MOTOR CITY BOWL | BOSTON COLLEGE (8-4) VS. TOLEDO (9-4)
Thursday, Dec. 26 (ESPN, 5 p.m. ET)

When the season began, the Toledo Rockets were the wild card in the Mid-American Conference, since they were in the unenviable position of having to replace a pair of big-time igniters on offense, QB Tavares Bolden and record-setting RB Chester Taylor.

For Boston College, head coach Tom O'Brien also had to deal with the loss of standout RB William Green to the NFL and a number of key injuries, including standout defensive linemen Antonio Garay and Doug Goodwin.

	Boston College QB Brian St. Pierre tossed 15 TD passes and 17 interceptions.

The Rockets not only found quality replacements for Bolden and Taylor but also exceeded offensive expectations, posting 33 or more points in nine of 13 games. And in five games, they managed to score 42 or more points!

The key performers for head coach Tom Amstutz were QB Brian Jones, RBs Astin Martin and Trinity Dawson, and WR Carl Ford -- plus a huge, cohesive offensive line led by bookend OTs Nick Kaczur (6-6, 305) and Erik Faasen (6-8, 350) and center Chris Tuminello (6-3, 285).

Jones threw for more than 3,000 yards while proving to be tremendously efficient. He tossed 21 TD passes and just seven interceptions -- while completing an unbelievable 70.7 percent of his aerials.

For the Eagles, senior QB Brian St. Pierre threw for more than 2,600 yards, completed 57 percent of his aerials and tossed 15 TD passes. But he was intercepted 17 times and lacked top game-to-game consistency.

The mainstay and pivotal performer for the Eagles on offense was exciting junior RB Derrick Knight (5-9, 203). Blessed with superior vision and incredible determination, Knight rushed for 1,367 yards, averaged 5.7 yards per carry and scored 11 TDs.

When St. Pierre goes to the air waves, his primary targets are wideouts Jamal Burke (33 catches, 15.1-yard average) and Keith Hemmings (37 catches, 13.2-yard average), plus athletic TE Sean Ryan (22 catches, 11.5-yard average).

Defensively, Toledo is led by senior LB David Gardner, while the Eagles depend on the leadership and steady play of MLB Vinny Ciurciu. BC also has a pair of reliable veterans in the deep patrol, Ralph Parent and Doug Bessette.

Boston College struggled early in the season in wins over Connecticut and Stanford, was dominated by Miami (Fla.) and lost close ones to Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh. Then the Eagles bounced back from the overtime setback to the Panthers by delivering one of the pivotal upsets of the season -- a 14-7 victory over Notre Dame at South Bend (the Irish were a perfect 8-0 entering that contest).

The next week, the Panthers fell 24-14 to West Virginia on the road in Morgantown. After that defeat, the Eagles were just 5-4 with three games remaining in the regular season, all against struggling opponents (Syracuse, Rutgers and Temple). Excluding the Notre Dame win, the record of the other seven teams the Eagles defeated was a combined 22-61. And outside of Notre Dame, they didn't beat a team with a winning record.

Toledo's losses came against Minnesota, Pittsburgh, Miami (Ohio) and Marshall. In the end, the Rockets failed to defeat a bowl-caliber opponent.

BOWL OVERVIEW
To beat Boston College, Toledo must slow down RB Knight and hope that QB St. Pierre's struggles with turnovers continue in this bowl game. When the Eagles go to the air, keep an eye on TE Ryan. He's capable of creating a key matchup edge in the middle of the field. When Toledo has the ball, the physically imposing and talented offensive line will have to control the line of scrimmage, allowing RBs Jones, Martin and Dawson to do their damage. The Rockets have weapons, while the Eagles are less than at full strength due to the injury situation of standout D-linemen Garay and Goodwin.