Sweet Victory

Toledo football began the season with national aspirations.

We learned Saturday it’s not even the best team in northwest Ohio.

---David Briggs (to be fair, most of the national aspirations were in Briggs' column).

How sweet it is.   I have a lot to say.  I'm sure we all do.  I've been going to games at the Doyt since 1971.  That's a top-five experience.  Maybe top three, it isn't always easy to remember.  (Miami '85, Game Day, Indiana '14 are in the conversation.)  First sell-out since Game Day.  Beautiful Day.  Let us not forget...a Saturday, because the next two years will be under #maction.  A true college football, tail gate, rivalry, hate (pure white-hot hate) your opponent Saturday.  How it is meant to be.

And then the game.  Thank you so much to everyone, from the players to the coaches and staff, for the hard work and dedication you showed to give us the thrill of a lifetime.  And thank you to the game staff...in the past, we have really mismanaged big crowds, but for my money, everything was organized and orderly.  And thank you to the people doing the scoreboard and entertainment...it was a fun and Pudge-y environment.

And thank you to the UT fan in the man-bun who was verballing us in the 2nd Quarter.  You made victory even sweeter.

It could not have started worse. First, we learned at 11 when the availability report came out that Drew Pyne would not play.  (Note:  The George crew can keep a secret.)  So we are 11-point dogs, and now our starter is out.  

When play started, it was worse.  UT scored twice in the first quarter, outgaining BG 171-5.  BG had -3 passing yards. It appeared that a blowout was about to commence.

It continued into the second quarter.  BG got a small drive going to the UT 38.  It was 4th and 5.  BG took a timeout to decide what to do.  They decided to go for an FG, but were too slow, and the play clock was running out...but you can't call two timeouts in a row anymore, and we got the delay and had to punt.

UT started on their own 4 and marched it right down the field.  Eight plays later, it was 4th down from the BG 2. The Falcons got the stop, but it was just a temporary reprieve.  BG went three and out, had a terrible punt and UT cashed in to go up 21.

Let us freeze-frame here.  There is 1:29 on the clock.  BG says the Falcons have never rallied from 21 down...I'm not sure how they know that.  But anyway.  ESPN says we have a 2% chance of winning.

Remember, also, that I noted in the preview that UT is a complete football team except that they will disappear for long periods of time.  As the saying goes, no one has done less with more than Jason Candle.

BG has 42 yards of offense and two first downs.  They start on their own 30.  Make a first down.  One thing I mentioned is that Drew Pyne had the lowest depth of throw of any QB in the nation.  Anderson can throw deep.  And he did.  And he had Finn Hogan deep, and UT interfered.  We're on the 45 of UT after an incompletion. 

Anyway, what happens next changes everything.

You know the feeling when you can tell when a screen play is going to break?  You can just feel it.  You see the ball, the space, and the blockers...that's what this was.  UT blitzed from the left, BG called a tunnel screen to the right, Pettaway caught the ball and made an unbelievable effort for the last 8 yards to get into the end zone.  He carried guys the whole way.  With :13 left.  And it's 21-7.  Great play call, great execution, and the game changes in the blink of an eye.

You can't underestimate how important that was.  It kept the crowd in the stands.  It gave a glimmer of hope to the team, since we were getting the ball.  Coach Fisher apparently gave the defense a little talking to.  (His Father was in attendance as well.) 

UT has a 91% chance of winning.

It didn't turn around right away.  But the game was stabilized.  BG went three and out.  UT had the ball, but Hines hit Trayanum for a five-yard loss, and a delay of game penalty followed. UT punted. 

BG went three and out.  UT starts on their own 16 after a holding penalty.  They make first downs on their first two plays.  Then they get an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.  When they shanked the punt, BG started at their own 49.

There was 5:12 to play in the 3rd.  Still 21-7.  Didn't start out great....on 3rd and 10, BG went deep to Garcia, and he was there, so UT interfered, and the drive was kept alive.  After a false start, BG had 3rd and 11 from the 32.  Anderson ran for 14 to keep the drive alive.  He seemed to be settling in.  He had real struggles before this.  But he threw a dart to Roberts to get to the 9 and then hit Jacob Harris on the back shoulder for the score, a high-quality throw.

21-14, 1:52 left in 3Q.  BG with a 15% chance of victory.

Next drive, UT gets a first down.  We're in the 4th now. David Afogho gets a sack and UT punts.  BG goes deep again, and Anderson is picked.  UT has the ball on their own 30.  They get a holding penalty and go three and out.

BG goes 3 and out.

