UM at Toledo: Matchups to Watch
By David Villavicencio
HurricanesSports.com
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The Canes are in for a battle and they know it.
Miami heads to Ohio for a road tilt vs. Toledo at the Glass Bowl on Saturday, Sept. 15. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on ESPN2. The Hurricanes are making their first-ever trip to the Glass Bowl and first trip to the state of Ohio since a 2015 matchup at Cincinnati (Oct. 1, 2015). Saturday’s game is the ninth time Toledo has hosted a Top 25 team and the first time since 2014 when No. 22 Missouri knocked off the Rockets, 49-24.
The Hurricanes have played Toledo only twice in history, including last season, when Miami emerged with a 52-30 win at home on Sept. 23, 2017. Prior to last season, UM had only played Toledo once, earning a 24-14 victory over the Rockets in a Nov. 21, 1987 game played at the Orange Bowl.
Toledo is under the direction of head coach Jason Candle, who has amassed an impressive 22-7 record at the helm of the Rockets. The defending Mid-American Conference (MAC) champions, Toledo is led by QB Mitchell Guadagni, who threw for 265 yards and three TDs vs. VMI and features one of the most dynamic receiving corps in the country.
Here are three matchups to watch in Saturday’s game.
Miami’s defensive backs vs. Toledo’s wide receivers
The Hurricanes are aware of Toledo’s potent aerial attack, led by Biletnikoff Trophy candidates Cody Thompson and Diontae Johnson. A year ago, the Rockets completed at least five passes to four different receivers, led by Diontae Johnson, who had a career-high eight receptions and 66 yards, and Cody Thompson, who pulled in five catches for 114 yards. Johnson also tied his career-high with a pair of touchdown receptions, while Jon’Vea Johnson hauled in five catches for 79 yards and a score. Toledo is the first BCS program to return three wide receivers who have earned all-league honors and caught at least 10 touchdown passes in a single season.
“They can do it all,” Miami defensive coordinator Manny Diaz said of the receivers. “They really can do it all. They’re as deep as a group, and this is not my opinion – the numbers tell it, as anybody in the country. You’ve got three guys that have had 1,000-yard seasons. They all have different skillsets, but the one thing they can all do is they can all take you deep. Every DB’s primal fear is that deep ball and every one of those guys has the ability, skill and releases to get off the line of scrimmage and take you up the field and then make the plays down the field. Certainly, they have our full attention. Even though they’re younger at quarterback, when you’ve got receivers like that to throw to it certainly helps a guy sort of pick up for an excellent quarterback they had a year ago in Woodside.”
Miami’s secondary, led by senior Thopre Award candidates Jaquan Johnson and Michael Jackson, will be tested early and often on Saturday. Toldeo’s talent and depth at receiver means that Jackson and fellow starting cornerback Trajan Bandy will need support from Jhavonte Dean, DJ Ivey and Al Blades, Jr., while Johnson and fellow starter Sheldrick Redwine will lead a talented and deep safety group against the Rockets. The Canes’ pass rush can also be a big factor is limiting the receivers’ effectiveness by forcing Guadagni to rush him decision-making and potentially force errant throws.
Miami’s offensive line vs. Toledo’s defensive line
The Canes spent all of last week making adjustments on the offensive line to improve off an inconsistent showing against LSU in the season opener. Miami ran for 239 yards and averaged 6.5 yards per carry, while allowing just one sack a week ago against Savannah State. But the Canes have struggled to get their ground game going early on, averaging 3.2 yards-per-carry in the first half of games. Offensive coordinator Thomas Brown would like to see Miami get off to a strong start on this ground this Saturday and knows the offensive line will play a key role in accomplishing that.
“I think just start faster,” Brown said. “We need to do a better job of communicating up front. We had some missed opportunities, but if you look at the overall yards per rush, we were pretty good. Pretty efficient. I think you’re talking about more explosive runs, but I think the yards per carry were really good. Just being able to start faster, be on the same page, and just do our jobs. With the running game, anything from an offensive standpoint, even that game [against Savannah State], we were able to score a bunch of points, but we started slow and had some mental errors. We did a better job from a penalty standpoint, eliminating that stuff. Being able to have our guys be on the same page, repping our guys and those guys being able to execute.”
Toledo will be a much more formidable opponent and the Canes will learn just how much they have improved since Week 1. Senior defensive end Tuzar Skipper, junior defensive tackles Nate Childress and Willie Ross lead a Rockets’ defensive line that tallied four sacks in their season-opening win against VMI. Childress, as well as linebacker Tyler Taafe and safety Kahlil Robinson, were named Preseason All-MAC by Athlon Sports.
Miami’s special teams vs. Toledo’s special teams
The Canes come into Saturday’s game as the historic program with the top-25 ranking and a depth chart full of highly-rated recruits. Toledo enters the contest as the defending MAC champions with a high-powered offense, a pass defense that generated 15 interceptions in 2017 and a chance to earn a statement win on their home field. There is little doubt that Saturday’s matchup will be an interesting one with both teams and coaching staff looking for any slight edge to help earn a victory. That’s where special teams can be a big factor.
Miami struggled some on special teams against LSU, as freshman kicker Bubba Baxa was 1-for-2 on field goal attempts and the Canes’ punt unit had inconsistent results with protections that forced punter Zach Feagles to rush his kicks and give the Tigers excellent field position. But Miami was excellent on special teams against Savannah State, with freshman Nesta Jade Silvera blocking a punt that was returned for a touchdown by Scott Patchan and senior Jaquan Johnson blocking a field goal to preserve the shutout. Sophomore Jeff Thomas was electric in the return game, tallying a career-high 90 punt return yards and 26 kick return yards.
Toledo has had plenty of special teams success in 2018, as Cody Thompson blocked a punt for a touchdown against VMI. A year ago, the Rockets were excellent covering and returning punts. Toledo had 28 punt returns for 305 yards (10.9 yards per return), while opponents were able to return just four punts for a total of 14 yards (3.5 yards per return) in 2017. Kicker Jameson Vest is back after connecting on 25-of-30 field goals, including all three attempts against the Canes, in 2017.
“I’ll say this and I tell my kids this: you watch film every week, and the two things you can tell are is the team sound with their scheme – are they very well-coached up? – and do they play hard? That’s the two things you can see on film,” Miami special teams coordinator Todd Hartley said. “This team right here is probably one of, if not the best, most well-coached teams we’ll face all year, in regards to special teams. They don’t have a very extravagant scheme, but it’s not too simple [either]. It’s very sound. They try hard, they compete and they finish. They are very, very good on special teams.”
