It had been a pouring rain all Tuesday night at Howard Schellenberger Field at FAU Stadium, with both the Toledo Rockets (9-5, 5-3 Mid-American Conference) and the Liberty Flames (8-5, FBS independent) struggling to move the ball in the wet conditions.
On third-and-four from their own 41-yard line, the Rockets needed to run down clock and pick up a first down to hold on to a tenuous eight-point lead. Rockets quarterback Dequan Finn dropped back, but was immediately met by Aakil Washington, who chased him down for a 12-yard loss in the backfield to force a three-and-out with 3:53 remaining in the contest.