Here is a key play that Todd Walker noted...easily forgotten with all the drama.  UT has it 3rd and 2. 8:36 to play.  You expect Trayanum to get the ball, get 2.5 yards, and move the chains.  But Isaac Thomison shot the gap and hit him for -3 and forced a punt.  We're still down...that's a huge play.

And now the magic begins.  BG on their own 23.  BG fakes a reverse to Garcia, who stopped and threw an absolute dime to Pettaway down the left sideline.  I mean a DIME.  Pettaway catches the ball on the BG 40, steps out of one tackle, and scores.  Tie game.  BG up to 42%....31% increase on one play.

Now the crowd's into it.  You can't believe it, but we might WIN this game.

UT continues to implode.  They get a block in the back penalty that results in them starting on the 4-yard line.  Next play, Gleason is passing.  He's just in the end zone when Myles Bradley flies from the far side and strips the ball, which Thomison recovers on the 1 yard line. On the NEXT PLAY, BG scores to take the lead.

Two TDs, 1:06 apart.  6:02 to play. BG 86% chance to win.  Still very much in the balance, though.

UT gets a false start on 3rd and 1.  BG pressures Gleason on the next play, forces INC and a punt.

BG had the ball with 4:44 left.  BG starts on their own 35, gets a run to midfield and then has to punt.  Hederson shanks it and UT starts on their 27.  4:23 to play.

And they begin a drive.  But are guys are focused and competing. They get a DPI.  UT gets to the BG 37.  On 2nd and 5 from the 32, Caden Marshall breaks a pass up and nearly picks it.  Then on 3rd down, BG makes a play that will go down in rivalry lore.  Gleason hit his receiver, but it was in traffic.  There was a battle for the ball, it ended up on the receiver's butt, and MJ Cannon snatched it...for the game-sealing pick.

Anderson took a safety to run the clock out, and BG won 28-23.

It is hard to believe. You start a game as an underdog, without your starting QB, and then you're down 21-0 partway through the second, and you win in regulation, running the clock out.  

Let me just say...when the alma mater plays after we beat UT...not a dry eye moment for me.  Screw them.

Here's what's so interesting about football.  Stats don't always tell the story.  You can make big plays and change the story.  Also, you can fail to turn yards into points.  It's part of what makes it so compelling.  Any individual play can have a disproportionate impact on the game.

BG was outgained 429-226.  UT had a lot more plays, but even on a per-play basis, it was 5.9 vs. 4.3.

After the first quarter?  258-221.  In the second half...UT 121, BG 124. Including a 23-yard loss on the last play.

Here's the thing. UT had a chance to put BG away and didn't do it.  And a combination of their own ennui and BG playing really tough defense, especially up front, kept BG in the game, and then BG made the plays in the last 8 minutes, and made them count, while UT made mistake after mistake.  

I believe Anderson played a heroic game.  Yeah, he was 9 of 16, 92 yards, 1 INT, 1 TD, and 32 yards rushing. This was a really tough assignment, and it started poorly.  But it didn't spiral, and he made a couple big throws, two of them leading to the Harris TD...and if he didn't win it, he made sure he didn't lose it. PFF graded him at 53. All on a team that did not run the ball effectively at all.

Did the OL dominate? Maybe not, but Anderson wasn't sacked, either.  Pass blocking graded at 90, our highest grade at anything this year.

The defense graded 72, their best FBS game of the year. Tackling at 83...pass rush at 77.

Gideon Lampron....are you kidding me?  13 tackles, 3.5 TFL.  Player of the week numbers. Cannon...7 tackles and a butt-pick.

McClendon, 6 tackles, 2 PBU and not taking any crap.  Pascal 6 tackles and forced a fumble.

Andrew Hines, 6 tackles and a TFL.  (He's a Wake Forest transfer.)  Marshall 2 PBU.  And...Thomison, 2 tackles, and a recovery, both of them HUGE.  You get the idea.

Last thing.  UT had 13 penalties.  With the tone of a husband who didn't take the trash out, Candle said, "I suppose that's my fault."  Note:  UT leads the MAC in penalties. And have been 10th or worse the last 3 years.

Briggs again:

The Rockets beat two Power Four teams last year, then kept every starter with eligibility remaining and added 15 transfers. The preseason Mid-American Conference favorites were double-digit favorites Saturday and looked primed to pour it on. They outgained the hosts 429-226.

The Falcons, meanwhile, have 50 new players and a staff assembled in March. They were starting a backup quarterback with five career completions and trailed 21-0 late in the first half.

And yet, the second team beat the first team.  It's a competition.  And we're better.  It's a better football team and a better university.  Talk a walk, Rockets.