Rocket Docket

RDS to broadcast UT-NIU game in French

Reseau Des Sports (RDS), a French-language channel out of Montreal and available throughout much of french-speaking Canada, will simulcast ESPN2's coverage of the Toledo-Northern Illinois game Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Glass Bowl.

Announcers will watch the game from a Montreal studio and broadcast the game in Canadian French. Former UT defensive lineman Didier Ormejuste (1999-2001) will serve as studio host for the game, while former NIU offensive lineman Mike Sutherland will be the game's color analyst along with Matthieu Proulx. Marc Labrecque will handle the play-by-play.

Women's soccer wins MAC regular season title

The University of Toledo women's soccer team claimed its third MAC regular season title in the last four years with a 2-0 shutout of Ball State this afternoon at Scott Park.

The Rockets (11-6-2, 9-1-1 MAC) will be the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament and host Ohio in the quarterfinals at 1 p.m. Sunday. The UT division of external affairs has agreed to pay the admission fee for the first 100 UT students with their university ID to Sunday’s contest.

Scoring for Toledo today against Ball State were senior Danielle Case, who tallied her second goal of the season at 15:42. The marker was setup on a corner kick from junior Natalia Gaitan.

The Rockets added to their lead when sophomore Rachel MacLeod found the back of the net for the seventh time this fall at 54:44. Gaitan started the play once again with a well-struck ball toward the Ball State back post to junior Kristen Mattei who headed it back toward the middle of the BSU goal box. MacLeod was there waiting for Mattei’s header and promptly placed a header into the net to establish a two-goal cushion.

Between the posts, UT senior goalkeeper Vicki Traven made four saves to collect her seventh shutout of the season.

End Zone: 10-27-11

This next two-week stretch for Toledo has been billed since the preseason as the make-or-break portion of the Rockets' schedule. Tuesday's matchup with Northern Illinois at the Glass Bowl will go a long way in deciding which team clinches the MAC West Division title. The second part of that equation, a Nov. 8 showdown with Western Michigan, has lost a lot of its luster due to what has been a crazy first half to the conference season.

Perceived as the main challenger to UT earlier in the year, WMU has taken a nose dive in its last two games. The Broncos were admittedly shell-shocked after their 51-22 loss at Northern Illinois on Oct. 15 and weren't able to pick themselves up the next week at Eastern Michigan, suffering a devastating 14-10 loss. The win allowed Eastern Michigan to claim the Michigan MAC trophy for the first time since 2008 -- a shocking development in its own right.

Even Northern Illinois hasn't been immune to upsets, losing 48-41 at Central Michigan on Oct. 1 and escaping with a 31-30 victory at Buffalo last weekend thanks to the Bulls' kicker missing the game-tying extra point with 14 seconds left.

Only UT has been able to rise above the chaos in the rest of the division. The Rockets are the last remaining unbeaten team in conference play, with the primary reason for that being they haven't suffered key lapses at inopportune times.

Because nearly every other team has, the jumbled MAC West probably won't be untangled anytime soon.

MAC power rankings -- Week 9

We're only halfway through conference play, but the theme of the 2011 MAC season has to be "expect the unexpected." Just last weekend, we saw Western Michigan continue its downward spiral with a loss at Eastern Michigan, the Eagles claim the Michigan MAC Trophy, Northern Illinois narrowly escape at Buffalo after the Bulls' kicker missed a game-tying extra point, and Temple fall at Bowling Green. Craziness indeed. Eventually, I think I may just start throwing darts at a board to fill out the Rocket Docket MAC power rankings each week, because the week-to-week changes have been that dramatic.

1. TOLEDO (5-3, 4-0) (LW #1): The Rockets have been ranked atop the power rankings for five out of nine weeks this season. UT rolled past the MAC defending champion Miami RedHawks last weekend and will have a few extra days to prepare for the Huskies. As the last remaining unbeaten team in conference play, Toledo controls its own destiny and certainly will be tough to beat the rest of the way.

