This past Sunday, the 4th of January, 2015, with the NCAA football bowl season winding down, we had the Godaddy Bowl. The 9-4 Toledo Rockets (Mac West) played the 7-6 Arkansas State Red Wolves (Sun Belt) with the game played at 9PM ET in the Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Alabama. The game was seen on ESPN TV. Let’s recap this bowl matchup.
This high scoring game saw the Rockets RB Hunt rush for a game high 271 yards and scoring 5 touchdowns as the Toledo Rockets beat the Arkansas State Red Wolves 63-44. The first-half of the game had 7 touchdowns and 1 FG, and that was with the Rockets scoring 21 points in the 1st quarter and 14 points in the 2nd quarter, while the Red Wolves scored 14 points in the 1st quarter and 3 points in the 2nd quarter as the game went to half with Toledo 35 Arkansas State 17. In the second half of the game the scoring continued, with the Rockets scoring 7 points in the 3rd quarter, and another 21 points in the 4th quarter. The Red Wolves scored 14 points in the 3rd quarter, and 13 points in the 4th quarter, but it turned out to be too little too late to win the game as the final score was Toledo 63 Arkansas State 44.
Statistically, the game was as amazing as the scoreboard, as the yardage numbers for the game where somewhat elevated. The Toledo Rockets had 30-1st downs amassing some 541 total offensive yards, with 176 passing yards, and 365 rushing yards with 1 turnover, and had ball possession for 35:17 minutes of the game. The Arkansas State Red Wolves had 20-1st downs with 468 total offensive yards, with 403 passing and 65 rushing with 2 turnovers, and ball possession for 24:43 minutes of the game.
The offensive leaders for the Toledo Rockets was QB Woodside, who completed 21 of 27 of his pass attempts for 176 yards with 0 touchdowns and with 1 interception. RB Hunt & Jones-Moore combined for 47 carries for 374 yards, with Hunt scoring 5 touchdowns and Jones-Moore scoring 2 touchdowns. Receivers Russell & Zmolik combined for 10 receptions for 96 yards and no touchdowns.
Leading the offense for the Arkansas Red Wolves was QB Knighten, who completed 23 of his 31 pass attempts for 403 yards and 5 touchdowns, and with no interceptions. RB Gordon & White combined for 15 carries for 52 yards with no touchdowns. Receivers Mays and McKissic combined for 237 yards with Mays scoring 3 touchdowns.
For those that bet on college football at a sportsbook, this GoDaddy Bowl game turned out to be a game, where the Rockets of Toledo started to score points, and then they never slowed down, as the set records with their performances on the defense, and offensively in their backfield. The Rockets passed when they needed to, but it was their running game that kept them scoring throughout this game and to a victorious win.