It took six overtimes, and two premature celebrations, but Toledo was eventually victorious, beating Pitt 48-46 in the GameAbove Sports Bowl.
Toledo’s players and coaches rushed the field twice during the overtimes, thinking they had won the game, but the Panthers stayed alive with some well-timed refereeing. Eventually, the Rockets took home the win after making one final game-winning stop in the sixth OT.
Thursday’s game marked the first time in NCAA postseason history for a game to head to six or more overtimes — two days after South Florida and San Jose State reset the record with five OTs at the Hawaii Bowl.
Toledo was up 20-12 at halftime, but Pitt outscored the Rockets in the third quarter to take the lead. In the fourth quarter, Toledo got a pick-six and a game-tying field goal to send the game to OT.
In the first overtime, Pitt made the odd choice of going for the tie with a PAT rather than a 2-point conversion to win. As a result, the game kept going, with both teams hitting field goals in the second OT to send things to the two-point conversion round.
After both teams converted in the third OT, Toledo was successful on its 2-point attempt in OT 4 and then sacked Pitt QB Julian Dugger in what could have been a game-winning stop, triggering its fans to rush the field to celebrate the apparent victory. But a holding flag on Rockets cornerback Avery Smith gave Pitt another chance.
Pitt then went for the conversion on the ground. Although Toledo thought it had gotten another stop, the Panthers were awarded the two points after review showed that the ball had crossed the line, and the game went on.
Both teams also converted their attempts in the fifth overtime. Toledo scored first in the sixth OT, and had yet another chance to finish the game with a defensive stop. The Rockets put pressure on Dugger, whose throw into the end zone went straight to the turf.
This time, when Toledo’s fans rushed the field, it was for real.