/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/51553057/HustleBelt1.0.jpg)
Everything in the MAC looks like it’s going to boil down to one final game, Toledo vs Western Michigan on November 25th – the final day of the Mid-American regular season. The Broncos have been on an absolute tear this year, but one could argue that their schedule hasn’t really given them the test they truly deserve. However, on the final day, the one-loss Toledo Rockets will travel to Western for a supremacy battle. Now of course the Rockets and Broncos will have to go undefeated until then for the prophecy to be true. All signs point to ‘highly likely’ that that will be the case.
Looking at Toledo’s schedule, they will face Ohio, Akron, Northern Illinois and Ball State before that final day. Meanwhile, Ball State, Kent State and Buffalo will see Western before D-day. The blue and yellow have definitely had a rougher schedule thus far and this weekend should be no different with the always different front of the Bobcats.
You never quite know what you’re going to get with their offense. The NCAA football betting line at TopBet favors Toledo by -16.5, but as mentioned, you never know when it comes to Ohio. This is a team that narrowly lost to Texas State to open the year, before demolishing Kansas and again losing by a pair of scores to Tennessee in Knoxville. The Bobcats then ripped off three-straight wins before again losing by a slim margin. They would love to play the upset card this weekend.
After their next two matchups with Ohio and Akron, Toledo has a cake walk to that final day. Before that bend in the schedule though, they will be tested heavily. Similar to what they’ve had to go through all season with Fresno State, BYU and Arkansas State. It hasn’t been an easy road for Toledo but clearly, that’s how they like it. Logan Woodside leads the way in conference completions, percentage, yardage and touchdowns by a landslide. While Cody Thompson can’t be stopped at wide out, leading the way in receiving yards. Not to mention, Thompson was just named West Division Offensive Player of the Week. So Toledo has been through the ringer, will continue to toughen, and leads the way on offense by a large margin; they’re a dangerous bunch.
As for Western, they’re in a far better situation…for now. The conference records of their next three opponents are 2-9 and they haven’t truly had any major tests thus far this season. Since their opener against Northwestern ended in a one-point Western win they’ve outscored their opponents by 200 points.
It may be hard to find a lot of people taking Western in that final game given the information, stats, schedule and standings at hand. So, needless to say, the best opportunity to break the Broncos’ bid for a perfect season will lie solely in Toledo’s hands one month from now.