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Toledo 30, Central Michigan 10: Five things we learned

Central Michigan stumbled on homecoming Saturday to Toledo, 30-10, at Kelly/Shorts Stadium in what was a gloomy filled outing.

Losing four of their last five games, the Chippewas (3-4, 1-2 MAC) have now fell to UT (5-1, 2-0) eight straight times in the yearly series.

"There’s nothing I’m glad about right now," said head coach John Bonamego said. "I think it’s a missed opportunity."

Here are the five things we learned:

1. Running backs need to rise out of the current slump.

Bonamego after the game said not running the ball effectively against Toledo was the catalyst in the 20-point loss.

That's not to say Central Michigan ignored the group, consisted of Jonathan Ward and Kumehnnu Gwilly, but the need to throw the ball was the main focus.

CMU ran 21 plays on the ground for 62 yards, in comparison to the Rockets who totaled 342 yards on 56 plays. The Chippewas have not had a single running back go for over 70 yards in the previous six games this season.

Ward, who's taken over the number one spot while senior captain Devon Spalding is recovering from a foot injury, has recorded one 100-yard rushing performance this season.

2. Eagerly awaiting the return of Amari Coleman.

It was kept quiet last week that Coleman wouldn't play against Ohio. The first glimpse of the senior cornerback not in uniform at Peden Stadium was during the coin toss, as he walked out with the other captains while wearing his maroon jersey.

We were told last Wednesday that Coleman's ruling would be determined at the day of the game. It took a minute when standing on the sidelines to notice that Coleman had a hood draped over his head and not a helmet.

In the two games without Coleman, quarterbacks Nathan Rourke (Ohio) and Logan Woodside (Toledo) combined for four rushing touchdowns and 249 yards passing.

With two recorded interceptions this season, nothing beats having a first-team all-MAC defensive back play alongside Josh Cox, Joe Ostman, Malik Fountain and others. The sooner Coleman comes back the better.

3. Will Tony Poljan play more quarterback?

This topic continues to be fresh.

Say what you want about Shane Morris and what he's done this season, but the quarterback position is still his to lose after seven games.

Morris has done a decent job in being the imaginary duct tape during the transition from Cooper Rush to redshirt freshman Tony Poljan, who's been christened the future of the program.

In six games played this season, Poljan has thrown 12 total passes for 51 yards.

Recently, the former Lansing Catholic (Mich.) standout spent time at receiver, catching three passes for 61 yards against Boston College.

Bonamego has routinely uttered his wanting to incorporate Poljan in the offensive scheme in any way he sees fit. Whether that means playing more quarterback is still left up for debate.

4. Having a healthy receiving corp is vital for end of season success.

Tyler Conklin considered the visit to Ohio a test game to see how playing on a recently broken foot would feel. The senior tight end missed the first five games of the season when he suffered the injury in fall camp.

After earning John Mackey Tight End of the Week honors for notching career-highs in catches (10) and yards (136) in Athens, Conklin grabbed the only touchdown pass from Morris late in the fourth quarter Saturday from 26-yards out.

He finished with three catches for 48 yards.

Fellow senior Corey Willis hauled in his first grab since going down with a hand injury at the Kansas game. He did return alongside Conklin last week but was primarily used as a decoy.

Willis caught the first completion by Morris in the first quarter against Toledo for 12 yards.

The best outings from Morris this season have come when he has a full arsenal of weapons. When he doesn't, things go south like at Boston College, where Morris threw three interceptions with no touchdowns.

If Conklin and Willis remain healthy, the Chippewas will surely benefit from having the conference's most dynamic offensive duo for the remainder of the schedule.

5. Offensively, the Rockets are one level above everyone else in the conference.

The opinion of Logan Woodside being the top MAC quarterback is overwhelming, hence his Maxwell and O'Brien Award Watch List recognition last summer

But other than a five-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter, it's not like Woodside did anything special in the win over Central Michigan, finishing 10-of-18 passing and 89 yards with a passer rating of 41.3.

Instead, Toledo utilized its running backs to combat the rain, as senior Terry Swanson gained a season-high 145 yards on the ground and two touchdowns. Redshirt freshman Shakif Seymour had 199 yards rushing and a fourth quarter touchdown.

The Rockets entered Saturday leading the MAC in total passing yards (484) and rushing yards (287.7) per game.

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