Holy Toledo!

[Stonewall]

Well done DG.

[booneboy92]

If y’all haven’t seen it, there’s a Twitter post from The Hustle Belt (a MAC fan site): Drone pic of The Rock (photoshopped to look like peak leaf season), and captioned “Toledo Is Going To Play Here!” with the heart-eyed emoji on the end! We’re a destination game for sure! Sorry, I still don’t know how to post links!

[AppStFan1]

I know the MAC Is not ideal but we have had history with them and I'm fine with a series to settle it. Why not give them a chance at revenge?

I do think we need to take P5 games however we can get them. I have had enough with FCS games and the gate from those does not outweigh the money you get from a NY6 or exposure from being ranked in the top 15. I hope we limit FCS games more than anything because if we don't keep scheduling those, however we can get them, we can't complain when we don't have the resume that people use against us for not ranking us or not putting us in a NY6. Nobody outside of App talks about the beat-down on Halloween we gave Wofford but everyone still talks about the Michigan game.

[AppWyo]

https://twitter.com/HustleBelt/status/1 ... 30/photo/1

[Yosef84]

One of the scheduling challenges right now is the potential for movement in CUSA and the AAC which makes scheduling them risky because contracts could get cancelled or we could even wind up as conference mates. The MAC is a safe option and Toledo is probably the best, or at least one of the best options in the MAC.

[t4pizza]

One of the scheduling challenges right now is the potential for movement in CUSA and the AAC which makes scheduling them risky because contracts could get cancelled or we could even wind up as conference mates. The MAC is a safe option and Toledo is probably the best, or at least one of the best options in the MAC.

I don't agree with this take at all. The contract is with the team not the conference so it doesn't really matter what conference a team might move at a later date. Worst case scenario is that the team moves into the same conference with us and in that case we simply both agree to cancel the future game and find other opponents. I feel we should be trying to schedule better teams than Toledo or anything else the MAC has to offer, sorry but that conference does nothing for me.

[booneboy92]

https://twitter.com/HustleBelt/status/1 ... 30/photo/1

Thanks for having my back dude!

[AppGrad78]

One of the scheduling challenges right now is the potential for movement in CUSA and the AAC which makes scheduling them risky because contracts could get cancelled or we could even wind up as conference mates. The MAC is a safe option and Toledo is probably the best, or at least one of the best options in the MAC.

I don't agree with this take at all. The contract is with the team not the conference so it doesn't really matter what conference a team might move at a later date. Worst case scenario is that the team moves into the same conference with us and in that case we simply both agree to cancel the future game and find other opponents. I feel we should be trying to schedule better teams than Toledo or anything else the MAC has to offer, sorry but that conference does nothing for me.

This has the potential to be a real headache. Let’s say we schedule a non-conference game with, say, Southern Miss or Liberty or Marshall or ODU or Western Kentucky or any of the other schools that could end up in the Sun Belt. If one of them joins our conference, we suddenly have a new out-of-conference game to fill. And depending on the timing, we might be forced to schedule another FCS opponent, or, worse-case, no opponent at all.

[AtlAppMan]

One of the scheduling challenges right now is the potential for movement in CUSA and the AAC which makes scheduling them risky because contracts could get cancelled or we could even wind up as conference mates. The MAC is a safe option and Toledo is probably the best, or at least one of the best options in the MAC.

I don't agree with this take at all. The contract is with the team not the conference so it doesn't really matter what conference a team might move at a later date. Worst case scenario is that the team moves into the same conference with us and in that case we simply both agree to cancel the future game and find other opponents. I feel we should be trying to schedule better teams than Toledo or anything else the MAC has to offer, sorry but that conference does nothing for me.

T4, I don't think anyone on this thread thinks this is a home run but it is a quality scheduling move. Since you think it is so bad, what is your solution? It has to be something that is realistic not just wishful thinking on your part. Remember to setup an opponent, both parties have to be willing and have common slots on their open dates in the future. I ask you, "What is your solution if you were Gillin?"

[t4pizza]

One of the scheduling challenges right now is the potential for movement in CUSA and the AAC which makes scheduling them risky because contracts could get cancelled or we could even wind up as conference mates. The MAC is a safe option and Toledo is probably the best, or at least one of the best options in the MAC.

I don't agree with this take at all. The contract is with the team not the conference so it doesn't really matter what conference a team might move at a later date. Worst case scenario is that the team moves into the same conference with us and in that case we simply both agree to cancel the future game and find other opponents. I feel we should be trying to schedule better teams than Toledo or anything else the MAC has to offer, sorry but that conference does nothing for me.

