One of the sideshows surrounding the Battle of I-75 is the Toledo-Bowling Green split between brothers Grant Zimmerly and Cade Zimmerly, shown here as teammates at Perrysburg. (Sentinel-Tribune file)
Bowling Green State University football coach Scot Loeffler says preparing for Toledo will have it’s challenges, especially when just six days expire between Wednesday’s win over Kent State and Tuesday’s game against the Rockets.
“Yeah, I know (Toledo coach) Jason (Candle) agrees with this. I really wish this thing was on Saturday and it had a full week of preparation, but obviously he and I don’t make the schedules,” Loeffler said.
“It’s way above our pay grade, but I wish it was a regular seven-day week. I would assume he would agree, and we really wish this thing was on Saturday.
“I remember I think we’ve only played one on Saturday since I’ve been here, and it was just an unbelievable atmosphere. It’s what college football looks like, and it’s good for the Toledo businesses.
”It’s good for the Bowling Green businesses, but you know, we had a great crowd up there at Toledo last year. We brought a lot of people up there and I’m hoping that the stadium is full of brown and orange and Toledo scholars.”
The Falcons (6-4 overall, 4-2 Mid-American Conference) and Rockets (9-1, 6-0), which have already clinched the MAC West, face off in a nationally-televised Battle of I-75 at Doyt Perry Stadium with kickoff set for 7 p.m. Loeffler promises the Falcons will be prepared.
“This is an awesome game. Great opponent. They’re playing really well,” Loeffler said. “They’re No. 1 in the MAC and we’re going to have to give our best efforts to give ourselves a chance to win this one.
“But they’re good and really excited about the opportunity to play in this game. I know our players and coaches are excited for the opportunity.
“They’re a solid, really good football team and there’s a reason that they won nine straight games, and you know, in this we’ve got to be on point. We’ve got a I have a great plan and we got to do a great job of protecting the ball.
“If we turn the football over, we won’t have a chance. We need to protect the ball and do a great job with the ball, and I don’t know the percentages, but I can promise you the games that we’ve screwed up here these this past year were Liberty, Miami, and OU.
“And those were all turnover catastrophes, to say the least. So, we need to make sure we protect the ball and find a way to make some explosion plays. We got to be great on special teams.
“We got to be phenomenal and go out and play our very best game and have some fun and enjoy the rivalry and it’s always awesome. It’s a clean, hard-hitting game.”
Loeffler says Toledo’s offense will be the biggest challenge, and the goal will be to create turnovers. Easier said than done, the BGSU coach adds.
“Well, that’s a challenge. You know, they’ve got good football players,” Loeffler said. “We’ve got to swarm to the football. We’ve got a gang tackle.
“There’s no such thing as having a one-on-one tackle with these guys. They can make you miss and go score, so we need to do a great job of gang tackling, running to the football, play with passion and obviously have great gap integrity.
“We’ve got to maintain our gaps and don’t jump outside the gap, because they’ll beat you in a minute if you’re not, gap sound.”
The rivalry takes an unusual twist this year with the Zimmerly brothers, who hail from Perrysburg, playing for separate teams.
Cade Zimmerly is a 6-foot-1, 290-pound sophomore offensive guard and center for the Falcons, Grant Zimmerly is a 6-4, 290-pound freshman offensive lineman for Toledo.
“Oh gosh, I love the Zimmerly family,” Loeffler said. “They’re great kids and we wish we had them both here.
“But yeah, that’s going to be an interesting deal, to say the least. So, I haven’t had too many of those before where a kid playing on Ohio State, Michigan or vice versa. So, I don’t know.
“You could ask Cade, but I can imagine that Thanksgiving isn’t going to be very comfortable one way or the other. So, we’ll see.”
There is another clash at the Doyt this week – the Battle of I-75 Giving Challenge. It’s about which team can inspire the most alumni, friends and supporters to make a gift to their university?
You can donate any amount to a fund of your choosing (minimum $5 gift) to make a difference in the lives of students. Choose from funds for scholarships, student organizations, athletics and more.
The campaign will run through November 14. The university with the most donors will be named the winner during the football game.
In addition, Student Veterans of America groups at UT and BGSU will come together to deliver the game ball in their “Ruck the Ball” march leading up to the annual Battle of I-75 football matchup.
Chapter leaders and members from both schools will leave the University of Toledo on Saturday and march 24 miles to BGSU to deliver a game ball replica for the Tuesday matchup at Bowling Green.
The march aims to bring attention to the issue of the high suicide rate among our nation’s veterans.
