The Toledo Rockets (8-4, 6-2 MAC) had to wait longer than their conference peers due to a chaotic bowl assignment period which saw three teams decline invitations, but that wait is now over, as they draw
the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Louisville Cardinals (8-4, 4-4 ACC) in the Boca Raton Bowl.
Dave Briggs of the Toledo Blade was first to report Toledo’s inclusion in the game on Sunday afternoon; Kyle Rowland of NIL Wire and Matt Brown’s Extra Points newsletter later confirmed the opponent.
Toledo will be without head coach Jason Candle, who departed for the UConn job on Saturday morning, and defensive coordinator Vince Kehres, who departed for Syracuse on Saturday evening, but will still be a formidable matchup in the postseason.
The Rockets were a tiebreaker away from competing in the MAC title game in 2025, finishing the season 8-4 overall with a 6-2 record in MAC play— including a perfect 4-0 campaign in November. When UT was on, they were nearly unstoppable, finishing 2025 as the MAC’s leader in scoring defense (12.2 points), total defense (247.8 yards allowed per game), rushing defense (89.3 yards per game), passing defense (158.4 yards per game), scoring offense (31.6 points per game) and total offense (421.8 yards per game.)
The Cardinals were in the Associated Press Top 25 football rankings through most of 2025, and even featured in the first two editions of this year’s College Football Playoff rankings, but suffered a setback late in the season, going 1-3 with losses against California (in overtime), Clemson and SMU to finish seventh in the ACC.
Louisville’s resume features wins over College Football Playoff participants Miami [FL] (24-21), James Madison (28-14), a close loss to ACC runner-up Virginia (30-27) and a blowout 41-0 rivalry win over Kentucky to wrap up the regular season.
This will be the second-straight season Toledo faces an ACC opponent in the postseason. Last year saw the Toeldo Rockets beat the Pitt Panthers in six overtimes at the GameAbove Bowl in Detroit, Michigan.
Kickoff is scheduled for Tuesday, December 23rd, at 2 p.m. Eastern time, with ESPN providing the broadcast.
