Rockets blast No. 9 Pitt out of Toledo in comeback victory

TOLEDO, Ohio- Toledo quarterback Bruce Gradkowski was determined to make Pitt’s first trip to… TOLEDO, Ohio- Toledo quarterback Bruce Gradkowski was determined to make Pitt’s first trip to the Glass Bowl one to remember.

And did he ever. The sophomore Pittsburgh native completed 49 of 62 passes for 461 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Toledo Rockets in a 35-31 win over the No. 9 Pitt Panthers Saturday night.

Gradkowski set single-game school records for completions, attempts and yards while throwing only one interception and coughing up one fumble, in just his fourth career start. His 49 completions were also a Mid-American Conference record.

With 43 seconds remaining in the game and the Rockets trailing 31-28, Gradkowski threw a fade pass over Pitt cornerback Shawntae Spencer into the hands of wide receiver Lance Moore for the winning touchdown, capping a 15-play, 83-yard drive.

Throughout the game, Moore evolved as Gradkowski’s favorite target, catching a school-record 15 passes for 162 yards and two touchdowns.

The Panthers’ defense never had the right answer for the Rocket attack, which included a barrage of different, short passes, mostly in the flat, combined with a no-huddle, hurry-up offense.

Pitt forced two turnovers, an interception by linebacker Malcolm Postell, which he returned 54 yards, setting up tight end Kris Wilson’s second touchdown catch of the day, and a fumble recovery by redshirt freshman linebacker Brian Bennett, the first of his career.

“Gradkowski did a fabulous job, and their receivers caught everything,” Walt Harris said. “They had a great game plan and executed everything tremendously. They did a lot of things we hadn’t seen before and didn’t prepare for, so that is a tremendous credit to the way they executed.”

Quarterback Rod Rutherford led the Panthers’ offensive attack, which racked up 389 yards of total offense and scored 24 points in the first half. Rutherford completed 24 of 36 passes for 315 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions. Rutherford had thrown 11 touchdown passes this season before throwing his first interception.

Sophomore wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald caught 12 passes for a career-high 201 yards and a touchdown. For the second game in a row, Fitzgerald broke his own school record for consecutive games with a touchdown – he now has nine games with a touchdown – and finished the game with more than 200 yards receiving for the first time ever.

He became the first Panthers’ receiver to do the latter since Antonio Bryant did it against North Carolina in 2000, with 212 yards. Wilson caught three balls, all touchdowns, for 30 yards, and running back Brandon Miree gained 62 yards on 20 rushing attempts.

Pitt was bit by the injury bug before the game and was forced to really juggle their offensive line. Guards Matt Maiers and John Simonitis each made their first start of the season, and Jon Schall was forced to make his first career start at center.

The changes didn’t seem to affect the Panthers’ running game in the first half; Miree gained 54 yards on just 12 carries. But the second half was a different story – the Panthers all but abandoned the running game in favor of the air attack.

On the first drive of the second half; trailing the Panthers 24-14, the Rockets marched 82 yards on 14 plays, capping it off with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Gradkowski to wide receiver Trinity Dawson.

The key play was a fourth-down conversion, which was the Rockets’ second successful fourth-down conversion of the game. On fourth-and-two from their own 38-yard line, Gradkowski hit tight end Andrew Clarke for a 13-yard gain to keep the drive going.

Each team scored another touchdown before the Rockets scored the eventual game-winning touchdown.

The Panthers are the highest ranked team that Toledo has defeated. Coming into the game, the Panthers were 21-0 against teams from the MAC.

After the game, a teary-eyed Gradkowski struggled for words to describe the Rockets’ big win.

“I’m so pumped about this team that words can’t express what I feel right now. If you believe in yourself, there is no telling what can happen.”