TOLEDO - The Toledo Rockets answered a lot of questions in their 54-20 rout of New Hampshire on Aug. 30 . Now comes a bigger test for Matt Campbell's crew when they take on No. 24 Missouri at the Glass Bowl this Saturday (ESPN/12:01 p.m.).

      Junior quarterback Phillip Ely, a transfer from Alabama, was sharp in his debut as a Rocket, leading the offense to 666 total yards. Ely connected on 24-of-34 passes for 337 yards and four touchdowns to rally Toledo from a 14-3 deficit. From the middle of the second quarter until late in the game, Toledo scored eight consecutive times and outscored the Wildcats 51-6. Ely completed passes to nine different receivers and did not throw an interception. Sophomore Kareem Hunt (136 yards, two TDs) led a running attack that piled up 314 yards.  After giving up two early touchdowns, Toledo's defense kept the Wildcats out of end zone in eight of their final nine possessions.

      The Rockets will need that kind of production on both sides of the ball in order to compete with the Tigers, the defending SEC East Division champions. Missouri (1-0) dispatched South Dakota State, 38-18, last week. The Jackrabbits had cut the lead to 21-18 in the third quarter when Mizzou senior Marcus Murphy returned the ensuing kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown, effectively ending SDSU's hopes for the upset. Sophomore QB Maty Mauk threw for three touchdowns without an interception, while junior Russell Hansbrough rushed for 126 yards and a score.

      As if a national TV audience wasn't enough to make this a big game for UT, the contest also features the return of former Rocket head coach Gary Pinkel, now in his 14th season at Missouri. Pinkel coached at Toledo from 1991-2000 and is the school's all-time victory leader with 73 wins.

Toledo (1-0) vs. Missouri (1-0)

WHEN: Saturday, Sept. 6, 2014, Noon

WHERE: The Glass Bowl (26,244)

2014 RECORDS:

 • Toledo (1-0, 0-0 MAC)

• Missouri (1-0, 0-0 SEC)

SERIES RECORD: Missouri leads, 1-0. The Tigers won in Columbia last year, 38-23.

COACHES:

 • Matt Campbell, 18-9  (3rd year) at Toledo, same overall. 0-1 vs. Missouri.

• Gary Pinkel, 103-63 (14th year) at Missouri, 176-100-3 overall (24th year). 1-0 vs. Toledo.

TV: ESPN. Announcers are Bob Wischusen (PxP), Matt Millen (analyst) and Quint Kessenich (sideline). 

ROCKET RADIO NETWORK: Mark Beier (play-by-play), former Rocket Andy Boyd (color) and Jim Heller (sideline) will cover the action. Pregame begins at 10:00 a.m.

WEB-AUDIO: Free live audio streaming of the UT Rocket Radio Network broadcast on www.UTRockets.com.

 Game Notes

• Toledo's win over New Hampshire was the 499th in school history. The Rockets are 499-410-24 in 94 seasons of football.

• Toledo finished with a 666-375 edge in total offense vs. New Hampshire.

• UT did not allow a sack against New Hampshire, and allowed only six sacks in 12 games in 2013, the fewest in the country.

• Toledo starts five seniors on the offensive line, all of whom have already graduated.

• UT was 9-12 on third-down conversions and a perfect 7-of-7 in red-zone scoring chances vs. the Wildcats.

• Toledo is 0-2 vs. SEC schools, with both losses coming last year, at Florida and at Missouri. Missouri is the first SEC school to visit the Glass Bowl.

• Toledo is 7-14 all-time vs. Top 25 teams, but 5-2 in the Glass Bowl.

• Junior quarterback Phillip Ely began his career at Alabama as a backup to A.J. McCarron. He redshirted in 2011 and transferred after the 2012 season in which he played in six games for the Crimson Tide.

 ROCKET UPDATE

      •  The Rockets are coming off a 54-20 victory over New Hampshire on Aug. 30. Toledo trailed the Wildcats, 14-3, midway through the second quarter, then outscored them 51-6 the rest of the way.

      • Junior quarterback Phillip Ely completed 24-of-34 passes for 337 yards and four TDs in his debut for the Rockets.

      • Sophomore RB Kareem Hunt ran the ball 20 times for a game-high 136 yards and two touchdowns. He topped the century mark the sixth time in his young UT career.

      • Sophomore RB Damion Jones-Moore carried the ball seven times for a career-high 70 yards. Freshman RB Terry Swanson rushed the ball five times for 44 yards and had one catch for a 40-yard TD in the fourth quarter.

      • UT was 9-12 on third-down conversions and 7-of-7 in red-zone scoring chances.

      • UT did not allow a sack against New Hampshire. The Rockets allowed only six sacks in 12 games in 2013, the fewest in the country.

      • Senior Jeremiah Detmer was 2-of-2 on field-goal attempts, converting from 22 and 27 yards. Detmer has now made his last 15 field goals and 38 of his last 39 overall, dating back to the 2012 campaign.

      • Senior WR Justin Olack grabbed a career-best two TD receptions.

      • The Rockets' defense totaled 9.0 tackles-for-loss, including 4.0 sacks. 

 ABOUT THE TIGERS

      • Missouri is coming off a 38-18 victory over South Dakota State in Columbia.

      • Senior Marcus Murphy returned a third-quarter kickoff 100 yards for the touchdown to break open a close game.

      • Sophomore QB Maty Mauk threw for three touchdowns without an interception. Mauk is from Kenton, OH, about 75 minutes due south of Toledo.

      • Missouri head coach Gary Pinkel is from Akron, played tight end at Kent State, and was the head coach at Toledo from 1991-2000. He won a record 73 games at Toledo, including a MAC title in an undefeated 11-0-1 season in 1995.

      • In addition to Pinkel, Missouri has four former Rocket assistant coaches on its staff: Cornell Ford, Brian Jones, Craig Kuligowski and Dave Steckel. Nick Otterbacher, the starter center at Toledo from 1998-2001, is Mizzou's director of football operations.

      • Missouri is coming off one of the greatest seasons in school history. The Tigers went 12-2 and won the SEC East Division title, defeated Oklahoma State in the Cotton Bowl and finished the season ranked No. 5 in both national polls.

 TOLEDO-MISSOURI SERIES

      Missouri leads the series, 1-0. The Tigers won in Columbia last year, 38-23. The Rockets only trailed by one, 24-23, late in the third quarter, but Mizzou scored on the final play of the quarter and UT never challenged after that.

 ROCKETS ON TV

      The Toledo-Missouri game will be carried on ESPN. Bob Wischusen (PxP), Matt Millen (analyst) and Quint Kessenich (sideline) will call the action.