2015 Toledo Rockets football
MAC West Division co-champion
Boca Raton Bowl champion
Boca Raton Bowl, W 32–17 vs. Temple
ConferenceMid-American Conference
DivisionWest Division
Record10–2 (6–2 MAC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorJason Candle (3rd season)
Defensive coordinatorJon Heacock (2nd season)
Home stadiumGlass Bowl
Seasons
← 2014
2016 →
2015 Mid-American Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
East Division
Bowling Green x$   7 – 1     10 – 4  
Ohio   5 – 3     8 – 5  
Akron   5 – 3     8 – 5  
Buffalo   3 – 5     5 – 7  
Kent State   2 – 6     3 – 9  
Miami (OH)   2 – 6     3 – 9  
UMass   2 – 6     3 – 9  
West Division
Northern Illinois xy   6 – 2     8 – 6  
Western Michigan x   6 – 2     8 – 5  
Toledo x   6 – 2     10 – 2  
Central Michigan x   6 – 2     7 – 6  
Ball State   2 – 6     3 – 9  
Eastern Michigan   0 – 8     1 – 11  
Championship: Bowling Green 34, Northern Illinois 14
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant

The 2015 Toledo Rockets football team represented the University of Toledo in the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by head coach Matt Campbell in his fourth year. They played their home games at the Glass Bowl and were members of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference. They finished the season 10–2, 6–2 in MAC play to finish in a four way tie for the West Division title. However, due to losses to Western Michigan and Northern Illinois, two other teams to finish 6–2 in the West Division, they did not represent the West Division in the MAC Championship Game. They were invited to the Boca Raton Bowl where they defeated #24 Temple.

On November 29, head coach Matt Campbell resigned to become the head coach at Iowa State.[1] On December 2, offensive coordinator Jason Candle was promoted to head coach and led the Rockets in their bowl game.[2]

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 37:00 p.m.Stony Brook*
ESPN3Canceled[a]
September 123:00 p.m.at No. 18 Arkansas*
SEC Alt.W 16–1249,591
September 198:00 p.m.Iowa State*
  • Glass Bowl
  • Toledo, OH
ESPNewsW 30–2323,104
September 267:00 p.m.Arkansas State*
  • Glass Bowl
  • Toledo, OH
ESPN3W 37–721,385
October 33:00 p.m.at Ball State
ASNW 24–1010,002
October 103:00 p.m.Kent StatedaggerNo. 24
  • Glass Bowl
  • Toledo, OH
ESPN3W 38–723,118
October 1712:00 p.m.Eastern MichiganNo. 22
  • Glass Bowl
  • Toledo, OH
ESPN3W 63–2018,204
October 243:00 p.m.at UMassNo. 19
ESPN3W 51–3512,793
November 38:00 p.m.Northern IllinoisNo. 24
  • Glass Bowl
  • Toledo, OH
ESPN2L 27–3223,089
November 108:00 p.m.at Central Michigan
ESPN2W 28–2313,490
November 176:00 p.m.at Bowling Green
ESPN2W 44–2823,492
November 2712:00 p.m.Western MichiganNo. 24
  • Glass Bowl
  • Toledo, OH
CBSSNL 30–3516,151
December 227:00 p.m.vs. No. 24 Temple*
ESPNW 32–1725,908

[3]

^[a] The game was delayed due to thunderstorms at 7:51 PM, and resumed at around 9:50 PM. It was halted again just before the start of the second half and was then suspended at around 12:13 AM. Toledo was leading Stony Brook 16–7 prior to the game being suspended.[4] Toledo wanted to resume the game the next day, but Stony Brook feared its players would not have been able to get home at a reasonable hour. As there was no room to make the game up later in the season, it was officially declared "no contest."[5]

Rankings

Further information: 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre1234567891011121314Final
AP——RVRVRV2422192020RVRV24RVRVRV
Coaches——RVRVRVRV25202020RVRVRVRV—RV
CFPNot released24——24——Not released

Victory over an SEC team

On September 12, 2015, the Rockets defeated the 18th-ranked team, the Arkansas Razorbacks at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock, Arkansas[6] It was Toledo's first win over an SEC team in four tries and the first time the Rockets defeated a Top 25 non-conference opponent on the road.

Senior quarterback Phillip Ely threw for 237 yards and Toledo's defense shut down Arkansas in the red zone as the Rockets upset the No. 18 Razorbacks, 16-12 in front of a stunned crowd of nearly 50,000. The Rockets held Arkansas to just 103 yards rushing on 31 attempts. Arkansas quarterback Brandon Allen did throw for 412 yards but the Razorbacks came away with just three points in four visits in the red zone in the second half. The outcome of the contest was not decided until the final play. With just one second remaining, Allen fired a pass from the 16-yard line into the end zone to Keon Hatcher that sailed over his head, igniting a celebration on the Toledo sideline.

It was the first win of what became a seven-game winning streak for the Rockets.

References

  1. ^ "University of Toledo's Matt Campbell to become Iowa State Cyclones head coach". ESPN.com.
  2. ^ "Offensive coordinator Jason Candle named Toledo's head coach". Yahoo Sports. December 2, 2015.
  3. ^ "2015 Toledo Rockets Football Schedule". FB Schedules. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
  4. ^ "Stony Brook Seawolves vs Toledo Rockets football: Game suspended due to inclement weather". Hustle Belt. Retrieved September 4, 2015.
  5. ^ Piotrwicz, Nick (September 5, 2015). "Toledo-Stony Brook declared 'no contest'". The Blade. Archived from the original on March 2, 2016. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  6. ^ "Ex-Tide QB Phillip Ely leads Toledo in upset over No. 18 Arkansas". ESPN.com. The Associated Press. Retrieved June 18, 2016.


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