MOBILE, Ala. – A familiar opponent awaits Appalachian State at a different Alabama bowl site.
Co-champions of the Sun Belt Conference, the Mountaineers (8-4) will face Mid-American Conference champ Toledo (11-2) on Saturday night in the Dollar General Bowl on ESPN. Kickoff at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Ala., is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT (7 p.m. ET).
The two teams met last year at the Camellia Bowl in Montgomery, Ala., and App State pulled out a 31-28 victory.
Here's a closer look at the 2017 version of the Rockets:
Jason Candle, a close friend to App State head coach
Scott Satterfield dating back to their 2009 season together as Toledo assistants, has led the Rockets to a 20-6 record over his two full seasons as head coach. Their two losses this season have come against No. 10 Miami (52-30, as Toledo led 16-10 at halftime and was down 24-16 entering the fourth) and Ohio (38-10).
Toledo moved forward from a 9-4 season in 2016 without star running back Kareem Hunt, who rushed for 4,945 yards in college and has 1,201 yards this season as an NFL Rookie of the Year candidate for the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Rockets still have one of the nation's top quarterbacks on their roster and a productive running game at their disposal.
After throwing for 242 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions against the Mountaineers in 2016, Logan Woodside has 3,758 passing yards with 28 touchdowns and five interceptions as a senior. He's helped Toledo rank 11th nationally in points per game (39.2), 20th nationally in passing yards per game (291.9) and eighth nationally in total yards per game (509.9).
Woodside's top returning target from the 2016 Camellia Bowl, 205-pound Cody Thompson, suffered a season-ending leg injury in October. The Rockets' most productive receiver has been Diontae Johnson, whose 72 catches have resulted in 1,257 yards with 13 touchdowns, and Jon'Vea Johnson ranks second on the team with 41 catches for 675 yards.
Toledo averages 218.0 rushing yards, 3.0 more than App State, thanks to the efforts of 205-pound senior Terry Swanson (231 carries for 1,319 yards with 14 touchdowns), 218-pound redshirt freshman Shakif Seymour (113 carries for 704 yards with 12 touchdowns) and 5-8 sophomore Art Thompkins (618 yards). Swanson ranks fourth in school history with 3,557 career yards, as he amassed 583 last year, 923 in 2015 and 732 as a freshman.
Defensively, junior end Ola Adeniyi has put up big numbers with 63 tackles, 8.5 sacks and 19.5 tackles for loss, but he will miss the first half of Saturday's game because he was disqualified for targeting in the fourth quarter of a 45-28 victory against Akron in the MAC Championship game on Dec. 2.
The Rockets allow 39.2 points per game and 379.4 yards, including 166.4 on the ground. They have been opportunistic by recording 15 interceptions, including four by strong safety Kahlil Robinson.
Special teams played an important role in Montgomery last year, when App State had a 94-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and Toledo missed a 30-yard field goal in the final two minutes, and the Rockets have blocked four kicks this season.
