1969 Tangerine Bowl : Toledo 56, Davidson 33

The Rockets headed to Orlando with much at stake: the first undefeated season in the history of the football program. The Rocket offense racked up 324 yards in total offense and put 42 points on the board in the first half. It all led to a 56-33 victory over Southern Conference champion Davidson in the 24th annual Tangerine Bowl.

Quarterback Chuck Ealey, voted the game’s most valuable back, ran nine times for 83 yards and a touchdown and threw for 147 yards and three scores on 10-of-13 passing. Don Fair caught four passes for 78 yards and Cole carried 22 times for 152 yards. The Rockets were later rewarded with a No. 20 national ranking in the final Associated Press poll.

1970 Tangerine Bowl : Toledo 40, William & Mary 12

The Rockets looking to repeat as Tangerine Bowl champs and post a second consecutive undefeated season, but Lou Holtz’s William & Mary team had other ideas and looked primed for an upset when it jumped out to a 6-0 lead and trailed by only 7-6 at halftime.

But it was all Rockets in the second half as they scored on their first four possessions. The Rockets churned out 326 yards rushing, paced by Charles Cole (132 yards) and Tony Harris (101 yards). Toledo finished 12th in the nation in the final A.P. poll, and 14th and 17th in the Football News and UPI polls, respectively.

1971 Tangerine Bowl : Toledo 28, Richmond 3

For the first 15 minutes of the game, Richmond looked as if it had the ability to end Toledo’s winning streak at 34 games, taking a 3-0 lead. But then quarterback Chuck Ealey and the No. 1 defense in the nation went to work.

The Rocket defense limited the Spiders to just 51 total yards of total offense in the second half, including none through the air. Richmond punted on five of its seven possessions in the second half, was stopped on fourth down on one and intercepted on the other.

Ealey completed 14-of-23 passes for 176 yards and scored from one yard out. With the victory, the Rockets ran their winning streak to 35 games, to this day the second longest in major college football.

1981 California Bowl : Toledo 27, San Jose St. 25

They said it couldn’t be done. There was no way that Toledo could beat a San Jose State team ranked 20th in the final UPI coaches' poll. Yet when the first-ever California Bowl game was over, it was Toledo who left the field victorious, 27-25.

Tony Lee’s 41-yard field goal with just seconds left gave Toledo the victory. Toledo had led in the game, 21-3, in the third quarter, but let that slip away. The Spartans took a 25-24 lead with just 52 seconds remaining, on a 35-yard touchdown pass and a two-point conversion

The Rockets were faced with 80 yards of field ahead of them and no time outs remaining. Quarterback Maurice Hall coolly marched his offense down to the Spartan 24-yard line to set the stage for Lee’s winning field goal.

1984 California Bowl : UNLV 30, Toledo 13*

The Rockets came up short, 30-13, against Randall Cunningham, Ickey Woods and the rest of the Runnin’ Rebels. Cunningham had a stellar game, completing 18-of-28 passes for 270 yards. Woods, just a freshman at the time, led UNLV with 53 yards and one TD.

Rocket running back Steve Morgan was named Toledo’s outstanding offensive player after totaling 154 yards on 31 carries, while quarterback A.J. Sager was 12-of-31 for 137 yards with one TD.

*NOTE: The contest was later forfeited to Toledo due to use of ineligible players by UNLV earlier that year.

1995 Las Vegas Bowl : Toledo 40, Nevada 37 (OT)

In a game that featured the first overtime in Division I-A football history, Toledo prevailed over Nevada, 40-37, electrifying a national TV audience on ESPN. After a field goal gave the Wolf Pack a 37-34 lead, its first of the game, the Rockets’ Wasean Tait, who set four bowl records and was named co-MVP, scored the winning points on a two-yard run. Tait set Las Vegas Bowl standards for rushing yards (185), all-purpose yards (238) and TDs (four).

The two teams battled to standstill through regulation, with Nevada tying the game with a late field goal. Toledo won the overtime coin toss and elected to go on defense first. Nevada settled for a field goal, setting up Tait, who got the call on three of UT’s four plays, the last one the game-winner. He was buried under a sea of Rockets in the victory celebration and passed out cold.

