Dec 26, 2024, 08:08 PM ET
DETROIT — Tucker Gleason ran for one overtime score and threw for four more as Toledo beat Pittsburgh 48-46 in a bowl-record six overtimes at the GameAbove Sports Bowl at Ford Field on Thursday.
The game surpassed the previous mark set 48 hours earlier when South Florida beat San Jose State 41-39 in five overtimes in the Hawai’i Bowl on Tuesday.
“It felt like we had to win the game three or four times today, but we are so proud of this team,” Toledo coach Jason Candle said.
“To hang in there and to keep fighting like we did today, we were able to keep up with the emotional swings over the course of the game. It was a sloppy game at times, but I am proud of our response. Today’s game was ultimately defined by who made the last play and who threw the last punch.”
This is the third bowl game to go to multiple overtimes this season, already the most in a bowl season since OT was established in 1996. Northern Illinois beat Fresno State 28-20 in double overtime in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl on Monday. There had never been a bowl game to go to four overtimes before this week.
This also is the first season with multiple games to go to at least six overtimes, after Georgia beat Georgia Tech 44-42 in eight overtimes last month. Toledo’s last multi-OT game was a win in double overtime against Iowa State in September 2015.
Pitt freshman Julian Dugger, making his college debut, ran for two overtime scores and threw for two more, but his incomplete pass in the sixth overtime ended the game. The Panthers, who started the season 7-0, became just the second team in FBS history to end a season on a losing streak of six or more games, including a bowl game.
After Gleason and Dugger traded rushing touchdowns in the first overtime, each team got a field goal in the second. Each threw 2-point passes in the third overtime, and Gleason got another in the fourth to make it 44-42.
Dugger was sacked, apparently ending the game, but the Rockets were called for holding. Dugger was ruled short on a sneak attempt, sending Toledo rushing onto the field for a second time, but replay showed he crossed the plane.
In the fifth overtime, Dugger made it 46-44 with a scoring pass to Gavin Bartholomew, but Gleason tied it with his fifth scoring pass of the game. The sixth put Toledo back in front, and Dugger was pressured into a bad throw to end the game.
“We didn’t make the moment bigger than it was,” Gleason said. “When we got to the later overtimes, it was one play to end the season. That’s what our mindset was. We just went out there and had fun.”
The Panthers played without starting quarterback Eli Holstein (leg) and backup Nate Yarnell (transfer portal). David Lynch, a redshirt freshman walk-on, started his first game but was pulled in the third quarter after throwing two interceptions.
Dugger led the Panthers to two touchdowns and a field goal on his first three drives, turning a 20-12 deficit into a 30-20 lead.
However, Toledo got its second pick-six of the game when Darius Alexander returned Dugger’s interception 58 yards for a touchdown. The extra point made it 30-27 with 7:49 left, and the Rockets kicked a tying field goal with 1:45 to play.
Toledo started quickly, driving for a Gleason touchdown pass on the game’s opening drive, but Kyle Louis blocked the extra point attempt and returned it for Pitt’s first defensive 2-point conversion since 1990.
Desmond Reid‘s 3-yard run and Ben Sauls‘ 57-yard field goal gave Pittsburgh a 12-6 lead, but Gleason’s 67-yard touchdown pass to Junior Vandeross III put the Rockets up 13-12 midway through the second quarter.
On the next play from scrimmage, Braden Awls picked off Lynch’s pass and returned it 42 yards for a touchdown and a 20-12 halftime lead.
ESPN Research and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
