Toledo coach Gary Pinkel has always been guarded concerning upcoming games. The Rocket coach, in his ninth season, doesn't care to speculate on outcomes prior to the outcome.

Penn State is next and after USC's 29-5 bashing of the Nittany Lions Sunday, some wonder if Toledo might be able to emulate the Trojans' rush-dominant victory.

"That remains to be seen," Pinkel said. "We'll find that out. There's about 80 (NCAA) Division I teams I'd pick to play before I picked Penn State. You take a perennial Top 10 team like them and there is not a lot of weaknesses year-in and year-out.

"We're a little bit more experienced football team than we were a year ago, but we're also playing Penn State."

The Rockets flirted with national prominence in 1997, upsetting Purdue, winning eight straight and earning a No. 18 rating in the process. The Rockets later dropped out of the polls, and fell to Marshall University in the first-ever Mid-American Conference championship.

After finishing 6-5 last season, including 5-3 in the Mid-American Conference, the Rockets return 10 starters on an athletic offense and eight on a quick defense. Pinkel admitted he was at least interested in Sunday's game.

"Of course, I watched the game," Pinkel laughed. "That's a typical Penn State team. They run well. They don't rebuild, they reload. They made some uncharacteristic errors in that game against a great football team.

"And that was the difference in that ball game. A blocked kick and a turnover for 14 points changes any game. But they're a great football team. It will be a real challenge. It's a great opportunity to play in that stadium with against that kind of team. We'll find out where we are after that game."

At tailback, Chester Taylor could be the equal of many of the top backs in the land. Possibly even USC's Sultan McCullough, who rushed for 128 yards and one TD.

Taylor gained 1,176 yards despite missing most of three contests last year due to ankle problems. He was still the nation's number two rusher per carry with a 6.5 yard per attempt average. And the ankle injuries are hopefully a thing of the past after offseason treatments.

"He had injections in the ligaments of his ankles to strengthen them," Pinkel said. "One in January, one in April right after spring ball. He's been fine. He's been 100 percent. His ligament has tightened around his ankle joint.

"He's a little bigger, too. Last year he was about 198 pounds, now he's 207, 208. He's looking forward to getting out, running the ball. Hopefully, he'll stay healthy. And if you want to get on national lists as far yards you have to play healthy. And that's what he wants to do."

The Rockets have another athlete running the offense in Tavares Bolden. Last season the junior threw for 1,354 yards on 123-of-229 passes (.537) with eight touchdowns and seven interceptions. That, after taking over the position in the fifth game of the season. He also rushed for 365 yards on 65 carries (5.9 per carry). Bolden threw for 344 yards in a 38-13 loss to Marshall.

"Time will tell whether Bolden will lead us," Pinkel said. "As a quarterback, the more experience you get the more things slow down and the more you can adjust at the line of scrimmage. He's matured at the position due to experience.

"He's versatile. He'll be judged in the end. He'll be judged if we make it to a championship game, and also if he plays at a consistent level. Those things I don't know. I do know I believe in him. He's a good young prospect but he's going to have to go out and prove that."

Defensively, the Rockets are a speedy unit. Last season the defense allowed 20.8 points, and 346.8 yards per game.

While Penn State managed just 22 yards rushing and 136 passing against the Trojans, the Toledo defense doesn't exactly remind anyone of USC.

"Losing an all-conference player (Jason Lamar) is hard to replace, " Pinkel said. "(LB) David Gardner is going to be an excellent player, but it remains to be seen. (LB) Kevin Rollins is a little stronger and quicker. He runs real well.

"We put him a rush position on third downs. He really plays at a higher level as does (DL) DeJuan Goulde. He's a two-year All-MAC player. He's probably the hardest worker and plays at as consistently a high level as any of the top two or three players I've been around."

Around the MAC

	Bob Pruett and Marshall reached the MAC title game this year.

Marshall: The end of camp saw Marshall University's offense clicking like always, with a hot newcomer opening the eyes of the secondary. Look for the Thundering Herd to be nearly as lethal behind the strong arm of 6-foot-5 sophomore Byron Leftwich, who is showing poise, intelligence and sound leadership ability. "It all starts and stops with the quarterback," coach Bob Pruett said. "If Leftwich plays the way he practices, I don't think we'll see a whole lot of difference in our offense." ... The Herd receiving corps is in sync as well. Led by All-Mid-American Conference selection Nate Poole, who returns after a 71-catch, 1,122 yard, nine-touchdown season, Pruett considers the four seniors among the best he's coached. ... WR Darius Watts, a 6-foot-2, 175-pound true freshman from Banneker High in College Park, Ga., has done more than just turn some heads. He's been the talk of MU's August. "He's really fast," Pruett said. "By far the fastest kid here since Randy Moss. He's got really good speed, but quickness to go with it. He has height. He catches the ball well. He has run behind our secondary more than anybody since I've been here other than Randy. He's really doing well. We're glad to have him." ... MU will defend the nation's longest winning streak, 17 games, as well as a 31-game home winning streak, when it faces NCAA Division I-AA Southeast Missouri State Thursday in Huntington. ... First-year coach Tim Billings was a 10-year assistant at Marshall before taking over the Indians' program.

Akron: The Zips return eight starters on offense and six on defense and Butchie Washington at quarterback is the key. Watch for Lou Mackey at linebacker. "He's our Michael Vick," coach Lee Owens said, of Washington. "He doesn't get the national recognition but to our team he is. As he goes, we go. He's a four-year starter and a captain. And he's taken the leadership role seriously."

