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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, October 12, 2008

Missed Michigan field goal secures Toledo's upset

Associated Press

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Holy Toledo.

Michigan's K.C. Lopata missed a 26-yard field goal with 4 seconds left, giving the Rockets a 13-10 win over the once-mighty Wolverines yesterday.

Toledo coach Tom Amstutz, who has spent most of his life in the city just south of the Michigan border, gazed at the scoreboard displaying the stunning score as he celebrated on the Big House field.

"Yeah, I enjoyed looking at it," Amstutz said. "I wasn't in a hurry to get off the field. I lingered a little bit because it was such a great feeling."

The Rockets (2-4) went ahead early in the fourth quarter when Alex Steigerwald's career-long 48-yard field goal bounced through off the crossbar.

With a chance to seal the victory, Toledo came up short on a fourth down to make a comeback possible for college football's winningest team.

Michigan seemed to set up overtime by driving to the Rockets 9, but Lopata's chip shot from the right side of the field sailed to the left of the uprights.

"It never goes down on one play," Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez said. "There are a lot of plays we'd like to have back."

The Wolverines (2-4) have their worst six-game record since 1967 — two years before Bo Schembechler started coaching them — and their streak of playing in 33 straight bowls is in jeopardy.

"We're kind of at a crossroads," linebacker Obi Ezeh said. "We could either go downhill or we can hang tough and weather this storm."

It will be difficult for Michigan to bounce back with games at No. 6 Penn State and against No. 23 Michigan State.

"This will hurt for 24 hours — at least," Rodriguez said. "But we can't let it hurt longer because we have a game coming up against a top-10 team."

BIG TEN

Minnesota 27, Illinois 20: Simoni Lawrence scooped up a fumble by Illini (3-3, 1-2) quarterback Juice Williams and ran nine yards for a touchdown with 5:24 left for a 20-13 lead to help the Golden Gophers (6-1, 2-1 Big Ten) to victory at Champaign, Ill.

Iowa 45, Indiana 9: Jewel Hampton ran for 114 yards and three touchdowns, and Ricky Stanzi completed 12 of 20 passes for 184 yards and two more scores, powering the Hawkeyes (4-3, 1-2 Big Ten) past the Hoosiers (2-4, 0-3) at Bloomington, Ind., to end a three-game losing streak.

ACC

Virginia 35, East Carolina 20: Cedric Peerman ran for 173 yards, including touchdown runs of 78 and 60 yards, and the Cavaliers (3-3) rolled to a 28-3 halftime lead to defeat the Pirates (3-3) at Charlottesville, Va.

Miami 20, Central Florida 14: Graig Cooper ran for 90 yards, including a 5-yard TD run after a muffed punt return late in the fourth quarter to open a 20-7 lead, as the Hurricanes (3-3) beat the Knights (2-4) in Miami to end a two-game losing streak.

Georgia Tech 10, Gardner-Webb 7: Derrick Morgan tipped a 43-yard field-goal attempt by Ryan Gates with three seconds left, helping the Yellow Jackets (5-1) struggle past the Football Championship Subdivision Bulldogs (2-4) in Atlanta.

BIG 12

Kansas State 44, Texas A&M 30: Josh Freeman completed 21 of 26 passes and ran for four touchdowns, and Courtney Herndon returned a blocked punt for a touchdown as the Wildcats (4-2, 1-1 Big 12) rolled past the Aggies at College Station, Texas to snap a five-game losing streak.

Baylor 38, Iowa State 10: Freshman Robert Griffin was 21-of-24 passing for 278 yards with two touchdowns to Kendall Wright, ran for another score, and Makail Baker returned the second-half kickoff 93 yards for a TD as the Bears (3-3, 1-1 Big 12) beat the Cyclones (2-4, 0-2) at Waco, Texas.

BIG EAST

West Virginia 17, Syracuse 6: Noel Devine rushed for a career-high 188 yards and a touchdown, and the Mountaineers (4-2, 2-0) held the Orange (1-5, 0-2) without a touchdown for the first time this season in a Big East game at Morgantown, W.Va.

