What to watch for vs. Toledo

Revenge Factor

Even just looking at last year's game, there are so many players that want another shot at the Toledo Rockets.  It's always tough to win on the road and the trip to Toledo was no exception.  Even though it didn't completely derail our chance to win the division, it certainly didn't help that we lost 19-20 to a team that we should have beaten.

Chandler Harnish went down with his knee injury, which certainly changed the course of the entire offseason for the Huskies.  Brian Lawson also broke his arm in that game and both players are back with a vengeance.  Chad Spann only had seven carries last year vs. the Rockets, but I'm sure that's about to change.

Also, feel free to win this game for the near-championship teams that got derailed by Toledo in 2002, 2003 and 2004.

Special Teams

If you thought last year was ridiculous with Barry Church blocking two field goals in one game, just wait until tomorrow.  We all know how inconsistent Cklamovski is, but Toledo is having some of the same issues with their kicking game.  In fact, their top 2 kickers went down this season both with season-ending injuries.  Watch out for the Huskies to block kicks, errant kicks and who knows what else.  Not to mention, Toledo's Eric Page is one of the best kickoff returners in the league.

Turnovers

This is how Toledo has been thriving all season long.  So far they've intercepted 16 passes and recovered 10 fumbles on the season.  NIU intercepted the ball 14 times, but has recovered only 4 fumbles for the year.  This is how the Rockets have been thriving all year.  It's going to be extremely important for the Huskies to come out in the plus side of things or it could get pretty dicey down the stretch.