Ranking the Top 131 College Football Programs of the Last 40 Years: 52. Toledo
HOLY TOLEDO (Rockets College Football Team)!
We’ve reached the top 5 Group of 5 teams (counting teams who have been G5 the whole 40 years, i.e. Air Force, Boise State, Fresno State, BYU). “Why is Toledo this high, they’ve only finished in the top 25 twice!” Put some respect on Toledo’s name, the Rockets have been a Group of 5 powerhouse for as long as you and your parents can remember. Even going as far back as 1969-71 they had a 35 game win streak, the 5th longest in major college football history. All 7 of the head coaches at Toledo since 1983 have a winning record with the team. 7/7 winning records is insane consistency! Also, I swear I did not rig the rankings to have the Rockets be on July 4th. It’s getting suspicious at this point with Oregon State and Toledo, but I didn’t realize until a few days before each.
Best Seasons and Highlights
+------+--------+------+--------------+--------+
| rank | team | year | resume score | record |
+------+--------+------+--------------+--------+
| 8 | Toledo | 1995 | 32.468 | 11-0-1 |
| 12 | Toledo | 2000 | 23.249 | 10-1 |
| 23 | Toledo | 2015 | 22.436 | 10-2 |
| 23 | Toledo | 2001 | 14.991 | 10-2 |
| 25 | Toledo | 1990 | 14.246 | 9-2 |
| 34 | Toledo | 2017 | 11.76 | 11-3 |
| 27 | Toledo | 1997 | 9.382 | 9-3 |
| 33 | Toledo | 1983 | 9.02 | 9-2 |
| 26 | Toledo | 2005 | 7.601 | 9-3 |
| 24 | Toledo | 1992 | 7.336 | 8-3 |
| 37 | Toledo | 2011 | 6.228 | 9-4 |
| 44 | Toledo | 2016 | 5.439 | 9-4 |
| 41 | Toledo | 1984 | 5.139 | 8-3-1 |
| 42 | Toledo | 2012 | 4.913 | 9-4 |
| 45 | Toledo | 2003 | 4.217 | 8-4 |
| 45 | Toledo | 2020 | 2.993 | 4-2 |
| 48 | Toledo | 2014 | 2.004 | 9-4 |
| 45 | Toledo | 2002 | 1.565 | 9-5 |
| 38 | Toledo | 2004 | 1.265 | 9-4 |
| 52 | Toledo | 2022 | -0.336 | 9-5 |
| 58 | Toledo | 2013 | -0.984 | 7-5 |
| 47 | Toledo | 1998 | -4.064 | 7-5 |
| 47 | Toledo | 1986 | -5.724 | 7-4 |
| 63 | Toledo | 2010 | -7.749 | 8-5 |
| 55 | Toledo | 1994 | -8.494 | 6-4-1 |
| 57 | Toledo | 1988 | -9.443 | 6-5 |
| 70 | Toledo | 2021 | -9.913 | 7-6 |
| 56 | Toledo | 1991 | -11.344 | 5-5-1 |
| 60 | Toledo | 1989 | -11.899 | 6-5 |
| 77 | Toledo | 2018 | -12.312 | 7-6 |
| 65 | Toledo | 1999 | -12.643 | 6-5 |
| 61 | Toledo | 1996 | -14.304 | 7-4 |
| 96 | Toledo | 2019 | -24.674 | 6-6 |
| 76 | Toledo | 1985 | -26.01 | 4-7 |
| 85 | Toledo | 2006 | -26.052 | 5-7 |
| 91 | Toledo | 2007 | -29.329 | 5-7 |
| 97 | Toledo | 2009 | -29.368 | 5-7 |
| 82 | Toledo | 1993 | -29.477 | 4-7 |
| 82 | Toledo | 1987 | -29.865 | 3-7-1 |
| 109 | Toledo | 2008 | -43.615 | 3-9 |
+------+--------+------+--------------+--------+
Overall Score: 20514 (52nd)293-176-5 record
7 Conference Titles
7-9 bowl record
1 consensus All-American
22 NFL players drafted
Despite just two AP Top 25 finishes, I actually have them finishing in the top 25 six times, with eight top 27 finishes. Toledo’s been underrated by the polls despite some really good years. They have just 7 losing seasons in 40 years, which is remarkable, 5 of them being 5-7 or 4-7 records. Toledo’s lone consensus All-American? WR Eric Page (2010), who made the all-purpose slot with 99 catches for 1105 receiving yards and 8 TD, 3/4 passes for 68 yards and 3 TD 1 INT, and 31.1 yards per kick return and 3 kick return TDs. There haven’t been a ton of successful Toledo players relative to their college success, but a few notable names include RB Kareem Hunt, WR Diontae Johnson, P Brett Kern, RB Chester Taylor, WR Lance Moore, S Barry Church, QB Bruce Gradkowski, and WR Andrew Hawkins. C Andy McCollum was a 10-year starter in the NFL, and snapped the ball for the St. Louis Rams’ Greatest Show on Turf. DE Dan Williams was the 11th overall pick in 1993, and DE Brent Williams is on the New England Patriots’ 1990s All-Decade Team.
