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 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.
Kansas State 44, Rutgers 41
PHOENIX — Dylan Edwards ran for 196 yards and scored his third touchdown on a 36-yard run in the fourth quarter, helping Kansas State rally past Rutgers 44-41 in the Rate Bowl.
The Scarlet Knights (7-6) led by 10 at halftime and went up 34-17 on Ja’shon Benjamin’s 7-yard touchdown catch on the opening drive of the second half. But Edwards and the Wildcats (9-4) stormed back.
Edwards scored on 65-yard touchdown run and, after an interception thrown by Rutgers’ Athan Kaliakmanis, Garrett Oakley caught a 13-yard touchdown pass to pull Kansas State within five. The Wildcats failed 2-point conversions after both touchdowns.
Rutgers briefly regained momentum, going up 41-29 early in the fourth quarter on Antwan Raymond’s 1-yard TD run on a fake tush push.
Kansas State answered with Avery Johnson’s 9-yard touchdown pass to Jadon Jackson. Edwards followed with his 36-yard score, capping an impressive night in place of DJ Giddens, who opted out of the bowl game to prepare for the NFL draft.
Kansas State closed it out by stopping Rutgers on fourth down near midfield with just under two minutes left
Johnson threw for three touchdowns, including a 26-yarder to Edwards in the second quarter, finishing with 195 yards on 15-of-30 passing.
Raymond ran for 113 yards and three touchdowns in place of leading rusher Kyle Monangai, who also opted out to prepare for the NFL draft.
Kaliakmanis threw for 237 yards and a touchdown with an interception on 14-of-32 passing.
Takeaways
Kansas State: The Wildcats struggled defensively until they needed it most, shutting down Rutgers most of the second half. Edwards took it from there, racking up 223 total yards — none bigger than his final TD run.
Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights had a second straight bowl win within their grasp, but let it slip through their fingers with a slew of defensive miscues in the second half.
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