Three things to know about Notre Dame Week 2 opponent, Toledo

Notre Dame and Toledo are a mere 150 miles apart. Getting from one to the other requires only a 2.5-hour drive on I-80. They have each played Division I football for more than 100 years.

But they have never played each other. That will change Saturday, when Notre Dame hosts the Rockets (2:30 p.m. ET, Peacock) for its 2021 home opener.

Here are three things to know about Toledo, which enters the game 1-0 after defeating Football Championship Series opponent Norfolk State 49-10 in its opener.

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The 2021 season contains a never-before-seen quirk.

All 2020 fall sport athletes were awarded an extra year of eligibility when the NCAA approved the COVID-19 blanket waiver. That meant any college football senior with previously expiring eligibility could come back for one more season and not count against the 85-scholarship limit.

These “super seniors” are found on most Football Bowl Subdivision teams. Toledo is one of the biggest beneficiaries.

The Rockets have 16 of them on their 2021 roster, trailing only Utah State (19), Florida Atlantic (18) and Illinois (17). Four of them were 2020 captains. Starting center Bryce Harris and wide receiver Danzel McKinley-Harris (20 catches, 289 yards in six games last season) returned for a seventh year. Cornerback Samuel Womack, a four-year contributor who came back for a fifth season, led the Mid-American Conference with eight pass breakups in 2020.

All told, the Rockets are unsurprisingly heavy on experience. They rank 20th in ESPN’s returning production metric (89 percent). They return 97 percent of their 2020 defensive production, sixth-most of any team.

Toledo has produced some of the MAC’s premier skill position players in recent seasons. Since 2017, the Rockets have had five NFL Draft picks that played quarterback, running back, receiver, tight end or cornerback.

Quarterback Logan Woodside, a seventh-rounder in 2018 who’s now the Tennessee Titans’ backup, tossed 45 touchdowns for the Rockets in 2016. Pittsburgh Steelers starting receiver Diontae Johnson (third round, 2019) had 1,278 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2017. Cleveland Browns Pro Bowl running back Kareem Hunt (third round, 2017) ran for 4,945 yards in four college seasons.

That amount of skill talent in a Group of Five conference usually translates to success. Sure enough, Toledo has not had a losing season since 2009 and has produced two 10-win campaigns since 2015.

The first two coaches who maintained that rise to consistency accepted Power Five jobs after their fourth seasons – Tim Beckman at Illinois in 2011 and Matt Campbell at Iowa State in 2015. Current head coach Jason Candle, though, enters his sixth season and owns a 38-21 record.

This year’s team may not have a Day 2 pick, but it has some offensive firepower. Starting quarterback Carter Bradley averaged 9.5 yards per attempt on 89 passes in part-time duty last year. Running back Bryant Koback, who began his career at Kentucky, ran for 1,187 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2019 and posted 522 rushing yards in the abbreviated 2020 season.

The price tag for “buy games” is becoming hefty for major college football programs. Power Five teams normally like to play seven home games per season to maximize revenue. Hitting that number almost always requires a one-off game against a Group of Five or FCS team, which agrees to play the contest for a paycheck.

The rate for a Group of Five opponent is usually seven figures. Some contracts for buy games have approached $2 million. Notre Dame hasn’t come near that, but it is still dishing out $1 million or more in guarantees to non-Power Five conference home opponents.

This year’s meeting with Toledo, though, is the least expensive of any Group of Five home game for the Irish from 2017 through 2024. The Irish are paying the Rockets just $1 million. That’s $200,000 less than Cincinnati will get when it comes to South Bend Oct. 2. Notre Dame’s most expensive contract for a guarantee game in that span is a 2024 meeting with Northern Illinois. That one will cost the Irish $1.4 million.

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