BOCA RATON, Fla. — The Toledo Rockets have already checked off the biggest item on their Christmas wish list and now, they hope to check off their second biggest item.
After securing their first Mid-American Conference championship since 2017, the Rockets will try to finish off the 2022 season with a win in the Boca Raton Bowl.
The team is set to arrive Friday in South Florida and then all attention turns to facing Liberty University.
This is a familiar place for Toledo head coach Jason Candle. His first game at the helm came in the 2015 Boca Raton Bowl. That game took place just days after Candle replaced Matt Campbell as the head coach. That game against Temple was also Candle’s first win as a head coach.
Toledo features a stingy defense that had four first-team All-MAC performers. The offense is led by Dequan Finn who is once again healthy after missing time during the regular season due to injury.
Bowl games haven’t been kind to the Rockets in recent memory. Toledo has lost four straight bowl appearances, but three of the four were one possession games.
Most recently, Toledo lost to Middle Tennessee State in last year's Bahamas Bowl, 31-24.
The team will arrive in Boca Raton on Friday afternoon and will hold practices Saturday and Sunday. Kickoff for the Boca Raton Bowl is Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. and will air on ESPN.
The WTOL 11 sports team will bring you coverage every day leading up to the game both on air and online.