Miami: The RedHawks must replace Travis Prentice at running back. After a heated battle, coach Terry Hoeppner feels he may have. Cal Murray, a 5-10, 181-pound redshirt freshman, son of former NFL Calvin Murray, has won the spot. "He came out this fall and has done more than anyone expected him to do," Hoeppner said. "He'll be our starting tailback at Vanderbilt. He'll be backed up by Andy Dooley (6-3, 220-pound freshman) and Steve Little." ... Receiver Sly Johnson will make waves in the MAC.

Ohio: Raynald Ray, who averaged 115.9 all-purpose yards per game last year, will be dangerous with ball in hand. Tailback Chad Brinker along with QB Dontrell Jackson should make the triple option a threat again. ... Coach Jim Grobe, who said the Bobcats finished camp bruised but healthy, on playing teams similar to Iowa State in the MAC: "Teams like Marshall gives us great speed," Grobe said. "The combination of throwing and speed helps when you get an Iowa State or an Minnesota, who we also play."

Bowling Green: Coach Gary Blackney says the key to the Falcons is developing the offensive line. Two return: 6-2, 280-pound guard Eric Curl and 6-7, 300-pound tackle Rob Fehman. "How quickly that unit can come together is important," Blackney said. "We've got some good players, just not a lot of experience." ... Also returning on offense is quarterback Andy Sahm, who took over the starting position from Ricky Schneider with seven games remaining in 1999. ... Tailbacks Joe Alls and Godfrey Lewis combined for 1,092 yards last season. ... Blackney on Saturday's big money game: "It's a benefit in recruiting," he said. "We've played the likes of Ohio State twice, Missouri, Kansas State, Virginia Tech and West Virginia. Wjhen you recruit competitive players, they like that opportunity. They look forward to it."

Kent: Coach Dean Pees said he's lost standouts Jose Davis and Jason Gavadza, but has more equally talented players at all positions. "They may not be superstars but there's been competition," Pees said. "Hopefully that way we won't have a drop off when a player is out of the game." ... Seven starters return on offense including running back Chante Murphy, who rushed for 676 yards last season. Eight starters return on the Golden Flashes' defense.

Buffalo: Coach Craig Cirbus returns four offensive starters including quarterback Joe Freedy and tailback Derrick Gordon, and seven defensive starters. "We've got a lot of young players who have not played a lot of football," Cirbus said. "We exposed them to a lot in two weeks. There's a lot of anticipation." ... Give Cirbus credit. He likes the idea of playing Syracuse and wants to make it a regular habit. "We'd like to see it develop into a yearly rivalry," he said.

Toledo: Tailback Chester Taylor gained 1,176 yards in a year slowed by ankle injury. He's healthy and back for a senior season, as the Rockets are picked to win the MAC's West Division. ... Versatile junior quarterback Tavares Bolden returns as well, with a total of 10 offensive starters including dangerous receiver Mel Long. "Pleased with the progress," Pinkel said. "We came back in excellent condition and the two-a-days went well. We're a pretty healthy team right now." ... Defensively, the Rockets return eight, including two-time, All-MAC defensive lineman DeJuan Goulde, and MAC second-teamer Kevin Rollins.

Northern Illinois: Coach Joe Novak is looking to replace standout tailbacks William Andrews (the ninth leading returning rusher in the nation with 1,127 yards) and Ivory Bryant, who are academically ineligible and cornerback Benji Peacock. Thomas Hammock will take over the rushing duties. "They played a lot of football for us so that's a big question mark," Novak said. "It looks like we're going to lose Peacock as well. We hate to lose them, but we'd like to think we've got some kids that can step in and play. We'll see Thursday night. You never lose players like that without taking a hit. But we're certainly deeper than we've ever been." ... Still, eight starters return on both sides of the ball. Look for 6-7, 336-pound tackle Ryan Diem in the NFL next season.

Western Michigan: All-MAC receiver Steve Neal returns, but without Tim Lester can anybody get him the ball? The answer may be to let Robert Sanford, two-year, 2,000-yard rusher, run it. Sanford and Neal lead eight returnees. Jeff Welsh is the new quarterback. ... Defensive six return, led by linebacker Mario Evans. ... The Broncos finished camp injury free.

Central Michigan: First-year coach Mike DeBord has seven returning starters on both side of the ball. Pete Shepherd returns at QB and receivers David Hannah and Jammarl O'Neal. ... DeBord was the offensive coordinator at Michigan for the past three seasons.

Eastern Michigan: Another first-year coach, Jeff Woodruff, has the luxury of an experienced quarterback in Walter Church, who passed for 2,015 yards last season. ... Woodruff is high on Linebackers Kenny Philpot, Scott Russell and Jason Short: "They are definitely the strength of this team," he said. "Short is 6-4, 240-pounds. They're all 240-pounds. As a corps they could have played for us at Arizona or Washington. They haven't missed a practice, a play or a rep. Every practice their jerseys are torn, their helmets are scraped and their knuckles are bloody."

Ball State: Coach Bill Lynch, on visiting the Swamp: "It's a similar-type situation we faced at South Carolina two years ago ... 80,000 people in a football-rich environment," he said. "Last year we went to Wisconsin. So we've got some experience playing in that environment."