Totally agree, besides that the team was well balanced and great defense "Toledo slant 50", blood end.
The
1969 Toledo Rockets football team was an
American football team that represented the
University of Toledo in the
Mid-American Conference (MAC) during the
1969 college football season. In their seventh season under head coach
Frank Lauterbur, the Rockets compiled an 11–0 record (6–0 against MAC opponents), outscored all opponents by a combined total of 385 to 160, and won the MAC championship. The season began with a 45–18 victory over
Villanova and concluded with a 56–33 victory over
Southern Conference champion
Davidson in the
1969 Tangerine Bowl. The Rockets were ranked No. 20 in the final
AP Poll.
[1][2] The defense led the way for the 1969 team, allowing only eight rushing touchdowns and intercepting 22 passes in eleven games.
[3]
The 1969 season marked the beginning of a 35-game winning streak that consisted of three consecutive seasons from 1969 through 1971. During the streak, Toledo won three consecutive MAC championships and three consecutive bowl games, led the nation in total defense all three years, and outscored opponents by a combined total of 1,152 to 344.
[4] It remains the second longest winning streak in modern Division I-A college football history behind
Oklahoma's 47-game streak in the 1950s.
[5]
Cornerback
Curtis Johnson, who intercepted seven passes in 1969,
[6] received first-team All-America honors from the
Newspaper Enterprise Association and second-team honors from the
Associated Press.
[7][8] Eight Toledo players received first-team All-MAC honors: Curtis Johnson, quarterback
Chuck Ealey, tailback Tony Harris, defensive tackles
Mel Long and Jim Rance, defensive end Jim Tyler, linebacker John Niezgoda, and placekicker Ken Krots.
[9]
Chuck Ealey was named MAC Back of the Year, and Frank Lauterbur was named MAC Coach of the Year.
[10] Ken Crots, who converted six of 18 field goal attempts,
[11] won the Jim Nicholson Award as the player contributing the most to the team's success.
[12] The team captains were Curtis Johnson, Dave Penn, and Jim Rance.
[13]
The team's statistical leaders included Chuck Ealey with 1,428 passing yards, Tony Harris with 889 rushing yards (including 217 in the season opener against Villanova), Don Fair with 469 receiving yards, Charles Cole with 78 points scored, and John Niezgoda with 201 tackles.
[14]