Toledo has been an interesting team all season. They were consistently putting up offensive numbers, scoring 160 points in their first three games. And then came Fresno State. The Bulldogs, who almost succeeded in knocking off USC, rolled over Toledo. But you can blame the lack of offense on Toledo's star quarterback, Bruce Gradkowski, missing the game.

Toledo rebounded to win and stay undefeated in conference, until another loss to Central Michigan.

They still had a chance to win their division in the MAC and play in the title game but looked totally unlike the normally composed team that they are against Northern Illinois. Five turnovers later, Toledo was watching the Huskies play for the title.

Toledo was lucky enough to impress bowl officials and earn the MAC's only other bowl tie-in. And that is very important for Gradkowski.

The PAC-10 used to be the quarterback conference, but not anymore. The MAC has sent a number of signal callers to the NFL over the past few seasons and this year should be no exception. Gradkowski should be a pro prospect for any team looking for a very accurate passer. The senior threw only 10 interceptions this season and three of those came in that fateful game against Northern Illinois. While this season was the lowest rated of his career and produced the fewest numbers, Gradkowski is the key to this team. The final game of the year, against Bowling Green should have erased any doubts sparked from the game against the Huskies. Gradkowski finished that game just shy of 300 yards and threw for 4 touchdowns against a Bowling Green squad which had a lot to play for.

Gradkowski will be joined in the backfield by senior Trinity Dawson. Dawson was also big in the final game of the year, gaining 170 yards and scoring twice for the Rockets. He finished with 1170 yards on the season, topping the 1000 yard mark for the first time in his career. Dawson also caught four passes for touchdowns this season so look for him to touch the ball a lot against the tough Miner defense. As for wide receivers, Gradkowski is missing his leading pass catcher from last season and was forced to spread the ball out a bit more. Junior Steve Odom was his leading receiver this season, for almost 600 yards and 5 touchdowns.

On defense, look for Toledo to do well stuffing up the middle of the field with two outstanding linebackers. Leading tackler Anthony Jordan finished the season with 9 tackles for loss, 4 sacks and two interceptions. Competing with him all season for team's top linebacker was junior Mike Alston. Alston led the team in sacks with 6.5 and edged out Jordan with 9.5 tackles for loss. Toledo should be able to stop the running game of the Miners with this duo.

Unfortunately, the Miners have a star quarterback of their own. Jordan Palmer is the brother of Cincinnati Bengals' star, Carson Palmer. Given the nature of the Toledo defense, he will have to pass like his brother to give UTEP a chance to win. The junior had a huge year, throwing the ball over 400 times and completing for 3340 yards. He reached the end zone 28 times but also threw 18 interceptions. Seven of those interceptions came in the final two games, losses which kept the Miners from playing in the inaugural Conference USA championship game.

That has been the story with UTEP under Mike Price. Last season, he engineered an amazing turnaround for a team with a very storied history. In the fifties and sixties, the Miners, as Texas Western, were a common sight in the Sun Bowl. But things hadn't been so hot since then. Since 1970, UTEP had been to only 2 bowl games, both losses. That was until Price appeared on campus. He took the team from a 2-11 season to an 8-3 regular season last year with much the same team. They ended with a very disappointing loss to Colorado in the Houston Bowl last season by giving up two touchdowns in the 4th quarter.

This season looked like it could only improve on the last but the Miners fell apart in the final two games against UAB and unbelievably, SMU, to keep them from a championship season. As a result, they find themselves in the GMAC Bowl. It can't be said that Mike Price can't inspire his team, but given the collapse in the bowl game last season and the end of this season, you have to wonder about what is going to happen against a very good Toledo squad.

The pressure will fall on the defense for the Miners much like it has all season. They have been pretty well beat up in the last few games, though a slew of turnovers hasn't helped them with field position. The team combined for 82 tackles for loss and 29 sacks on the season. Because of the passing game of Toledo, they will need a big game from Quinton Demps and the rest of the Miner defensive backs. Demps was co-WAC freshman of the year last season and turned in a solid sophomore effort. He finished with 71 tackles and led the team in interceptions with three.

Trying to stop Trinity Dawson will be junior Jeremy Jones. Jones emerged this year on defense after spending last season primarily as a back-up. He led the team in tackles, with 121. On top of that, 13.5 of those went for a loss, landed 3 sacks, and intercepted a pass. Dawson better hold on to the ball as Jones stripped 4 ball carriers this season.

Toledo should be able to shut down the Miner running game and therefore, Palmer will need to step up big like he had for much of the season. He will need to avoid interceptions in order to give his defense a chance. The game should rest on the ability of UTEP to put pressure on Gradkowski and cover his receivers deep.

GMAC Bowl: Toledo(29) vs. UTEP(58)
MRI Predicts: Toledo Confidence Factor: 77.05%, 17 out of 28