First Scouting Report: Kentucky vs. Toledo
An early look ahead to Kentucky’s 2019 football season opener:
The opponent
Kentucky (10-3 in 2018) will open its 2019 season against Mid-American Conference foe Toledo (7-6 in 2018) on Aug. 31 at Kroger Field.
The Rockets ended their 2018 season with a 35-32 loss to Florida International in the Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl.
Most recent meeting
This will be the first football game ever between Kentucky and Toledo.
Know your foe
1. When Matt Campbell left Toledo to become head coach at Iowa State following the 2015 season, the Rockets promoted offensive coordinator Jason Candle to the top spot. In three seasons since, Candle is 28-13 as Toledo head coach with a 2017 Mid-American Conference championship and three bowl trips.
2. Toledo loses four offensive starters, including star wideouts Cody Thompson and Jon’Vea Johnson, to graduation. The Rockets also graduate six defensive starters. However, Toledo hopes to get starting quarterback Mitchell Guadagni back from injury. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound senior-to-be was sidelined after seven games in 2018 with a broken collarbone. A dual threat, Guadagni threw for 1,053 yards and 13 touchdowns (with only three interceptions) and ran for 428 yards and three scores before being hurt.
3. A familiar face should play a major role for Toledo at Kroger Field. Running back Bryant Koback, who sat out the 2017 season at Kentucky as a redshirt freshman, was the leading rusher (917 yards, 14 touchdowns) for the Rockets in 2018 after transferring from UK.
This story was originally published January 1, 2019 at 5:00 PM.
