Toledo Notes- Bowl Game

2014 Toledo Football BOWL HISTORY2001 Motor City BowlToledo 23, Cincinnati 16Chester Taylor ran for a Motor CityBowl-record 190 yards and scored thego-ahead touchdown on a 24-yard runwith 3:23 left as Toledo defeated Cincinnati,23-16. But it was a big play by thedefense that clinched the victory forToledo.Cincinnati drove to the UT five-yard line, but couldn’tconvert on fourth-and-4 with 50 seconds left. Cincinnati’s RayJackson bobbled a deflected pass in a crowded end zone, andsenior free safety Andy Boyd then wrestled Jackson—and theball—to the ground to seal the victory for Toledo.Quarterback Tavares Bolden was 14-of-28 for 135 yards,but it was his legs that helped Toledo the most. He ran for 41yards on a draw on the first play of the second half that ledto a UT field goal. He tied the game late in the third quarterwhen he sprinted 28 yards untouched for a touchdown. Forthe game, Bolden ran for 99 yards, which helped the Rocketsset a Motor City Bowl record with 322 yards rushing.The victory culminated a dream season for the Rocketsand first-year head coach Tom Amstutz. “I was born onScottwood Avenue in downtown Toledo, grew up in Toledo,went to school at UT, was an assistant coach there for manyyears,” Amstutz said. “This is a dream come true. Words can’texpress how I feel. This isn’t just my team, it’s what I love. It’s aprivilege for me to be the head coach.”2004 Motor City BowlUConn 39, Toledo 10Quarterback Bruce Gradkowskiwas game. Unfortunately, his brokenright hand was not. Gradkowski, whobroke his throwing hand in the MACChampionship Game, tried to play in theMotor City Bowl but was ineffective andclearly in pain. As a result, the Rockets’offense stalled, and Connecticut had its way with Toledo, 39-10.Gradkowski finished 6-of-12 for 43 yards before being replacedby Marques Council. By the time Council got in the game tostart the second half, UConn was up, 30-7. Council set careerhighs in attempts (28), completions (16) and passing yards(160).Toledo entered the game as the favorites, but without ahealthy Gradkowski it was no contest. UConn scored on sixof its first seven possessions as the Rockets were held to aseason-low 10 points.Gradkowski wasn’t the only Rocket to go down, as theUT training staff was kept busy throughout the entire game.Senior All-MAC free safety Patrick Body broke his right arm inthe second half. Lance Moore, Toledo’s all-time leading receiver,left the game in the second half with a dislocated shoulder.Senior center David Odenthal suffered a sprained left ankle inthe first half, returned briefly, then sat out most of the secondhalf.2002 Motor City BowlBoston College 51,Toledo 25Boston College scored on its firstsix possessions on its way to a 42-18halftime lead, effectively putting thegame away and preventing the Rocketsfrom defending their Motor City Bowltitle. Toledo cut the Eagles’ advantage to 21-10 when TrinityDawson scored on a two-yard run with 10:47 remaining in thefirst half but UT never got any closer.Down 28-10 with less than six minutes to go in the firsthalf, Toledo gambled, going for it on a fourth-and-1 from itsown 40, but Jones’ pass fell incomplete. Boston College tookpossession, and on the next play, Grant Adams caught BrianSt. Pierre’s pass across the middle, eluded a defender andraced into the end zone for a 35-10 lead. A one-yard TD runby Brandon Brokaw with 1:31 to go in the half made it 42-10.Jones, the nation’s percentage completion leader, connectedon 27-41 passes for 331 yards with two touchdownsand two interceptions.Wide receiver Carl Ford had a career-high 10 receptionsfor 112 yards, including a nine-yard touchdown pass with24 seconds to go in the second quarter. Fellow senior Donta’Greene added four catches for 63 yards.2005 GMAC BowlToledo 45, UTEP 13Quarterback Bruce Gradkowskiended his storied collegiate careerwith an exclamation point, throwingfive touchdown passes to lead Toledoto a convincing 45-13 win over UTEP.Fellow senior and roommate TrinityDawson ran for 132 yards.Toledo’s defense shut down UTEP’s offense at almost everyturn. Linebacker Mike Alston contributed two big tackles forthe Rockets to end the first half, when UTEP was threatening tocut into a 28-13 deficit. It was the last time the Miners appearedset to mount a rally.Gradkowski, who completed 18-of-32 passes for 298 yards,was chosen as the game’s MVP while Dawson (offense), Alston(defensive) and Steve Odom (special teams) also won gamehonors. After the game, Gradkowski summed up the sentimentof the team.“It’s been an honor to be here this week,” said Gradkowski.“We were treated unbelievably by the city of Mobile. The southernhospitality has been awesome. We’ve never experiencedanything like this. We wanted to give back to Mobile by performingthe way we did. I hope we satisfied the fans out there.“It’s been a pleasure. What a way to go out. This is ourchampionship. We are GMAC Bowl Champions.”