Still smarting from last season's MAC title game, Toledo gets another shot at Miami

Jacquez Stuart sat and cried at his locker in Ford Field.

Through a maze of hallways, around a corner, and down a steep ramp to the field, the Miami RedHawks were celebrating the Mid-American Conference championship.

This scene played out last December after Miami beat Toledo 23-14 in Detroit, preventing a 12-1 season for the Rockets and a potential Fiesta Bowl berth. Stuart has not forgotten.

“I took it hard,” the running back said. “I feel like it’s just another team in our way. We just got to go out there and execute, not worry about what’s surrounding the game. Worry about Xs and Os.”

Saturday’s homecoming game against the RedHawks at the Glass Bowl will be the third time UT and Miami have played in the past 13 games. Secrets will be at a minimum. What isn’t a mystery is the importance of the result, even if it is the conference opener.

A single loss can derail a team’s early December plans in the new-age, division-less MAC. It was possible to win the division with two losses. Now, one slip-up can be crippling.

“You’ve got to bring it every day,” Toledo coach Jason Candle said.

The Rockets brought it to Oxford last October, defeating Miami 21-17 in a battle of teams with unbeaten conference records. UT was out of sorts throughout the championship game and still nearly won. The situation couldn’t be more different on Saturday.

Miami was voted an overwhelming preseason favorite but is limping into the conference schedule with a 1-3 record. The lone win came in overtime against Massachusetts. Losses to Notre Dame, Northwestern, and rival Cincinnati are by no means embarrassing. However, a listless offense has not been encouraging, as Miami ranks 118th nationally in total offense (306.3 yards per game) and 133rd in scoring offense (12.0 points).

“We just got to take the same approach we do every week,” Toledo linebacker Jackson Barrow said. “Just because one team’s struggling offensively one week, it doesn’t mean the next week they’re not going to come out blazing. So I just feel like we got to to come in, prepare the right way, prepare the same way we do every week.”

Barrow may not have been in tears at Ford Field, but he was no less angry. A familiar feeling of displeasure began simmering after the Rockets flipped the page on Western Kentucky.

UP NEXT

Who : Miami (1-3) at Toledo (3-1).

When : Saturday, 3:30 p.m.

TV : ESPN Plus

Follow along : Updates and analysis will be published throughout the game at toledoblade.com .

Watch : Our Rocket Rundown video series looking ahead to the game can be viewed here .

“They got something that we feel like they took from us,” the sixth-year linebacker said about Miami.

If Toledo wins, there will not be a ring ceremony in the Glass Bowl. The Rockets will gain some retribution. More importantly, they will be 1-0 with a win over their chief competition as a momentous month awaits.

October is not for the faint of heart if your team colors are Midnight Blue and Gold. The Rockets play Miami, Buffalo, Northern Illinois, and Bowling Green, arguably the four best teams in the MAC outside of UT.

Confidence is not a bad thing to build before a crucial stretch. Maybe this time, Toledo will have tears of joy.

“I’m excited to play,” Stuart said. “This bye week was a relief. I’m ready to get back on the field and show out this Saturday.”