University of Toledo
Florida International
Rockets Lose 34-32 Heartbreaker to FIU at Little Caesars Pizza Bowl
12/27/2010 6:10:00 AM | Football
DETROIT, MI - Florida International capped a second-half comeback with a 34-yard field goal as time expired to give the Panthers a dramatic 34-32 victory over Toledo at the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl at Ford Field in Detroit Sunday night.
FIU's game-winning field goal overshadowed Toledo's own comeback that gave the Rockets a 32-31 lead with 1:14 to play. Redshirt freshman quarterback Terrance Owens scrambled in for a 14-yard TD and then completed a pass to sophomore wide receiver Eric Page for the two-point conversion.
But on its final possession FIU converted a fourth-and-17 from its own 41-yard line to keep its drive alive and set up the eventual game-winning field goal by Jack Griffin.
Toledo held a 24-7 lead early in the second half but FIU scored 24 unanswered points to take a 31-24 lead with 3:18 to play.
Junior Adonis Thomas led the Rockets with a career-high 193 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Thomas' second TD run was an 87-yard bolt in the second quarter, the longest run of his career, the fourth-longest rush in Toledo history and tied for the longest run in Little Caesars Bowl history. He finished the season with 1,098 yards, the 13th-highest total in school history.
The Rockets, who had not been to a bowl game since a 45-13 victory over UTEP in the 2005 GMAC Bowl, finished their season with an 8-5 record under second-year head coach Tim Beckman.
Toledo got on the board first, scoring on a short drive on its second possession that was set up by a 21-yard punt return by Page. Thomas capped the five-play, 36-yard drive with a five-yard run.
After Thomas made it 14-0 with his 87-yard TD run, FIU countered with a 74-yard run by Darriet Perry to the 13-yard line that set up his one-yard TD run seven plays later and cut Toledo's lead in half. The Rockets made it 21-7 on a 10-yard pass from redshirt freshman quarterback Terrance Owens to junior tight end Danny Noble with 2:56 to play in the first half.
Toledo opened the scoring in the second half with a 29-yard field goal by Bill Claus, but FIU grabbed the initiative with a touchdown on an 89-yard kickoff return by T.Y Hilton. A few plays later, Owens was picked off by Kreg Brown, setting up a seven-yard TD run by Perry to make the score 24-21.
Brown picked off another Owens' pass on UT's next possession, setting up a 10-yard TD reception by Hilton to give FIU a 28-24 lead.
The Panthers' next score came off a blocked punt, setting up a 31-yard field goal by Griffin with 3:18 to play that gave FIU a 31-24 edge.
Toledo scored what looked to be the game-tying touchdown on Owens' 14-yard run but UT head coach Tim Beckman elected to go for the two-point conversion that gave the Rockets the momentary lead.
