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Toledo unlikely to upset Arkansas — as long as Hogs don’t sleep
By Eric Bolin
Published:
FAYETTEVILLE – Dan Enos never beat Toledo. Not once. Five years as a head coach at Central Michigan, Enos couldn’t get the Rockets.
Central Michigan is not Arkansas. Enos took the interesting career choice of stepping down as a head coach to become an offensive coordinator. It wasn’t a side-step. It wasn’t a move down the ladder. The SEC is stronger than the Mid-American Conference and everyone knows it.
Enos, though, wouldn’t mind beating an old division rival.
“Certainly having played them a few times, I’ve tried to be a resource for a little bit on both sides of the ball, just to tell them the little bit I know and hopefully it can give us some type of insight,” Enos said.
There are certain guarantees.
Toledo prefers the run. The Rockets finished 13th in FBS last year in rushing yards per game. And while starter Kareem Hunt is suspended, that won’t change the plan of attack.
Toledo has some SEC talent. Quarterback Phillip Ely began his career at Alabama. He even played against the Razorbacks back in in 2012. And while he is technically not a returning starter, he won the job last year before losing most of the season to injury.
Then there are the questions. Like, just how good is that rushing attack with the loss of several offensive line starters?
Hunt is finishing the final of a two-game suspension. His back-up, Terry Swanson, probably won’t play, either, after tweaking an ankle in Toledo’s non-game against Stony Brook last weekend. The Rockets began that game Saturday, but it was rained out and canceled before it could be finished.
“Obviously you’d love to have a full game on them,” Bielema said. “But they were down early, so you know they had to come out and keep things going. They obviously suspended two of their better players and people go to rally around that.”
The other suspended player is defensive end Allen Covington. His absence may be more significant than Hunt’s actually. That’s saying something considering the more than 1,600 yards the running back had on the ground last year.
Covington is an NFL prospect, equally adept at stopping the run and getting to the quarterback. The way Arkansas scored points last week, defense will be important for the Rockets if they want to stand any chance.
Ultimately that’s the thing. The chance. Las Vegas says the Razorbacks are a 21- or 22-point favorite. The game being in Little Rock instead of Fayetteville may change those numbers a bit from their normal mark. But considering Toledo’s status as a MAC favorite, there is a chance – a minuscule one – the Rockets catch Arkansas sleeping.
Just don’t count on it.
Eric Bolin is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers SEC football and Arkansas.
