DETROIT - Junior Vandeross III scored the winning two-point conversion in the sixth overtime to give Toledo a thrilling 48-46 victory over Pittsburgh in the GameAbove Sports Bowl at Ford Field in Detroit on Thursday. Vandeross was named the game's Most Valuable Player after finishing the contest with a career-high 12 receptions and a career-best 194 receiving yards.

The contest was the longest bowl game in NCAA history, topping the five-overtime contest between South Florida and San Jose State in the Hawaii Bowl two days ago.

"This senior class wanted to go get a win and the young players did a really great job practicing all week long," said Head Coach Jason Candle, who tied Gary Pinkel as Toledo's all-time winningest coach with his 73rd victory. "There was great effort and it showed that this team wanted to set the table for what next year could be. So many of these seniors have been here for a long time and have been through some really tough times. It felt like we had to win the game three or four times today, but we are so proud of this team.
 
"To hang in there and to keep fighting like we did today, we were able to keep up with the emotional swings over the course of the game. It was a sloppy game at times, but I am proud of our response. Today's game was ultimately defined by who made the last play and who threw the last punch."

Pitt (7-6) looked like it had the game in hand in the second half, reeling off 18 consecutive points to take a 30-20 lead early in the fourth quarter, when defensive tackle Darius Alexander scored on a 58-yard pick-six to cut the lead to 30-27. Freshman Dylan Cunanan's 51-yard field goal tied the score at 30-30 with 1:45 left.

The two teams traded scores in the first two overtime periods before moving into two-point conversation in the third overtime. After Vandeross caught the game-winner, Pitt's final pass attempt to tie the game fell incomplete, igniting a wild celebration on the field.

Toledo (8-5) led 20-12 at halftime thanks to a pair of big plays. Trailing 12-6 midway through the second quarter, the Rockets scored two touchdowns in 14-second span, first on a 67-yard TD reception by Vandeross and then on a 42-yard pick-six by Braden Awls.

Toledo was led by junior quarterback Tucker Gleason, who completed 26-of-50 passes for a career-high 336 yards and two touchdowns. Senior Jerjuan Newton finished with eight receptions for 84 yards in his final game as a Rocket.

The defense was led by safety Jaden Dottin, who had a career-high 10 tackles and his first career interception.

First Quarter

·       Toledo scored on its opening drive on a two-yard pass on fourth down from Tucker Gleason to tight end Anthony Torres. However, Pitt blocked the extra point and returned it 85 yards for two points to make the score 6-2.

Second Quarter

·       Pitt scored on the first play of the second quarter, a three-yard run by Desmond Reid that capped an 11-play, 79-yard drive to give Pitt a 9-6 lead.

·       On their next drive the Panthers made it 12-6 on a 57-yard field goal.

·       Toledo re-took the lead, 13-12, on 67-yard sideline catch-and-run from Gleason to Junior Vandeross.

·       On the very next play from scrimmage, Braden Awls picked off a pass and bolted 42 yards for the score, giving the Rockets a 20-12 edge.

Third Quarter

·       Pitt used the running of quarterback Julian Dugger to move down the field, then Dugger finished off the drive with an 11-yard TD pass to Jake Overman. The Panthers converted the two-point conversion to tie the score, 20-20.

·       Pitt took advantage of a fumble recovery to kick a 37-yard field goal to take a 23-20 lead with 3:23 left in the quarter.

Fourth Quarter

·       Pitt increased its lead to 30-20 on a 16-yard TD pass from Dugger to Raphael Williams.

·       After a Toledo punt, Pitt moved the ball into Toledo territory when defensive lineman Darius Alexander picked off a Dugger pass and rambled 58 yards down the sidelines for the touchdown, cutting the lead to 30-27.

·       Dylan Cunanan tied the score at 30-30 with a 51-yard field goal with 1:45 remaining.

Overtime

·       Gleason scored from one yard out to even the contest at 37-37 after the first overtime.

·       The teams exchanged field goals in the second overtime.

·       Both teams completed two-point conversions in the third, fourth and fifth overtimes.

·       Vandeross put the Rockets in front with a reception from Gleason in the sixth extra session before the Panthers' final attempt was unsuccessful.

Toledo Post Game Notes

• Jerjuan Newton caught eight passes for 84 yards, giving him 72 receptions for 1,033 yards this season. Newton now has 206 career receptions, moving him past Alonzo Russell (202 from 2012-15) for fifth on Toledo's all-time list. He also became the eighth Rocket to crack 1,000 receiving yards in a single season.
• Junior Vandeross caught a career-high 12 passes, giving him 85 on the season, the sixth-most by a Rocket in a season and the most since Bernard Reedy caught 88 in 2012.
• Vandeross' career-high 194 receiving yards was the sixth-most ever by a Rocket. He finished six yards shy of becoming the fifth Rocket to register 200 receiving yards in a game.
• Anthony Torres caught his ninth TD pass of the season, the most by a Rocket tight end since Michael Roberts caught 16 in 2016.
• Tucker Gleason threw for a career-high 336 yards and two touchdowns. He completed 26 passes out of a career-high 50 attempts.
• Braden Awls hauled in his team-best fourth interception of the season, a pick-six in the second quarter.
• Jaden Dottin, a wide receiver who moved to safety mid-season, snagged his first career interception and led the Rockets with a career-high nine tackles.
• Senior defensive end Darius Alexander grabbed his first career interception, a 58-yard pick-six in the fourth quarter.
• Toledo had two pick-sixes in one game for the first time since Quinyon Mitchell had two vs. Northern Illinois in 2022.
• Freshman Dylan Cunanan connected on two field goals. His first was a 51-yarder (2^nd of the season) that tied the score at 30-30 in the fourth quarter and his second came in the second overtime.
• With the victory, Jason Candle won his 73^rd game as head coach, moving him into a tie with Gary Pinkel (73-37-3 from 1991-2000) for most victories by a Toledo coach.
• Toledo is now 13-9 all-time in bowl games.
• With the victory, Toledo has two wins over power conference opponents in the same year for only the second time in its history. The Rockets defeated Arkansas and Iowa State in 2015.