University of Toledo Associate Athletic Director for Communications Paul Helgren shares his 12 favorite Rocket Football victories since 1998, the year he began working with Toledo Football. No. 5 on his list is the Rockets' 35-31 victory over No. 9 Pitt in 2003.
 
Toledo 35, Pittsburgh 31 (Sept. 20, 2003)
 
Here's an interesting fact about Toledo's incredible 35-31 victory over No. 9 Pittsburgh in 2003 ­-- the game wasn't on TV.

There was no ESPNU in those days, no CBS Sports Network, no streaming of a million games on ESPN3 or ESPN-Plus. As a result, not every game was available to the viewing public. Thus, the only live witnesses to one of the greatest games in Toledo history were the 31,711 deliriously happy Rocket fans in the Glass Bowl (minus the few Pitt fans in the northeast corner of the stadium). After the game, I commented to Matt Markey of the Toledo Blade that it was a shame that the game wasn't televised.

"Nah," he said. "You should have to pay to see a game like this." Needless to say, everyone in the historic Toledo stadium got their money's worth that night.

For the rest of the nation, highlights of the big upset were shared courtesy of Toledo's in-house camera feed, the most memorable of which was Bruce Gradkowski's now-famous game-winning touchdown pass to Lance Moore. The camera shook on that play like there was an earthquake, which, in a way, there was. Has the Glass Bowl ever rocked more than when Moore pulled in that pass in the corner of the end zone?

Many of us had a feeling before the game that there was a chance we might be witnessing something special. Pittsburgh, defending Big East champs, entered the season ranked No. 10 in the country and moved up to No. 9 the week leading up to its journey to the Glass City. They had a fine overall team, but one player stood out above all others – sophomore wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald.

I had heard of Fitzgerald, of course, but had never actually seen him play. He more than lived up to his billing. After about Fitzgerald's fourth or fifth spectacular catch in the first half, I turned to the Pitt sports information director E.J. Borghetti and said, "Wow, Fitzgerald has got to be one of the best receivers in the country!" I was quickly corrected: "He is the best receiver in the country." I guess I could have asked the reporter from the Minneapolis Spokesman-Recorder who was in the Gerber Media Center to cover the game, but I'm sure Larry Fitzgerald, Sr. would have given me a similar answer.

The 2-1 Rockets were still a work in progress at this point in the season, but a big upset at Marshall the week before was a portent of things to come. Gradkowski, just a sophomore in his third start, played well in the 24-17 victory over the Herd. But the Pitt game would be his coming-out party. Not only was it a chance for Gradkowski to prove his mettle against a Top 10 team, but the Glass Bowl would be filled with the Pittsburgh native's family who traveled to the game en masse from his hometown.

The Glass Bowl was packed and rocking, as it often was in those days. It was Saturday night, 70 degrees and the highest-ranked team ever to come to Toledo was in town. Everything lined up perfectly – now all the Rockets had to do was try not to let their school and their city down.

The first quarter gave Rocket fans hope. The Panthers scored first on a 20-yard pass from Rod Rutherford to Kris Wilson, but Toledo answered with a nine-play drive that was finished off by a four-yard score by sophomore running back Trinity Dawson.

The rest of the first half, however, belong to Pitt – and Fitzgerald. In the first half alone, Fitzgerald caught 10 passes for 161 yards and one TD. Some of Rutherford's passes were off-target, but it made no difference; Fitzgerald caught anything thrown in his general direction.

Meanwhile, Pitt had effectively shut off Toledo's running game, forcing Gradkowski to throw on almost every down, with mixed results. A 53-yard bomb to Moore kept Toledo in the game, but the Rockets still went into the locker room trailing at halftime, 24-14.

The second half was a different story, however, as Toledo's short passing game began to click. Gradkowski completed seven passes on Toledo's first drive of the second half, the last one an 11-yard TD to Dawson to cut the lead to 24-21. The two teams exchanged punts before Pitt struck again. Despite being held, Fitzgerald hauled in a 36-yarder to put the Panthers at the UT 34-yard line. A few plays later, Rutherford hit Wilson for his third TD catch of the night to up Pitt's lead to 31-21 with 2:43 to play in the third quarter. The Panthers would not score again.