Top 5 Seasons
Worst Season: 2008 (3-9 overall, 2-6 MAC)
MICHIGAN LOST TO TOLEDO’S WORST TEAM. The game even has its own Wikipedia article. Toledo entered at 1-4, having just lost 0-31 to Ball State. Michigan was struggling to find consistency themselves at 2-3 in Rich Rodriguez’s first year, but had a win over #9 Wisconsin just 2 games prior and looked forward to their cupcake matchup with Toledo. The game was a crapshoot. Michigan QB Steven Threet threw an interception in the end zone that Toledo took back for a 101 yard TD to take a 7-0 lead. Michigan answered with a TD themselves, and a FG made it 10-7 Michigan heading into halftime. The Wolverines wouldn’t score again, and Toledo took a 13-10 lead in the 4th quarter. With just 1 minute left, Michigan missed a 26 yard FG to obtain their first ever loss to a MAC team. Toledo WR Nick Moore had 20(!!) catches for 162 yards. Both teams would finish the year 3-9. For their worst season, Toledo could’ve done much worse.
5. 1990 (9-2 overall, 7-1 MAC)
Nick Saban…heard of him? Yeah. Former Toledo head coach. Boom. Saban coached the Rockets for one year in 1990 before leaving for the Cleveland Browns defensive coordinator job under Bill Belichick. Before the season started, Saban actually turned down an assistant coach application from Urban Meyer, in what would’ve been, in hindsight, one of the best coaching tandems in college football history. Saban began his coaching career with a 6-0 record, going 5-0 in the MAC to take 1st place. 6-0 Toledo played 5-1-1 Central Michigan for the conference lead, and down 12-13 with little time remaining, Toledo lined up for a 25 yard FG which…came up short because of wind. Toledo finished MAC play by beating 1-6 Kent State and 5-3 Western Michigan, but Central Michigan had finished 7-1 in the MAC themselves, winning the conference. Toledo exchanged a loss with Navy for a win with Arkansas State to finish the year 9-2 with a share of the MAC title. Saban says he doesn’t remember anything about the 9 wins, but remembers the 2 losses vividly. The GOAT coach may have only spent 1 year as captain of the Rocket ship, but there are some really good articles about there detailing his 1990 season.
4. 2001 (10-2 overall, 5-2 MAC)
This team was legit. In the opener they worked Minnesota 38-7, with RB Chester Taylor going for 186 yards and 3 TD on 18 carries. The next week, despite committing 19 penalties, Toledo completely controlled Temple, winning 33-7 and outgaining the Owls 410-139. With a few more wins, they entered the top 25 at 5-0. A shock loss to 1-4 Ball State bounced them from the top 25, but they’d be back later. Toledo won 3 of their last 4 to make the MAC title game at 8-2, facing #18 Marshall in the 3rd matchup between the two in 5 years. Toledo was 0-2 in MAC title games, expected to fall to 0-3, but Taylor racked up 252 yards and 2 TD in a 41-36 win, Toledo’s first MAC title since 1995. Taylor finished his career as MVP of the Motor City Bowl, beating Cincinnati 23-16 thanks to his 190 rushing yards. On the year, Taylor ran for 1430 yards and 20 TD, earning 3rd Team All-American honors. He finished his career as the MAC’s 2nd all-time leading rusher with 4,646 yards, and went on to have a solid NFL career, rushing for more yards there than he did in college.
