 TOLEDOROCKETS.NETYour source for information on Rocket Football! |
TOLEDOROCKETS.NETYour source for information on Rocket Football! |
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By Brian Nowicki It's hard to believe, but it is already that time of year. It's the Big Game! The Battle of I-75! The Battle for the Peace Pipe! It's simply Toledo vs Bowling Green. What, you thought I was talking about another game? Too bad! Ask any member of the University of Toledo and Bowling Green State University football teams what is the biggest game and they will tell you it is Toledo vs Bowling Green. It might not have the same national appeal and it might not have the same kind of following outside of Northwest Ohio, but this game means everything to these two schools. They've been playing since 1919, the first year that Bowling Green had a football team. Toledo began playing football in 1917. Bowling Green leads the series 36-30-4. What? Four ties in a rivalry like this? Yep!. After splitting the first two games of the series, the Rockets and Falcons battled to a 6-6 tie in 1922. In 1929 they battled to another scoreless tie, with Toledo and Bowling Green sharing the conference title. The next year, 1930, it was another scoreless tie. The last tie in the series came in 1968, another scoreless tie.  Toledo has won two straight games in the series and has not lost at home to Bowling Green since 1994. In the last 30 years, the series is tied at 15 wins for Toledo and 15 wins for Bowling Green. Now that's a rivalry! Rocket fans can take pride in holding a 7-3 advantage in the last 10 years though.The game will be televised nationally for the 4th year in a row, and the 5th time in the last 7 years. ESPN2 will be doing the broadcast with Mark May, Lou Holtz, and Reece Davis in the booth. Rob Stone will be the sideline reporter. Both teams come into the game with 4-7 records, and this is the first time since 1987 that both Toledo and Bowling Green will have losing records in the same season. This game is arguably the biggest rivalry in the Mid-American Conference, and to the players it is the biggest rivalry in all of college football. "There's nothing bigger, in my mind, than Toledo and Bowling Green," said senior linebacker Mike Alston. "It's like a season in itself," said Head Coach Tom Amstutz. Yes it is. This year neither Toledo nor Bowling Green will win their respective divisions and play in the MACC game, so this game will make or break the season. What's your thoughts on this game and the rivalry? We want to know. Email me at brian@rocketfootball.net with your comments. I will take as many comments as I can and post them on a story in the next couple of days! Have a question or comment for Brian? Email |