Going into the season, I was hopeful that Toledo would be the same, or better, on offense and better on defense. I was fearful the offense wouldn’t quite be the same and the defense would take a step back. After this game, I am fairly certain they are pretty much the same team they were last season.

This particular game was almost an exact replay of the BYU thriller from a year ago, except the Rockets were at home in this one, and won. Toledo produced 679 total yards, which is amazing. They gave up 548, 423 of which came on the ground. Equally amazing, but not in a good way. But Tulsa was a quality opponent and a win is a win. This is what I learned from the game.

A Great Offense Can Overcome Much

Growing up, there where absolutes in football. Defense wins championships, time of possession is critical, and you can’t make mistakes. Well, that didn’t wasn’t the case here. Toledo had very little defense, committed 15 penalties and lost the turnover battle, and was had an almost 10 minute TOP deficit. They still got the W, largely because their offense is so powerful. They ran for 221 yards on 6.7 yards per carry, and Woodside threw for 458 yards and SIX touchdowns.

Cody Thompson Is Really Good

Cody Thompson is on pace to have a better year than last season and last season he was pretty special. He has over 100 yards receiving in every game this year, and the only one he didn’t have a touchdown was against Elon.

I Wish There Was More Than One Football

Last season, it seemed like every game someone new would step up and have a career type game. This season is no different. Jon’Vea Johnson has yet to have a big game this season, but I am fully confident he will.

A Big Game Against Miami Will Put Woodside In The Heisman Conversation

I know how the power 5 and national media think. There are two classes of people. They’ll give respect to a G5er, but only if they do something against a P5 school. Otherwise, they aren’t paying much attention. If Woodside has a good game against Miami, they’ll next look at his stats. Because of the 6 touchdowns in this game, they’ll be impressed overall, and call him a “diamond in the rough” and all the other cliche’s they use on quality players they haven’t been paying attention to.

The Defense Still Frightens Me

423 rushing yards, eesh.