2. NORTHERN ILLINOIS (5-3, 3-1) (LW #3): As we mentioned earlier, the Huskies were a point away from going to overtime against Buffalo after a regretful second-half collapse. Northern's offense has been unquestionably great this season, and its defense has been equally questionable. Because of that, I think we could be looking at a shootout Tuesday at the Glass Bowl.

3. BALL STATE (5-3, 3-1) (LW #5): If Eastern Michigan wasn't having the season it is, Ball State would have to be the surprise of the year in the MAC. First-year coach Pete Lembo and the Cardinals must be commended because they find themselves thick in the championship race after being picked to finish fifth in the West. It started with a win over Indiana in Week 1, and this young Ball State squad has continued to roll from there.

4. OHIO (5-3, 2-2) (LW #7): After Temple's loss at BG, Ohio has assumed the top spot among East Division teams in the power rankings. The Bobcats are far from being the class of the division, however, with a meager .500 record in conference play. They can go a long way in proving they belong at the top next Wednesday, though, in a home matchup with the Owls. Make sure and tune into that one.

5. BOWLING GREEN (4-4, 2-2) (LW #7): Like Lembo at Ball State, BG's Dave Clawson must be congratulated for the job he's done molding his young players and getting them to play above expectations. Usually it's the veteran teams that are able to grind out victories like the Falcons did against Temple, but BG played with poise and made the plays it needed to down the stretch to pull out a gritty victory. UT was criticized after a "sloppy" win over its arch-rival, but this is clearly a better Falcon squad than most have given them credit for.

6. TEMPLE (5-3, 3-2) (LW #2): The intestinal fortitude of the Owls has to be called into question. Usually, Temple saves these types of collapses for late in the season, but apparently it decided to break out the snoozer a little early. Granted, I watched much of this game from the press box at the Glass Bowl, but it looked like Temple was sleep-walking for much of this game. It's almost as if the Owls brought their 'C' game to BG and hoped it would be good enough.

7. EASTERN MICHIGAN (5-3, 3-1) (LW #9): The MAC coach of the year award is Ron English's to lose at this point. You know the conference has been turned upside when you're starting to talk about the possibility of Eastern qualifying for a bowl. Seriously, just think about that one for a second. Wow.

8. WESTERN MICHIGAN (4-4, 2-2) (LW #4): In a word, the Broncos' collapse has been startling. There's been only two teams ranked No. 1 in the power rankings: Toledo and Western Michigan. And that's for good reason. The Broncos started off so hot and looked unstoppable at times with Alex Carder behind center. Now, Western will have to scratch and claw just to make it to a bowl game.

9. BUFFALO (2-6, 1-3) (LW #11): After watching Buffalo and QB Chazz Anderson almost knock off NIU last Saturday, it's hard to believe the Bulls have only won two games. I truly believe Buffalo is better than its record indicates, and that program finally seems to be going in a positive direction again under second-year coach Jeff Quinn.

10. MIAMI (2-5, 1-2) (LW #8): Also filed under "hard to believe" is how Miami went from the penthouse to the poorhouse in just one offseason. Everything came together for the RedHawks in a magical run last season, but they've definitely come crashing back to Earth this year. Miami looked so disjointed at times last Saturday against Toledo, and it was clear the game was over after just the first quarter. Give UT credit, but for a defending champion to look that bad when it didn't graduate that much, it was definitely surprising.

11. CENTRAL MICHIGAN (2-6, 1-3) (LW #10): The Chippewas were well on the way to pulling off the upset at Ball State last weekend up 17 points early in the third quarter. But the Cardinals rallied for their fourth largest comeback in school history, and CMU was left to lament another bad loss in a season of bad losses.

12. KENT STATE (1-6, 0-3) (LW #12): The Golden Flashes were off last week, and also took some time away from football to clear their minds. Kent State tries to get back on the horse Saturday at home against BG.

13. AKRON (1-6, 0-3) (LW #13): Like death and taxes, it's inevitable every week that the Zips can be found at the bottom of the power rankings.

End Zone: 10-20-11

A firestorm erupted last weekend when Toledo coach Tim Beckman had four of his players form an impromptu human shield behind him during his postgame news conference at Perry Stadium so that he wouldn't have to sit in front of a BGSU banner. As fans are apt to do, people turned to the message boards for both programs to vent their displeasure or support, depending on which side of the Battle of I-75 they were from.

