Dollar General Bowl 2017: Appalachian State vs. Toledo TV Schedule, Time, Odds
The rare early bowl season rematch occurs on Saturday night in the Dollar General Bowl.
The Appalachian State Mountaineers and Toledo Rockets will oppose each other in December once again after playing in the 2016 Camellia Bowl.
Appalachian State has played in three straight bowl games following its move up from the FCS. All three of those games, including Saturday, have come against MAC teams.
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Toledo boasts a 10-6 all-time bowl record, with wins in three of its last five postseason contests.
This is the third time the Rockets have made the excursion down to Mobile, Alabama, for a bowl game, each time with the contest under a new title. In 2005, they won the GMAC Bowl over UTEP, and they were victorious again in the GoDaddy Bowl in 2015 against Arkansas State.
Date: Saturday, December 23
Time: 7 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN
Live Stream: Watch ESPN
Odds: Toledo (-7)
How Appalachian State Will Win
The good news for Scott Satterfield's Mountaineers is they won't have to defend Kareem Hunt this year when playing Toledo. The Kansas City Chiefs running back ran for 120 yards and two touchdowns against the Appalachian State defense in a 31-28 Mountaineers win in 2016.
However, they still have to find a way to contain Toledo quarterback Logan Woodside, who threw for 3,758 yards and 28 touchdowns during the regular season.
The focus of the Appalachian State defense will not only be on Woodside, it will feature stopping Diontae Johnson, who has 1,257 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns. Appalachian State has a few weapons on offense, but none of them will be able to match the output of the Rockets in a shootout.
Eric Boggs is the leader of the Mountaineers defense with 97 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, two interceptions and a pair of fumble recoveries. If the Mountaineers are to stop Woodside from finding a rhythm, the linebacker will be involved in getting pressure on the quarterback.
If Woodside is able to get the ball off, keep an eye on Clifton Duck and Tae Hayes, who combined for nine interceptions in the Mountaineers secondary.
Offensively, the Mountaineers will rely on Taylor Lamb, who won the 2016 Camellia Bowl MVP for his performance against Toledo. The senior quarterback hasn't put up stunning numbers as of late, but he's capable of tearing apart an opposing defense at a moment's notice, as he threw over 300 yards in four games.
Scoring first will be vital for the Mountaineers, and if Lamb is able to get them up by multiple scores at halftime, they will have a good chance of defeating the Rockets for the second straight year.
How Toledo Will Win
Woodside's experience against Appalachian State is an advantage entering Saturday, especially since he threw for 247 yards and two touchdowns against it in 2016. He is 11th in the nation in passing yards and ranks fourth in the FBS with 9.8 yards per attempt.
Only one team has been able to contain Woodside and that was Central Michigan on October 14, when the senior totaled 89 yards through the air and just 11 on the ground.
However, the Rockets still won that game by 20 points thanks to 310 team rushing yards led Terry Swanson and Shakif Seymour, who both ran over 100 yards in the 30-10 victory.
If Appalachian State focuses on Woodside and limits his big-play potential, the Rockets could easily turn to the running game and put the weight on the shoulders of Swanson, Seymour and Art Thompkins, who have combined for 2,641 rushing yards and 28 touchdowns.
The Rockets won't have to rely on the trio of running backs if Woodside shines as he did in the MAC Championship in which he threw for 307 yards and four touchdowns against Akron.
Defensively, the Rockets have plenty of tape on Lamb and will know exactly what he brings to the table, but you could also say the same thing about the Mountaineers with Woodside.
Toledo doesn't have anyone who has recorded more than 70 tackles, but it does have Olasunkanmi Adeniyi, who leads the team with 19.5 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks. In his last five games, the defensive end has 7.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks, with three tackles for loss and a pair of sacks coming in the MAC Championship.
Expect Adeniyi to get into the pocket on a few occasions to pressure Lamb, and if his rushes into the backfield affect the Appalachian State quarterback, the Rockets have a chance to cruise to their third Dollar General Bowl victory.
Prediction
The Dollar General Bowl could come down to a quarterback duel between Lamb and Woodside, but the Toledo signal-caller has the more dynamic playmakers around him.
Expect the game to be close in the first half, but the gap should open up in the final 30 minutes due to the play of Toledo's senior quarterback.
Toledo 34, Appalachian State 20
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.
All statistics obtained from ESPN.com.
Odds obtained from OddsShark.com.
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