University of Toledo Athletics

The University of Toledo will recognize the All-Time Greatest Rocket Victories as part of the 100-Year Celebration. Fans had the chance to vote for the greatest victories going back to the first season of organized football at UT in 1917. The All-Time Greatest Victories list, along with the All-Century Team, will be unveiled via social media throughout the summer during a 100-day "Countdown to Kickoff," culminating on Aug. 31, the date of Toledo's home opener vs. Elon.

Check on Twitter @ToledoRockets or Facebook @UTRockets for the most updated countdown.
(All-Time Greatest Victories as of August 21, 2017)

1. Oct.11, 2008: Toledo 13, Michigan 10: The one highlight in an otherwise disappointing 3-9 season turned out to be one of the most memorable wins in Rocket history. Toledo did not score an offensive touchdown but managed to knock off the Wolverines before 107,267 witnesses in the Big House. The game was not decided until a 26-yard field goal attempt by Michigan to tie the game went wide left. Wide receiver Nick Moore set a school record with 20 receptions.

2. Sept.2, 2000: Toledo 24, Penn State 6: Toledo did not just defeat Penn State in Happy Valley in 2000, the Rockets thoroughly dominated the Nittany Lions. Those watching the contest could hardly imagine that less than 10 months earlier, Joe Paterno's boys had been undefeated and ranked No.1 in the country. The Rockets held Penn State to just 166 yards of total offense, including a mere 30 years rushing on 27 attempts. Penn State's only score came on a busted play late in the third quarter. UT blocked the extra-point attempt, and would not let Penn State gain another first down the rest of the way. Toledo star running back Chester Taylor was impressive, rushing for 141 yards and two touchdowns.

3. Sept.20, 2003: Toledo 35, Pittsburgh 31: Pitt came into the Glass Bowl ranked No.9 in the country and featuring the finest wide receiver in the land, Larry Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald and the Panthers lived up to their billing, taking a 24-14 lead into the locker room. Fitzgerald wound up with 12 receptions for 201 yards but only had two cathces after the break. In the meantime, Bruce Gradkowski rallied UT with a then-school record 461 yards passing. His final completion of the day was a nine-yard corner route to Lance Moore with 43 seconds left. A last-second hail mary to Fitzgerald was knocked down by four Rockets who surrounded him in the end zone.

4. Nov.30, 2001: Toledo 41, Marshall 36 (2001 MAC Championship Game): Arguably the greatest comeback in Rocket history saw Toledo rally from a 23-0 deficit to win the MAC Championship Game before a fired-up home crowd in the Glass Bowl. UT cut the lead to 23-10 at halftime but it didn't look good when No.18 Marshall's Bryon Leftwich hit Denario Marriott for a 68-yard bomb to open the second half and make the score 30-10. Leftwich confidently skipped down the field to join the Thundering Herd celebration in the end zone after the play. But it was all Rockets the rest of the way, capped off by a wild fake field goal that saw kicker Todd France take the handoff and run 16 yards straight into the end zone, not stopping until he collided with the goal post. Chester Taylor dominated the ground game with 188 yards and two scores.

5. Sept.12, 2015: Toledo 16, Arkansas 12: Senior quarterback Phillip Ely threw for 237 yards and Toledo's defense shut down Arkansas in the red zone as the Rockets upset the No.18 Razorbacks, 16-12, at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. It was Toledo's first win over an SEC team in four tries and the first time the Rockets defeated a Top 25 non-conference opponent on the road. Toledo's defense held Arkansas to just 103 yards rushing on 31 attempts. Arkansas quarterback Brandon Allen did throw for 412 yards but the Razorbacks came away with just three point in four visits in the red zone in the second half. The outcome of the contest was not decided until the final play when Allen fired a pass from the 16-yard line into the end zone that sailed out of bounds, igniting a celebration on the Toledo sideline.

6. Oct.11, 1969: Toledo 27, Bowling Green 26: Only four games into Toledo's famous 35-game winning streak, the Rockets came within a few inches of losing to their arch-rival at BG's Doyt Perry Field. With UT trailing, 26-24, and with just 49 seconds remaining, quarterback Chuck Ealey drove the Rockets 37 yards to the BGSU 21-yard line. Just two seocnds were left on the clock when Ken Crots lined up to attempt a 38-yard field goal into a stiff wind. Did the wind really let up just as Crots booted the ball? Opinions vary, but his kikc just managed to climb over the crossbar, giving the Rockets perhaps the most incredible victory in both the winning streak and the I-75 rivalry.

7. Dec.14, 1995: Toledo 40, Nevada 37 (OT) (Las Vegas Bowl): In a game that featured the first overtime in Division I-A football history, Toledo prevailed over Nevada, 40-37. After a field goal in the extra session gave the Wolf Pack a 37-34 lead, the Rockets' Wasean Tait scored the winning points on a two-yeard run. Tait, who set four bowl records and was named the game's co-MVP, was buried under a sea of Rockets in the victory celebration and passed out cold.

8. Dec.19, 1981: Toledo 27, San Jose State 25 (California Bowl): The Rockets were big underdogs to No.20 San Jose State but won it on a last-second 41-yard field goal by Tony Lee. Toledo let a 21-3 lead slip away as the Spartans scored with 52 seconds left in the game to take the lead. But quarterback Maurice Hall marched UT 56 yards to the SJSU 24-yard line to set up Lee's dramatic finish in Fresno.

9. Sept.19, 1992: Toledo 33, Purdue 29: Wins against Big Ten and other Power Five conference teams have become somewhat commonplace for UT in recent years, but Toledo's win in West Lafayette in 1992 was unprecdented at the time. Casey McBeth scored the game-winner from six yards out with 8:30 left and UT's defense held the Boilermakers' on their final two possessions for the win.

10. Nov.22, 2005: Toledo 44, Bowling Green 41 (2OT): It took two overtimes in the mud of Doyt Perry Stadium for Toledo to win and keep their hopes alive for a berth into the MAC Championship Game. Bruce Gradkowski hit tight end Christian Hopkins with 1:43 left in regulation to tie it at 31-31, then connected with Hopkins again in the second overtime to give the Rockets the victory.