On Thursday, sports history was made. The GameAbove Sports Bowl in Detroit went to a record-setting six overtimes, where the Toledo Rockets beat the Pitt Panthers 48-46.
“INCOMPLETE! AND THERE ARE NO FLAGS! TOLEDO WINS IT IN SIX OTs!” Matt Schumacker called the thrilling finish of the GameAbove Sports Bowl on ESPN, where Toledo beat Pitt 48-46. pic.twitter.com/VQgrVN5xgf
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 26, 2024
That’s a good level of excitement there from Schumacker, who kept his energy up into a sixth extra period. As ESPN PR’s Amanda Brooks noted, this marked the first time a bowl game had gone to six overtimes, plus season-long history in terms of six-overtime games:
From the wizards at @ESPNStatsInfo:@Pitt_FB 🆚 @ToledoFB is now the first 6 OT bowl game in FBS history (overtime was established in 1996).
This is also the first season with multiple games to go to at least 6 OT since OT was established in 1996
— Amanda Brooks (@BrooksAD) December 26, 2024
Beyond that, as Ben Ross noted, this adds to a remarkable run of overtime bowl games:
Toledo 48, Pitt 46 (6OT)
South Florida 41, SJSU 39 (5OT)
N Illinois 28, Fresno St 20 (2OT)That’s 13 overtimes in the last 3 bowl games https://t.co/uLmBKsj7lu pic.twitter.com/7zLA3EeMMe
— Ben Ross (@BenRossTweets) December 26, 2024
There were some chances for this to end sooner, especially if Pitt had gone for the win in the second overtime rather than choosing to tie the game with a field goal. (For what it’s worth, ESPN analyst Dustin Fox was highly critical of that over the next sets of plays, drawing some social media backlash.) But the game didn’t end until the sixth overtime, and it made history in the process.
That’s just part of the wackiness we saw in the GameAbove Sports Bowl. It also featured a blocked extra point run back for two points (producing a much-questioned 6-2 score) and an immediate announcer jinx by Fox of Pitt’s redshirt freshman QB David Lynch, who threw a pick-six right after he was praised on the broadcast.
And there were other odd moments here, including another pick-six by Pitt’s replacement QB Julian Dugger from 310-pound Toledo lineman Darius Alexander late in regulation.
The game does speak to the overall value of college football, and of bowl season. That’s especially true for those of us who enjoy college football weirdness, which often features great moments from teams like Toledo and their #MACtion counterparts. Those teams sometimes don’t even make ESPN highlight packages despite big wins.
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About Andrew Bucholtz
Andrew Bucholtz has been covering sports media for Awful Announcing since 2012. He is also a staff writer for The Comeback. His previous work includes time at Yahoo! Sports Canada and Black Press.