Rockets, Falcons not too different

Battle of I-75 trophy for game between University of Toledo and Bowling Green State University. Enlarge

BOWLING GREEN -- There are a number of similarities between the two archrivals getting ready to do battle at Doyt Perry Stadium at noon Saturday.

The football teams from Bowling Green State University and the University of Toledo have the same record as both are 3-3 overall.

Both have game-breaking wide receivers in Toledo's Eric Page and BG's Kamar Jorden.

Both teams have defenses featuring some of the best players in the Mid-American Conference, including returning all-league performers T.J. Fatinikun and Dan Molls of Toledo -- both of whom are questionable for the game because of injuries -- as opposed to Chris Jones and Dwayne Woods of Bowling Green.

So what are the factors that will determine a winner Saturday?

■ Experience. Even with a banged-up lineup, the Rockets have significantly more veteran players in their two-deeps on both sides of the ball.

UT has five seniors and two juniors on offense starting against a Falcon defense that has only one senior and two juniors. The Rocket defense has a whopping eight senior starters going up against a BG offense that has four seniors and two juniors.

One example of Toledo's experience is at running back, where senior Adonis Thomas broke his arm on the first play at Syracuse and isn't expected to return until November at the earliest. Senior Morgan Williams stepped in and had 121 yards against Temple, while sophomore David Fluellen had 74 yards against Eastern Michigan last week.

■ Ball security. That's coach-speak for turnovers, and the two teams are at opposite sides of the spectrum in that area.

Toledo has committed just six turnovers, the second-best total in the MAC, and forced 15 turnovers to give them a plus-nine mark, three times better than any other league school. BG has lost the ball 17 times, more than any other league school, and is minus-seven to tie for the worst mark in the MAC.

"This year, when we have turned the ball over, we have lost the football game," BG coach Dave Clawson said. "Toledo has done a good job of not turning it over. We can't lose the turnover battle; you can't give their offense that many extra possessions."

■ MOMENTUM: The Rockets enter the contest on an upswing, having won their last two games after what could have been a season-wrecking loss at Syracuse. One of those victories was an eye-opening win at East Division favorite Temple, one week after the Owls won at Maryland.

Meanwhile the Falcons have lost their last two games, suffering a lopsided loss at West Virginia and following that with a disappointing defeat at Western Michigan.

"We did not play at a level necessary to beat teams of that quality," Clawson said of his team's struggles in its last two games. "It on us. It shouldn't matter who we play: if we execute better … we believe we have a chance to win a bunch of games this year."

One of the few advantages the Falcons have is their opportunity to play at home in front a homecoming crowd, while Toledo is away from home for the third time in four weeks.

"It's good to play at home -- I think playing in front of our fans will help us out a lot," BG's Jones said. "We did struggle last week on defense, but we've had a good week of practice.

"We know what we've done. We've made some mistakes, but those are execution errors that we're working to get down."

Contact John Wagner at: jwagner@theblade.com or 419-724-6481 or on Twitter @jwagnerblade.