced with Drew Plitt. Neal has thrown for 1917 yards and 11 touchdowns this year. He has completed 58% as well.
Plitt has completed 18 of 29 for 235 yards in limited action. He also played some last season, including three starts, and was a 50% passer. Backups got plenty of time last year because Neal missed nine games with a knee injury.
Ball State might be missing other personnel as well. Running back James Gilbert (586 yards, 4.4 yards per carry) has a back injury that has caused him to miss practice. He was first-team All-MAC back in 2016 and sat out with a medical redshirt last year.
Neal’s absence also affects the running game, as he has run for 357 yards.
Ball State has had a very hard time stopping opponents on the ground, giving up 4.8 yards per rushing attempt. They are fifth in the nation for first downs, but are 122nd in the nation when it comes to yards per point.
Jacob White, middle linebacker and the team’s leading tackler, is hobbled by an ankle injury.
They will have to win each of their remaining games – against Toledo, Western Michigan and Miami of Ohio – to become bowl-eligible.
Toledo Has to Beat Teams they are Supposed to Beat
The Rockets were completely baffled by Buffalo a couple of games ago. They gave up 24 unanswered points in the second half while going limp on offense.
The Rockets (4-4 SU, 3-5 ATS) came through huge against Western Michigan last week. Of course, it didn’t hurt them that Jon Wassink, the WMU quarterback, got injured on the opening drive and had to leave the game.
They cut through the Broncos’ defense like a knife in hot butter, rolling up 515 yards in a 51-24 annihilation. Starting quarterback, Mitch Guadagni, had to leave the game with a shoulder injury. He had producing 190 yards of total offense. He’s 13th in the nation in Passing Efficiency, so that loss will be felt.
Eli Peters came in and threw three touchdown passes. He’s only a 47% passer on the season. Peters and Guadagni have combined to throw 22 touchdowns with only five interceptions.
Cody Thompson had three touchdowns, and currently ranks in the nation’s top 10 with nine receiving TDs.
Toledo is 12th the nation in scoring at 40.8 points per game.
They have three players who have rushed for more than 400 yards. Guadagni is one of them, but there are two running backs. They are Brian Koback and Shakif Seymour.
They only have two receivers with over 400 yards. But
Diontae Johnson is seventh in the nation in kickoff returns.
Toledo’s average field position for the offense is the 34-yard line, which is seventh best in the country. And 78.3% of their first downs have been achieved on either a first or second down.
PREDICTION: Toledo 43, Ball State 20
| Ball State is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games |
| Ball State is 3-15 SU in its last 18 games |
| Ball State is 2-6 ATS in its last 8 games on the road |
| Ball State is 1-11 SU in its last 12 games on the road |
| Ball State is 9-4 ATS in its last 13 games when playing Toledo |
| Ball State is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing Toledo |
| The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Ball State’s last 6 games when playing Toledo |
| Ball State is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Toledo |
| Ball State is 3-7 SU in its last 10 games when playing on the road against Toledo |
| The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Ball State’s last 6 games when playing on the road against Toledo |
| Toledo is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games |
| Toledo is 15-7 SU in its last 22 games |
| The total has gone OVER in 5 of Toledo’s last 7 games |
| Toledo is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games at home |
| Toledo is 16-4 SU in its last 20 games at home |
| Toledo is 4-9 ATS in its last 13 games when playing Ball State |
| Toledo is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Ball State |
| The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Toledo’s last 6 games when playing Ball State |
| Toledo is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Ball State |
| Toledo is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games when playing at home against Ball State |
| The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Toledo’s last 6 games when playing at home against Ball State |
Next up:
Ball State home to Western Michigan Tuesday, November 13
Toledo at NIU Wednesday, November 7
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