T4, I don't think anyone on this thread thinks this is a home run but it is a quality scheduling move. Since you think it is so bad, what is your solution? It has to be something that is realistic not just wishful thinking on your part. Remember to setup an opponent, both parties have to be willing and have common slots on their open dates in the future. I ask you, "What is your solution if you were Gillin?"

It is impossible to offer a solution or alternative when I am not privy to any of the information on which the choice is made. Nobody on this board actually knows what schools will or will not play us and what schools we have or have not spoken with about future games. I think there are a lot of other G5 programs that would interest me a lot more than Toledo, including Memphis, Tulane, Tulsa, SMU, USF, Western Kentucky, UTSA, Navy, Army, Air Force, Middle Tennessee, UAB, La Tech, Boise State, San Diego State, Fresno State, etc. Pretty much any other G5 except those located in the MAC would interest me more than playing a MAC team. Just my personal opinion.

[APPdiesel]

I'm with you T4. I'm not saying Toledo is a bad series, but it doesn't excite me either. Almost any team out of the eastern half of CUSA, any AAC at all, and top half of Mountain West are more exciting. Add to that almost any "eastern half of the United States" power 5 no matter who they are (except Rutgers).

To everyone else, it's ok and healthy to be critical of your program...it sets up a system of accountability. We're all spoiled that OOC scheduling against a top half MAC team is all we have to complain about.

[TurfMonkey]

I'm good with it, B plus. Toledo is fun. Look forward to it. Better than The Citadel, UMass, Kansas, and Buffalo (whoops)

[bcoach]

Since so many are concerned with us being ranked I think it is a great move. Look at Coastal. They play nobody and are 15. I think we should schedule every team in the Mac and go undefeated. Seems the way to get ranked, as strength of schedule means absolutely zero.

[HkyMtneer]

https://twitter.com/HustleBelt/status/1 ... 30/photo/1

Thanks for having my back dude!

FYI: That photo is legit and from last fall. We're lucky.

[JMappfan5]

Us guys from the mid 70s remember the "beat-down" Ball State gave us...WE owe them one!!! ):

[Yosef84]

One of the scheduling challenges right now is the potential for movement in CUSA and the AAC which makes scheduling them risky because contracts could get cancelled or we could even wind up as conference mates. The MAC is a safe option and Toledo is probably the best, or at least one of the best options in the MAC.

I don't agree with this take at all. The contract is with the team not the conference so it doesn't really matter what conference a team might move at a later date. Worst case scenario is that the team moves into the same conference with us and in that case we simply both agree to cancel the future game and find other opponents. I feel we should be trying to schedule better teams than Toledo or anything else the MAC has to offer, sorry but that conference does nothing for me.

You are certainly entitled to your opinion but if a team changes conferences and we wind up in the same conference, the contract will probably be void because it is now a conference game. If the team is possibly in play, they are unlikely to sign an iron clad contract. The MAC is stable, so these aren't issues. I'm not saying these things are issues with every single team, but the landscape is complicated right now. It just is.

[WASU 93]

TV Networks could come into play here. The MAC has an ESPN contract through 2026. Assuming they re-up, both of these games should be on the ESPN Networks.
We lucked in to last year's Marshall game being on CBS. Had the SEC been in action, we would have been relegated to the CBS Sports Network (and that comes into play with any Conference USA game). The Mountain West is on CBS/Fox. Obviously, the landscape could change by 2028, but games on the ESPN networks tend to have more value for the brand and more highlights on SportCenter, discussion on GameDay, etc.

[Rick83]

We're still short a home game in 2025 and I'm guessing it'll be an FCS team...

[spacemonkey]

One of the scheduling challenges right now is the potential for movement in CUSA and the AAC which makes scheduling them risky because contracts could get cancelled or we could even wind up as conference mates. The MAC is a safe option and Toledo is probably the best, or at least one of the best options in the MAC.

I don't agree with this take at all. The contract is with the team not the conference so it doesn't really matter what conference a team might move at a later date. Worst case scenario is that the team moves into the same conference with us and in that case we simply both agree to cancel the future game and find other opponents. I feel we should be trying to schedule better teams than Toledo or anything else the MAC has to offer, sorry but that conference does nothing for me.

You should be a Chapel Heel fan with that elitist attitude. This is a great game. Great City. Will be on one of the ESPN channels. I like it a lot. The MAC is a good conference with good teams. Toledo will be a challenge.

[mike87]

The twitter bringing back to life Clifton Duck's walk of the blind and deaf as we were handing them an ass-whooping in the 2017 Bowl game, and knowing that will resurface again before each of these games. That alone makes this a home run series. I'm sure one of you guys can post the link.

Duck was a master of the games within the game.