Toledo 45, Navy 44 (2 OT)
TOLEDO, Ohio -- A missed extra point in the second overtime was the painful difference as Navy dropped a 45-44 decision to Toledo on Saturday.
The Midshipmen (3-3) battled back from 10 points down in the fourth quarter to force the overtime, and after the two teams matched scores in the first overtime, Nick Sloan of Navy pushed his extra point kick wide following a six-yard score by Geoffrey Whiteside that put Navy on top, 44-38.
Toledo (4-3) got a 20-yard touchdown pass from Terrance Owens to Bernard Reedy on its possession of the second overtime, and Jeremiah Detmer drilled the extra point to give the Rockets (4-3) the dramatic victory.
Sloan hit a career long 40-yard field goal with three seconds left in regulation to tie the game and force overtime. That followed a short scoring run by Navy quarterback Keenan Reynolds that capped a 96-yard drive and closed the gap to three points with about five minutes left.
Navy used its prolific running game to pile up 419 yards on the ground and 514 total yards.
However, Toledo built its lead on touchdown runs of 52 yards by David Fluellen and 44 yards by Kareem Hunt, plus a long fumble recovery return for a touchdown, Toledo was able to build the advantage.
The Midshipmen relied on that potent rushing attack, with fullback Chris Swain scoring the game's first touchdown to complete an eight-play, 75-yard push.
Toledo responded with Detmer's 47-yard field goal and trailed, 7-3, midway through the first quarter.
Reynolds' fumble with 13 minutes left in the half was scooped up by Toledo defensive end Jayrone Elliott and returned 68 yards for a touchdown and a 10-7 lead.
After Sloan missed a 39-yard field goal try, Navy got the ball back with just over two minutes left in the half and Reynolds put the Middies in the end zone again with a 20-yard pass to Noah Copeland for a 14-10 lead at the half.
Toledo regained the advantage to open the third quarter, thanks to a 45-yard burst up the middle by Fluellen, but Navy answered quickly and Reynolds scored on one-yard sneak that made it 21-17.
After Hunt slipped a couple tackles on a 52-yard touchdown run that gave the Rockets a narrow lead into the fourth quarter, Hunt stepped in again and scored on a 16-yard touchdown run, good for the game's first two-score lead at 31-21.
That set the stage for Navy's fourth-quarter comeback that forced the overtime.
NOTES: Before the start of the game, Toledo dedicated a permanently unoccupied seat in its Glass Bowl stadium that will honor military service personnel who were or are prisoners of war (POW) or have been declared missing in action (MIA). Superintendent Vice Admiral Michael H. Miller of the United States Military Academy took part in the ceremony establishing the honorary seat, believed to be the first of its kind at a university sports venue. ... Navy and Toledo have faced off three previous times, with the Rockets winning the most recent meeting, 21-20, in 2001. ... That 2001 visit to the Glass Bowl by Navy set the stadium attendance record with an announced crowd of 36,852. ... While Navy entered the game with one of the top rushing offenses in the nation with 281.2 yards per game (10th), Toledo has one of the top individual rushers in senior RB David Fluellen, who ranked fifth nationally with 141 yards per game.
