Toledo’s defense is a long way from a September Saturday night in Ohio Stadium.
After giving up 77 points to the Buckeyes — a disheartening result, no matter how good the opponent — the Rockets have looked like the defense of the past two seasons: a top 35 national unit that will make life difficult for offenses in the Mid-American Conference.
“That was really hard,” defensive coordinator Vince Kehres said. “There’s a lot of pride here amongst the coaches and the players. We’ve talked from the beginning about building an elite defense at Toledo, and that hurt.