One Falcon fan referred to Beckman as "classless" and another called the move "childish."

Many UT fans thought the outrage was trivial and wasn't something to get so worked up over.

Asked Monday whether he had heard any backlash, Beckman said he hadn't. "We just do what we do and we're very proud to be Rockets," Beckman said. "I've never done a press conference in somebody else's press area ... so I just wanted to showcase that we're Rockets and proud to be Rockets."

Two years ago after UT's loss to the Falcons, Beckman walked into the interview room underneath the east bleachers at Perry Stadium, saw the BG banner hanging behind the podium and refused to sit in front of it.

The assembled media had to instead shuffle over to a corner of the room away from the banner to get Beckman's postgame comments. Give him credit that he at least came with a plan this year.

Maybe a better plan for 2013 is to bring along a UT banner and eliminate all the hubbub.

10/17 injury updates

UT junior DE T.J. Fatinikun will miss the remainder of the season with a dislocated right elbow, coach Tim Beckman said this afternoon at his weekly news conference.

Fatinikun was hurt Oct. 8 against Eastern Michigan and sat out last weekend's game at Bowling Green. No timetable was ever placed on his return until today.

The Perrysburg graduate had surgery to repair torn tendons in his elbow and take care of "a bone chip," according to Beckman.

Sophomore DE Christian Smith is listed as Fatinikun's replacement at the "leo" position on the Rockets'   depth chart released today, with sophomore DE Jayone Elliott backing up Smith.

Junior SS Jermaine Robinson also was sidelined against the Falcons, and Beckman said he's "questionable" to play Saturday against Miami at the Glass Bowl. Robinson had surgery Oct. 10 to have six screws inserted in his injured right hand, which he hurt against Eastern Michigan.

Senior RB Adonis Thomas is "questionable" as he continues to recover from a broken left forearm, Beckman said, as well as junior MLB Danny Molls, who suffered a stress fracture in his lower left leg before the Ohio State game in early September.

All in all, Beckman said there 20 players listed on the team's injury report before the BG game, which is simply astounding. Obviously, most of those guys still managed to play, but it's still a clear indication of just how beat up this team is right now. 

MAC power rankings -- Week 8

As we found out yesterday with Western Michigan's loss at Northern Illinois, nothing is for certain in the Mid-American Conference. And so, with the Broncos crashing and burning, we have a new, old leader atop the Rocket Docket power rankings.

1. TOLEDO (4-3, 3-0) (LW #2): As the only team left without a defeat in conference play, Toledo is clearly the class of the MAC. If they can get past Miami this week in their homecoming game, the Rockets will be sitting pretty with a season-deciding two-week stretch at home against NIU and WMU in early November.

2. TEMPLE (5-2, 3-1) (LW #3): The Owls throttled Buffalo 34-0 on a special day for RB Bernard Pierce, who set single-season school records for rushing touchdowns (17), overall touchdowns (17) and points (102). He also eclipsed the career mark for total touchdowns (44) and tied the mark held by Paul Palmer (1983-86) for points scored with 264.  He had set the career rushing TD record, previously held by Palmer, and now has 43.

3. NORTHERN ILLINOIS (4-3, 2-1) (LW #4): After a slow start to the season, NIU has come on strong with two straight victories in which the Huskies have outscored their opponents 91-33. Against WMU, the Huskies rolled up 697 yards of offense, with 494 of that total coming on the ground. Add in the always dangerous QB Chandler Harnish, and NIU looks very imposing right now.

4. WESTERN MICHIGAN (4-3, 2-1) (LW #1): Believe it or not, but Western actually led 15-13 at halftime over NIU before getting steam-rolled in the second half. The Broncos were admittedly shell-shocked after the loss, and I can't say I blame them. It'll be interesting to see how they bounce back from this setback. I still think the combo of QB Alex Carder and WR Jordan White is as potent as they come in this conference, so don't count out WMU.