CONFERENCE USA

Tulsa 37, SMU 31: David Johnson threw for 281 yards and three touchdowns, A.J. Whitmore scored on an 8-yard run to break a 31-all tie with 8:40 left, and the Golden Hurricanes (3-0 Conference USA) beat the Mustangs (1-6, 0-4) at Dallas to improved to 6-0 for the first time since 1942.

UTEP 24, Tulane 21: Trevor Vittatoe completed 21 of 32 passes for 296 yards and three touchdowns as the Miners (3-3, 3-0 CUSA) rallied from a 21-14 halftime deficit to beat the Green Wave (2-4, 1-2) at El Paso, Texas.

IA INDEPENDENTS

Army 17, Eastern Michigan 13: Collin Mooney ran for a career-high 229 yards and quarterback Chip Bowden capped an 80-yard drive with a 9-yard, go-ahead scoring run with 13:42 left to play, helping the Black Knights (2-4) rally past the Eagles (2-4) at West Point, N.Y.

MID-AMERICAN

Central Michigan 24, Temple 14: Backup Brian Brunner replaced injured quarterback Dan LeFevour and threw a 37-yard touchdown pass to Bryan Anderson in the fourth quarter to lead the Chippewas (4-2, 3-0 Mid-American Conference) over the Owls (2-5, 1-3) at Mount Pleasant, Mich.

Ohio 26, Kent State 19: Boo Jackson threw for 203 yards and Barrett Way kicked four field goals to help the Bobcats (2-6, 1-3 MAC) overcome 336 yards of total offense from Golden Flashes (1-6, 0-3) quarterback Julian Edelman at Kent, Ohio.

Bowling Green 37, Akron 33: Tyler Sheehan ran for a touchdown and completed 26 of 41 passes for 239 yards and three TDs, including the go-ahead score with 4:24 left, to lead the Falcons (3-3, 1-1 MAC) over the Zips (3-4, 1-2) at Akron, Ohio.

Western Michigan 34, Buffalo 28: Tim Hiller's 2-yard touchdown pass to Branden Ledbetter in overtime lifted the Broncos (6-1, 4-0 MAC) over the Bulls (2-4, 1-2), who got the ball first, but an interception ended their possession at Amherst, N.Y.

NORTHErN Illinois 17, Miami (Ohio) 13: Huskie cornerback Melvin Rice and linebacker Josh Allen broke up consecutive end zone passes with less than 90 seconds to play as the Huskies (3-3, 2-1 MAC) held off the RedHawks (1-5, 0-3) at DeKalb, Ill.

MOUNTAIN WEST

TCU 13, Colorado State 7: After Gartrell Johnson's 4-yard touchdown run capped a 78-yard drive to open the game for the Rams (3-3, 1-1 Mountain West), Aaron Brown scored on a 6-yard run and Joseph Turner punched it in from 3 yards to rally the Horned Frogs (6-1, 3-0) at Fort Collins, Colo.

Air Force 35, San Diego State 10: Freshman tailback Asher Clark rushed for 109 yards and a touchdown as the Falcons' (4-2, 2-1 MWC) triple option ground assault churned up 401 yards in beating the Aztecs (1-5, 0-2) at San Diego.

PACIFIC-10

Stanford 24, Arizona 23: Toby Gerhart scored on a 1-yard plunge with 25 seconds left and Aaron Zagory kicked the extra point to lift the Cardinal (4-3, 3-1 Pac-10) over the Wildcats (4-2, 2-1) at Stanford, Calif.

Oregon 31, UCLA 24: Jeremiah Masoli, a Saint Louis School alum, ran for 170 yards and a touchdown and threw for another score, leading the Ducks (5-2, 3-1 Pac-10) over the Bruins (2-4, 1-2) at Eugene, Ore.

SEC

South Carolina 24, Kentucky 17: Captain Munnerlyn returned a blocked field goal 81 yards for a touchdown and set up another score with an 84-yard kickoff return as the Gamecocks (5-2, 2-2 Southeastern Conference) held off the Wildcats (4-2, 0-2) at Lexington, Ky.