Logan Woodside helps Toledo win MAC for first time since 2004
Logan Woodside capped off his record-setting Toledo career with a Mid-American Conference title.
Woodside, the Rockets’ senior quarterback, threw for 307 yards and four touchdowns Saturday in a 45-28 win over Akron, sealing the school’s first MAC title since 2004. And he did it without much resistance from the Zips.
Woodside threw three first half touchdown passes as Toledo jumped out to a 28-0 lead. The lead grew to 38-0 late in the third with Woodside’s fourth score of the day. As has been the case all year, Diontae Johnson was Woodside’s favorite target. Johnson finished the game with nine catches for 118 yards and two scores while Jon’Vea Johnson contributed six receptions for 103 yards and a score. Additionally, running back Terry Swanson racked up 180 yards and two scores on the ground in the win.
Toledo has consistently been one of the better teams in the MAC, but has fallen short of winning the league year-after-year. The Rockets won nine games three times under Matt Campbell and now twice under Jason Candle, but this year’s 11-2 mark heading into a bowl game is the best since 1995, when Gary Pinkel was head coach.
With just a bowl game left in his collegiate career, Woodside now has 10,399 passing yards along with 93 touchdowns. As Yahoo Sports’ Pete Thamel detailed before the season began, he is on the radar of NFL scouts:
One NFL scout considers Woodside, who is 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds, the best quarterback prospect to come out of the MAC in recent seasons. Woodside’s arm strength, production and accuracy are compelling, as the scout considers Woodside a fourth- or fifth-round pick with a chance to raise his stock with a big season. “I’m really intrigued by him,” the scout told Yahoo Sports.
Woodside and Toledo can reach the 12-win mark for the first time since 1971 with a bowl win.
Akron, which played in the MAC title game for the first time since 2005, enters its bowl game at 7-6. The Zips can reach eight wins for the second time since becoming an FBS program in 1987.
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Sam Cooper is a writer for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
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