3. 2015 (10-2 overall, 6-2 MAC)
Matt Campbell’s last season as head coach before leaving for Iowa State. In week 2 they travelled to #18 Arkansas, who was coming off “the best 7-6 season in NCAA history”, where the Hogs lost to 5 top 10 teams and the #17 team, while beating #8 Ole Miss, #17 LSU, and Texas by a combined score of 78-7. Anyway, Toledo entered looking for a fight, and 60 minutes later were victorious despite being outgained by 200 yards. A subsequent 30-23 2OT win over Iowa State showed the win over the Razorbacks was no fluke. Toledo dominated the rest of their competition, beating eventual Sun Belt champion Arkansas State 37-7, and 3 MAC teams by an average score of 51-21 to start 7-0 and #24. The unbeaten run came to an end vs Northern Illinois, who’d win the division Toledo was in. Toledo finished strong, beating eventual 7-6 Central Michigan and MAC champion Bowling Green. They had a chance to go to the MAC title game, but lost 30-35 in an upset to Western Michigan. No matter—they beat #24 Temple 32-17 in the Boca Raton Bowl. Toledo finished unranked, but had 10 wins and were 2-0 against AP Top 25 teams. RB Kareem Hunt had a down year, rushing for “just” 973 yards and 11 TD in 10 games. He’d become the MAC’s 3rd all-time leading rusher next season with 4,945 career yards, and finished 2nd in the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year voting in 2017. Backup Terry Swanson, who ran for 900+ yards, would actually become Toledo’s 4th all-time leading rusher with 3,601 yards by 2017.
2. 2000 (10-1 overall, 6-1 MAC)
It’s crazy that this team didn’t win a MAC championship, let alone play in the championship game. AND NO BOWL!? Armed with a devastating run game, efficient passing game, and one of the best defenses in the country, Toledo won 10 games with just 1 loss, finishing #12 in my rankings. Penn State tasted that defense firsthand, with the Rockets holding Joe Paterno’s team to just 166 yards in a 24-6 win. Central Michigan didn’t know what hit them either, Toledo winning 41-0. MAC champion Marshall, who was about to win their 4th straight title? 42-0’d by Toledo. Overall, it was a very weak strength of schedule, as it ended up being the 3rd easiest schedule in the country, but Toledo crushed it, averaging 36.4 PPG while giving up just 11.4 PPG. If not for a 14-21 loss to 9-3 Western Michigan, 11-0 Toledo would’ve played Marshall in a rematch in the MAC title game, would’ve likely won, and their potential bowl game would’ve been interesting. We could’ve been looking at a 13-0 Toledo team as one of the best Group of 5 seasons of all time. the QB-RB backfield of Tavares Bolden and Chester Taylor both made 1st Team All-MAC, with 4 other players making the 1st Team. DE DeJuan Goulde was a 3rd Team All-American.
1. 1995 (11-0-1 overall, 7-0-1 MAC)
Flawless (if you’re fine with ties). Toledo road tripped through Kalamazoo (31-21 over 7-4 Western Michigan), Reno (49-35 over 9-3 Nevada), and Cincinnati (45-31 over 6-5 Cincinnati) to start the year. RB Wasean Tait put the nation in notice, rushing for 1905 yards and 20 TD, winning MAC Offensive POTY. By the end of the regular season, Toledo had beaten 7-4 Ball State, 6-5 Eastern Michigan, and tied 8-2-1 Miami (OH). As the NCAA had adopted postseason overtime in 1995, Toledo-Nevada in the Las Vegas Bowl was the first overtime game in NCAA history, with the Rockets winning 40-37. Tait scored the winning TD. Toledo finished #24 in the final poll, their second highest postseason ranking in the last 40 years behind 2001 (#23). Tait was a 2nd Team All-American, finishing 3rd in the nation in rushing. DBs Jamal Belt and Craig Dues tied for the MAC lead in interceptions with 6 each. Gary Pinkel won MAC Coach of the Year, and had a 73-37-3 record from 1991-2000.
1995 Toledo is my 30th best Group of 5 team since 1983.
5th Quarter
Thoughts on Toledo’s ranking? Are you surprised at how successful they’ve been? What is your favorite Toledo player/play/game? Who’s Toledo’s best player in the last 40 years? Who’s Toledo’s best coach? Who will be the last team to finish outside of the top 50?
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