Bowl season is always crazy, but on the day after Christmas, college football fans saw something they’d never seen before.
Thursday’s GameAbove Sports Bowl game between Pittsburgh and Toledo took nearly five hours to wrap up because there was a bowl game first.
The game went into six overtimes, the most in a bowl game, and Toledo won 48-46.
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Toledo Rockets quarterback Tucker Gleason (4) goes for first down during the first half of the GameAbove Sports Bowl at Ford Field in Detroit on Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (Kimberly P. Mitchell/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
Overtime was instituted in college football in 1996, and just a month ago we saw Georgia and Georgia Tech go to eight overtimes. The most of any game is nine in 2021 between Illinois and Penn State.
Toledo trailed 12-6 at halftime, but scored two touchdowns in 14 seconds – a 67-yard pass and then a 40-yard six – to take a 20-12 lead.
Pitt led 30-20 at one point, but tied the score with less than 5 minutes left in regulation.
Pittsburgh Panthers quarterback David Lynch is sacked by Toledo Rockets defensive end DeAndre Larkin during the first half of the GameAbove Sports Bowl on Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024, at Ford Field in Detroit. (Kimberly P. Mitchell/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
Both teams scored in the first overtime, and then they scored in the next overtime. The new overtime rule states that starting in the third overtime period, teams must convert two points to convert the game.
Both teams scored on their first three attempts, but after Toledo hit its fourth straight shot in the sixth overtime, Pitt’s pass fell incomplete.
However, in the fourth overtime, Toledo actually celebrated twice. But their first stop was canceled due to a penalty, and after it was thought they had stopped Pitt again, a replay review turned the game around and the game continued. Regardless, the Rockets prevailed.
Toledo’s Tucker Gleason went 26-of-50 for 336 yards, two touchdowns and an interception while also rushing for a score. Junior Vandeross III had 12 catches for 194 yards and a touchdown.
Desmond Reid rushed for 165 yards on 32 carries for Pitt in the loss.
Toledo is currently 12-10 all-time in bowl games; this is their fourth consecutive year hosting a bowl game.
Toledo Rockets tight end Anthony Torres catches a pass from Pittsburgh Panthers linebacker Brandon George during the first half of the GameAbove Sports Bowl at Ford Field in Detroit on Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. A few yards after the ball. (Kimberly P. Mitchell/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
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Pitt missed a bowl opportunity last year after winning the 2022 Sun Bowl.
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