Pittsburgh running back Desmond Reid runs for a touchdown against Toledo during the first half of the GameAbove Sports Bowl NCAA college football game, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)
Pittsburgh running back Desmond Reid, left, runs with the ball past the reach of Toledo safety Jaden Dottin, front right, during the first half of the GameAbove Sports Bowl NCAA college football game, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)
Toledo wide receiver Junior Vandeross III (2) reacts after making a catch for a first down as Pittsburgh defensive back Javon McIntyre, right, looks on during the first half of the GameAbove Sports Bowl NCAA college football game, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)
Toledo tight end Anthony Torres, right, makes a touchdown catch as Pittsburgh linebacker Kyle Louis, left, watches during the first half of the GameAbove Sports Bowl NCAA college football game, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)
Toledo quarterback Tucker Gleason (4) throws against Pittsburgh during the first half of the GameAbove Sports Bowl NCAA college football game, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)
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Pittsburgh running back Desmond Reid runs for a touchdown against Toledo during the first half of the GameAbove Sports Bowl NCAA college football game, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)
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Pittsburgh running back Desmond Reid, left, runs with the ball past the reach of Toledo safety Jaden Dottin, front right, during the first half of the GameAbove Sports Bowl NCAA college football game, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)
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Toledo wide receiver Junior Vandeross III (2) reacts after making a catch for a first down as Pittsburgh defensive back Javon McIntyre, right, looks on during the first half of the GameAbove Sports Bowl NCAA college football game, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)
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Toledo tight end Anthony Torres, right, makes a touchdown catch as Pittsburgh linebacker Kyle Louis, left, watches during the first half of the GameAbove Sports Bowl NCAA college football game, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)
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Toledo quarterback Tucker Gleason (4) throws against Pittsburgh during the first half of the GameAbove Sports Bowl NCAA college football game, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)
DETROIT — Tucker Gleason ran for one overtime score and threw for four more as Toledo beat Pittsburgh 48-46 in a bowl-record six overtimes at the GameAbove Sports Bowl at Ford Field on Thursday.
The game surpassed the previous mark set 48 hours earlier when South Florida beat San Jose State 41-39 in the Hawaii Bowl on Tuesday.
Pitt freshman Julian Dugger, making his college debut, ran for two overtime scores and threw for two more, but his incomplete pass in the sixth overtime ended the game.
After Gleason and Dugger traded rushing touchdowns in the first overtime, each team got a field goal in the second. Each threw two-point passes in the third overtime, and Gleason got another in the fourth to make it 44-42.
Dugger was sacked, apparently ending the game, but the Rockets were called for holding. Dugger was ruled short on a sneak attempt, sending Toledo rushing onto the field for a second time, but replay ruled he crossed the plane.
In the fifth overtime, Dugger made it 46-44 with a scoring pass to Gavin Bartholomew, but Gleason tied it with his fifth scoring pass of the game. The sixth put Toledo back in front, and Dugger was pressured into a bad throw to end the game.
Pittsburgh running back Desmond Reid (0) runs with the ball past the reach of Toledo safety Jaden Dottin (3) during the first half of Thursday’s GameAbove Sports Bowl game in Detroit. Associated Press
The Panthers played without starting quarterback Eli Holstein (leg) and backup Nate Yarnell (transfer portal). David Lynch, a redshirt freshman walk-on, started his first game but was pulled in the third quarter after throwing two interceptions.
Dugger led the Panthers to two touchdowns and a field goal on his first three drives, turning a 20-12 deficit into a 30-20 lead.
However, Toledo got its second pick-6 of the game when Darius Alexander returned Dugger's interception 58 yards for a touchdown. The extra point made it 30-27 with 7:49 left, and the Rockets kicked a tying field goal with 1:45 to play.
Toledo started quickly, driving for a Gleason touchdown pass on the game's opening drive, but Kyle Louis blocked the extra point and returned it for Pitt's first defensive two-point conversion since 1990.
Desmond Reid's 3-yard run and Ben Sauls' 57-yard field goal gave Pittsburgh a 12-6 lead, but Gleason's 67-yard touchdown pass to Junior Vandeross III put the Rockets up 13-12 midway through the second quarter.
On the next play from scrimmage, Braden Awls picked off Lynch's pass and returned it 42 yards for a touchdown and a 20-12 halftime lead.
