MT. PLEASANT, Mich. — With the walls caving in and their season slipping away, the Toledo Rockets would not wilt.
Trailing Central Michigan 20-3 in the third quarter, UT gathered on the sideline and a message of resolve was delivered. The Rockets, on the wrong end of what seems like every unfathomable loss, nearly turned the tables and stole a victory from an unwitting opponent.
Instead, overtime might as well have meant out of time, because Toledo never stood a chance. A false start penalty on first down derailed the possession before it even began, and Thomas Cluckey’s 51-yard field goal into a strong wind sailed wide left.