Toledo's ensuing drive stalled and a 34-yard punt by Brandon Hannum put the Panthers in good field position at their own 41-yard line early in the fourth quarter. Pittsburgh quickly moved down to the UT 36-yard line. Rutherford then unleased a throw toward the end zone, but this time Toledo cornerback Antonio Malone came up with the ball at the two-yard line. True, Toledo was 98 yards from the end zone but now there was renewed hope for the Rocket faithful.

Gradkowski came through again, competing nine passes in the drive, the biggest a 41-yard gain to Steve Odom that brought UT to the 14-yard line. Dawson scored his third TD of the night, this time from two yards out, and Toledo was back in business, trailing 31-28 with 6:45 to play.

The Glass Bowl crowd was roaring now, urging their Rockets to somehow stop the lethal Pitt offense. On third-and-two from their own 28-yard line, Rutherford hit Fitzgerald on a quick out but he was met by cornerback Brandon Hefflin one yard shy of the yard-marker. Pitt was forced to punt and punter Andy Lee came up with a doozy, a 58-yarder to the UT 13-yard line that Moore could only advance to the 17. Gradkowski and company would have to go 83 yards to take the lead, or 30 yards fewer than that to try a game-tying field goal.

Toledo's second first down of the drive came on fourth-and-two from its own 38-yard line with less than three minutes to play when Gradkowski hit tight end Andrew "Dakota" Clarke for a 13-yard gain. The Rockets then moved methodically down the field, setting up one of the most famous plays in Toledo Football history.

On second-and-five from the nine-yard line and the clock winding down to under 50 seconds, Gradkowski took a three-step drop and put up a fade to the right corner of the end zone. Moore, who stood less than six feet tall but had tremendous leaping ability, went up high for the ball and took it away from a Pitt defender who was draped all over him. Moore kept his feet in bounds as they both went crashing over the end line and toward the UT student section. The students went bonkers when the official ran over to signal for the touchdown.
 
"As soon as I saw that ball in the air, I knew I had to catch it," Moore said after the game. "I can't tell you how many times I acted this kind of ending out as a kid."

But there was just one problem: there were 43 seconds still left on the clock, more than enough time for Pitt to pull out the victory.

Pitt caught a break when Hannum's squib kick rolled out of bounds, giving the Panthers' the ball at their own 35-yard line with no time run off the clock. But after a 10-yard completion, Rutherford misfired on his next three passes, two of them targeting Fitzgerald. On fourth-and-10, Rutherford hit Brandon Miree for a first down to the UT 44-yard line. Now there was just five seconds left. Time for a one last pass. Any guess who Rutherford would be throwing to?

Rutherford stepped away from the Toledo rush and unleashed a Hail Mary into the end zone. Fitzgerald went up for it but so did the four (yes four!) Rockets who surrounded him. The ball was batted away. Game over! Toledo had pulled it off. A solid wave of UT students rushed onto the field to join their heroes in celebration.

There were heroes up and down the roster for Toledo that night, but Gradkowski and Moore stood out. Gradkowski shattered then-school records in completions (49), passing attempts (62) and passing yards (461) against his hometown team.
 
"This is by far the best game I've ever played -- against the best competition," Gradkowski told reporters. "It doesn't matter what you're ranked, you've still got to go out and play it. No matter who it is, it's a big win, but I guess it's bigger since I'm from Pittsburgh."
 
Moore caught a then-school record 15 passes, including the one that mattered most.
 
 "It was an incredible night. You can't describe the emotions," said Moore. "This is what you play football for. This game was like a dream come true, and you couldn't ask for a better ending."

Paul Helgren's All-Time Favorite Rocket Victories
5. Toledo 35, Pittsburgh 31 (Sept. 20, 2003)
6. Toledo 49, Bowling Green 41 (Nov. 23, 2004)
7. Toledo 45, Akron 28 (Dec. 2, 2017 - MAC Championship Game)
8. Toledo 16, Arkansas 12 (Sept. 12, 2015)
9. Toledo 33, Northern Illinois 30 (Nov. 23, 2002)
10. Toledo 42, Air Force 41 (Dec. 29, 2011 – Military Bowl)
11. Toledo 44, Bowling Green 41 (2OT) (Nov. 22, 2005)
12. Toledo 32, Temple 17 (Dec. 22, 2015 - Marmot Boca Raton Bowl)