Toledo owns this series. Eastern Michigan owns something else this year — continuity — and that gap could make Friday night in Ypsilanti closer than the history books suggest.
Bush’s Picks
TOLEMU
TOLEMU
OverUnder
Best BetToledo
Toledo's the more talented roster and still owns this series, so the moneyline lean is the Rockets — but this isn't a layup given the coaching transition. Jacobs is unproven at the FBS level and Osborne is unproven as a starter, and both of those question marks get tested by an Eastern Michigan defense and a Kim-led offense that knows exactly what it's doing.
Toledo
+8-5 in 2025, won last 4 regular-season games
+dominant series history, 3 straight wins
+top-tier MAC roster per preseason projections
−first-time FBS head coach in Mike Jacobs
−unsettled QB competition entering new system
Eastern Michigan
+Chris Creighton enters 13th season, most stable staff in MAC
+7th-year QB Noah Kim led MAC in passing in 2025
+Athlon tabs EMU a 2026 dark horse
−finished just 4-8 in 2025, missed a bowl
−thin, unproven depth behind Kim
−2-8 in last 10 meetings against Toledo
This one's a MAC Friday nighter on October 16, and it doubles as a study in contrasts before a single snap is played. Toledo enters 2026 under first-year head coach Mike Jacobs, who left Mercer after going 20-6 there to replace Jason Candle, the guy who won 81 games and 2 MAC titles in Toledo before bolting for UConn. Eastern Michigan, meanwhile, rolls out Chris Creighton for a 13th season — the longest tenure of any coach in the conference, full stop.
Jacobs isn't walking into a rebuild exactly — Toledo finished 8-5 last season, ripped off 4 straight regular-season wins to close it out, and only fell to Louisville 27-22 in the Boca Raton Bowl. But a new staff means new answers at quarterback, where redshirt freshman Kalieb Osborne (709 total yards, 5 TDs in a limited 2025 role) is trying to lock down the job in a brand new system. That's the swing variable for Toledo heading into this one.
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EMU Eastern Michigan
Eastern Michigan doesn't have that problem. QB Noah Kim is back for a 7th college season and led the MAC in passing a year ago — about as much experience as a roster can offer at the position. The issue is everything else: EMU finished just 4-8 in 2025, missed a bowl, and the depth behind Kim (Jace Stuckey, Bryce Button) is still unproven. Athlon's called this EMU squad a preseason dark horse largely because of that continuity, but continuity alone doesn't cover for a losing record.
Toledo Rockets
Oct 9?vs Buffalo—
Oct 2?@ Ball State—
Sep 25?vs San Diego State—
Sep 19?vs Temple—
Sep 12?vs Central Connecticut—
Sep 4?@ Michigan State—
Eastern Michigan Eagles
Oct 10?@ Akron—
Oct 2?@ Massachusetts—
Sep 26?vs Lindenwood—
Sep 19?@ Wisconsin—
Sep 12?@ Michigan State—
Sep 4?vs San José State—
Aug 29?vs Sacramento State—
Recent form.
The history here leans hard toward the Rockets. Toledo has won 3 straight in this series and 20 of the last 24 meetings dating back to 2000, and they hold a 39-13 edge all-time. The last matchup, in November 2024, was a 1-point Toledo win — proof this rivalry isn't always the mismatch the overall record implies, even when Toledo's favored.
Toledo Rockets
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Eastern Michigan Eagles
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
Toledo's floor is still higher on paper — a top-tier MAC roster, a coach with a track record of not having losing seasons anywhere he's been, and a defense that held 4 straight opponents to single digits down the stretch last year. But new coach, new quarterback, new terminology on both sides of the ball is a lot to iron out by mid-October, and Eastern Michigan's most dangerous asset is exactly the kind of grizzled quarterback who makes teams pay for early-season sloppiness.