5. BALL STATE (4-3, 2-1) (LW #10): A UT fan emailed me this morning saying the Toledo-Ball State matchup in late November is starting to worry him. Chalk that up as an email I thought I wouldn't be receiving in 2011, but the reader is right. The Cardinals are 4-3 for a reason, and their only losses came at South Florida, at Oklahoma and at home against Temple. Yesterday, they beat MAC East contender Ohio. Don't sleep on Ball State.

6. OHIO (4-3, 1-2) (LW #7): The Bobcats have been the most disappointing team in MAC play this year. The Bobcats were supposed to be title contenders, and instead they opened conference action with a 17-10 squeaker over Kent State, then lost at Buffalo and at home to Ball State. They should be able to pick themselves up off the pat next week at Akron, but then a huge matchup looms with Temple. Ohio needs to get things corrected, and fast.

7. BOWLING GREEN (3-4, 1-2) (LW #8): The Falcons were a fourth-and-1 conversion away from possibly pulling the upset over Toledo. Instead, they're left to again ponder their ill-timed poor execution, an issue that's plagued them in close losses for two seasons now. I still think there's a lot to be gained from this loss in the Battle of I-75 for BG's youthful group, though. Give them time, and I think these young Falcons will learn how to fly.

8. MIAMI (2-4, 1-1) (LW #9): Two weeks ago, Miami finally picked up its first win of the season over Army. Yesterday, the RedHawks snagged their first conference win over Kent State. Both results shouldn't have been as close as they were, though, for the MAC defending champs. Miami has a chance to prove Saturday at Toledo where it's a contender or pretender in 2011.

9. EASTERN MICHIGAN (4-3, 2-1) (LW #11): There's no doubt the Eagles are much better this year than they've been in a long, long time. And you have to be happy for a program that hasn't had much to celebrate recently. But, nobody is handing Ron English the MAC coach of the year award just yet. Eastern's victories have come against Hampton, Alabama State, Akron and Central Michigan -- not exactly a murderers' row. Let's see how the Eagles do in their final fives games (vs. WMU, vs. Ball St., vs. Buffalo, at KSU, at NIU) before we go crowning them just yet.

10. CENTRAL MICHIGAN (2-5, 1-2) (LW #5): The Chippewas came crashing back to Earth with a disheartening 35-28 loss at home to Eastern Michigan. Just two weeks ago, Central was celebrating a 48-41 win over NIU. Now, coach Dan Enos is firmly back on the hot seat, with the burners set at full blast.

11. BUFFALO (2-5, 1-2) (LW #6): The Bulls have been just about as inconsistent as possible this season. Two weeks ago, they edged Ohio at home. Then they went on the road and got whalloped by Temple. In Week 3, they narrowly lost at Ball State. On Saturday, they play at NIU, so who knows what we'll see?

12. KENT STATE (1-6, 0-3) (LW #12): The Flashes are a loss away to arch-rival Akron from hitting rock bottom. Kent State mustered just three points yesterday in a 9-3 home loss to Miami and is averaging just 10.7 points per game, rankings 120th in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).

13. AKRON (1-5, 0-2) (LW #13): The Zips were off this week and will take on Ohio at home next weekend. The Zips spent the week off compiling a scouting report on themselves and trying to discover their own strengths and weaknesses. Sounds like a training camp exercise to me, but hey, give them credit for starting somewhere.

The morning after: Bowling Green

Some news and notes from Toledo's 28-21 victory over Bowling Green yesterday at Doyt Perry Stadium:

• Maybe the biggest development from the Rockets' victory is that they took over sole possession of first place in the MAC West standings after Western Michigan was routed at Northern Illinois. That definitely gives UT a little breathing room as it nears the midpoint of conference play and gets closer to the most important two-week stretch of the season when NIU and WMU come to town in early November.
• Kudos to senior RB Morgan Williams for the job he's done replacing Adonis Thomas in the last three games. During that stretch, Williams has rushed for 328 yards and five touchdowns. After a steller freshman year followed by a rocky first two years under Beckman, this has to be a great feeling for Morgan.
• I was very curious to see how coach Tim Beckman would handle sitting in front of the BG banner in the interview room at Perry Stadium postgame. Two years ago after Toledo's loss to the Falcons, he walked in, saw the banner and refused to sit down at the podium and instead forced the media to shuffle over to the corner of the room away from the banner. Yesterday, he had four players stand behind him in front of the banner so that he could conduct his postgame news conference at the podium. Then, like a conga line moving clockwise, after Beckman was done, one of the players came up to the podium and Beckman took his spot in the human shield. Then when that player was done, the next guy up would take his seat at the microphone and the other guy would move back into the shield, and it followed from there until each Rocket had his turn. Interesting to say the least.
• Through 7 games, both QBs still have nearly identical passing stats. Junior Austin Dantin has a 152.3 passing efficiency, and he's completed 85 of 125 passes (68 percent) for 925 yards with 9 TDs and 1 INT. His long pass is 63 yards and he averages 132.1 passing yards per game. Owens has a 145.1 passing efficiency, and he's completed 62 of 98 passes (63 percent) for 806 yards with 5 TDs and 2 INTs. His long pass is 66 yards and he averages 134.3 passing yards per game.
• Two Rockets made their first career starts against BG due to injuries. Sophomore DE Christian Smith started in place of junior T.J. Fatinikun (dislocated elbow) and sophomore FS Ross Madison started in place of senior Diauntae Morrow, who moved to SS to replace junior Jermaine Robinson (hand/wrist) in the starting lineup. Smith registered one tackle for a loss, while Madison posted six tackles. 
• Next up for the Rockets are the Miami RedHawks (2-4, 1-1 MAC), who won 9-3 yesterday at Kent State.

End Zone: 10-13-11

Let me start by saying the NCAA’s initiative to remove inappropriate native American nicknames, logos, and other references associated with its member’s athletic teams has been a good thing, for the most part. The words “Fighting Sioux” and “Chief Illiniwek” don’t offend me, but I have come to understand how they could offend others. Some Native Americans view those mascots as racial stereotypes and symbols of oppression, and the NCAA wisely listened to their pleas to have them removed.

Where I draw the line, however, is the argument that the University of Toledo and Bowling Green State University need to retire a symbol of their rivalry, the Peace Pipe Trophy, because it too is offensive to Native Americans.

The Peace Pipe was first awarded to the winner of the two schools’ annual basketball game in 1948 as a goodwill gesture, because from 1935-1948, the two schools did not play each other following a riot after the 1935 football game. The tradition continued until 1969, when the six-foot-long Peace Pipe was stolen from UT. In 1980, a scaled down version of the Peace Pipe returned and sat atop a trophy awarded every year to the victors in the football rivalry.

Now, the Peace Pipe has been stolen away again, this time by the political correctness of America. To say the trophy cast Native Americans in a poor light or made of mockery of them is foolish. The only mockery here is the decision to get rid of it.

Feel free to weigh in with your own viewpoints about the Peace Pipe Trophy being retired. I'd very much welcome some differing (or concurring) opinions in the comments section below.

Georgia defensive back commits to Rockets

The University of Toledo football team received a nonbinding verbal commitment tonight from Aaron Taylor, a defensive back from Central Gwinnett High School in Lawrenceville, Ga.

Rated as a two-star prospect by Scout.com, Taylor (6-1, 180) is the Rockets' 15th commitment for the 2012 recruiting class. He projects as a safety in college, or possibly the star (linebacker/safety hybrid in UT's 4-2-5 base defense).

Taylor reportedly also had offers from Ball State, Georgia State and Ohio, and was getting some pretty serious interest from Georgia Tech as well. As a junior last season, Taylor recorded 91 tackles, three pass breakups, one interception and one sack.

Per NCAA rules, UT coach Tim Beckman is not permitted to comment on any incoming recruits until they sign a national letter of intent.

And since he can't say it, I will. The Rockets' coaching staff has a nice number of recruits already signed, considering we're not even halfway through October. This in turn will allow them to take some more chances and go after some higher-caliber recruits as we get closer to Signing Day, knowing they already have surefire talent in the bag.

It's also a good sign of how far this program has risen that mid-level recruits aren't waiting around for bigger offers and see enough in the Rockets to give them a solid verbal well before Signing Day.