Pitt
7-6 , 3-5
Toledo
8-5 , 4-4
Panthers Fall in Six-Overtime GameAbove Sports Bowl
12/26/2024 7:55:00 PM | Football
DETROIT (AP) — 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 Hawaii Bowl on Tuesday.
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.
After Gleason and Dugger traded rushing touchdowns in the first overtime, each team got a field goal in the second. Each threw two-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 ruled 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.
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 their second pick-6 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 and returned it for Pitt's first defensive two-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.
Team Stats
PIT 0, TOL 6
TOL - Torres,Anthony 2 yd pass from Gleason,Tucker ( kick) 8 plays, 75 yards, TOP 03:18
PIT 2, TOL 6
PIT - Louis,Kyle 85 yd PAT return
PIT 9, TOL 6
PIT - Reid,Desmond 3 yd run (Sauls,Ben kick), 11 plays, 79 yards, TOP 04:35
PIT 12, TOL 6
PIT - Sauls,Ben 57 yd field goal 7 plays, 31 yards, TOP 02:51
PIT 12, TOL 13
TOL - Vandeross III,Junior 67 yd pass from Gleason,Tucker (Cunanan,Dylan kick) 4 plays, 93 yards, TOP 01:06
PIT 12, TOL 20
TOL - Awls,Braden 42 yd interception (Cunanan,Dylan kick)
PIT 20, TOL 20
PIT - Overman,Jake 11 yd pass from Dugger,Julian (Bartholomew,Gavin pass) 10 plays, 71 yards, TOP 03:47
PIT 23, TOL 20
PIT - Sauls,Ben 37 yd field goal 7 plays, 37 yards, TOP 03:18
PIT 30, TOL 20
PIT - Williams Jr.,Raphael 16 yd pass from Dugger,Julian (Sauls,Ben kick) 6 plays, 34 yards, TOP 03:04
PIT 30, TOL 27
TOL - Alexander,Darius 58 yd interception (Cunanan,Dylan kick)
PIT 30, TOL 30
TOL - Cunanan,Dylan 51 yd field goal 10 plays, 47 yards, TOP 02:54
PIT 37, TOL 30
PIT - Dugger,Julian 2 yd run (Sauls,Ben kick), 6 plays, 25 yards, TOP 00:00
PIT 37, TOL 37
TOL - Gleason,Tucker 1 yd run (Cunanan,Dylan kick), 8 plays, 25 yards, TOP 00:00
PIT 37, TOL 40
TOL - Cunanan,Dylan 33 yd field goal 6 plays, 10 yards, TOP 00:00
PIT 40, TOL 40
PIT - Sauls,Ben 19 yd field goal 7 plays, 24 yards, TOP 00:00