2001 Motor City Bowl : Toledo 23, Cincinnati 16

Chester Taylor ran for a Motor City Bowl-record 190 yards and scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 24-yard run with 3:23 left as Toledo defeated Cincinnati, 23-16. But it was a big play by the defense that clinched the victory for Toledo.

Cincinnati drove to the UT five-yard line, but couldn’t convert on fourth-and-4 with 50 seconds left. Cincinnati’s Ray Jackson bobbled a deflected pass in a crowded end zone, and senior free safety Andy Boyd then wrestled Jackson — and the ball — to the ground to seal the victory for Toledo.

Quarterback Tavares Bolden was 14-of-28 for 135 yards, but it was his legs that helped Toledo the most. He ran for 41 yards on a draw on the first play of the second half that led to a UT field goal. He tied the game late in the third quarter when he sprinted 28 yards untouched for a touchdown. For the game, Bolden ran for 99 yards, which helped the Rockets set a Motor City Bowl record with 322 yards rushing.

The victory culminated a dream season for the Rockets and first-year head coach Tom Amstutz. “I was born on Scottwood Avenue in downtown Toledo, grew up in Toledo, went to school at UT, was an assistant coach there for many years,” Amstutz said. “This is a dream come true. Words can’t express how I feel. This isn’t just my team; it’s what I love. It’s a privilege for me to be the head coach.”

2002 Motor City Bowl : Boston College 51,Toledo 25

Boston College scored on its first six possessions on its way to a 42-18 halftime lead, effectively putting the game away and preventing the Rockets from defending their Motor City Bowl title. Toledo cut the Eagles’ advantage to 21-10 when Trinity Dawson scored on a two-yard run with 10:47 remaining in the first half but UT never got any closer.

Down 28-10 with less than six minutes to go in the first half, Toledo gambled, going for it on a fourth-and-1 from its own 40, but Jones’ pass fell incomplete. Boston College took possession, and on the next play, Grant Adams caught St. Pierre’s pass across the middle, eluded a defender and raced into the end zone for a 35-10 lead. A one-yard TD run by Brandon Brokaw with 1:31 to go in the half made it 42-10.

Jones, the nation’s percentage completion leader, connected on 27-41 passes for 331 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.

Wide receiver Carl Ford had a career-high of 10 receptions for 112 yards, including a nine-yard touchdown pass with 24 seconds to go in the second quarter. Fellow senior Donta’ Greene added four catches for 63 yards.

2004 Motor City Bowl : UConn 39, Toledo 10

Quarterback Bruce Gradkowski was game. Unfortunately, his broken right hand was not. Gradkowski, who broke his throwing hand in the MAC Championship Game, tried to play in the Motor City Bowl but was ineffective and clearly in pain.

As a result, the Rockets’ offense stalled, and Connecticut had its way with Toledo, 39-10. Gradkowski finished 6-of-12 for 43 yards before being replaced by Marques Council. By the time Council got in the game to start the second half, UConn was up, 30-7. Council set career highs in attempts (28), completions (16) and passing yards (160).

Toledo entered the game as the favorites, but without a healthy Gradkowski it was no contest. UConn scored on six of its first seven possessions as the Rockets were held to a season low of 10 points.

Gradkowski wasn’t the only Rocket to go down, as the UT training staff was kept busy throughout the entire game. Senior All-MAC free safety Patrick Body broke his right arm in the second half. Lance Moore, Toledo’s all-time leading receiver, left the game in the second half with a dislocated shoulder. Senior center David Odenthal suffered a sprained left ankle in the first half, returned briefly, then sat out most of the second half. Trinity Dawson finished with 78 yards on 19 carries.

2005 GMAC Bowl : Toledo 45, UTEP 13

Quarterback Bruce Gradkowski ended his storied collegiate career with an exclamation point, throwing five touchdown passes to lead Toledo to a convincing 45-13 win over UTEP.

Fellow senior and roommate Trinity Dawson ran for 132 yards. Toledo’s defense shut down UTEP’s offense at almost every turn. Linebacker Mike Alston contributed two big tackles for the Rockets to end the first half, when UTEP was threatening to cut into a 28-13 deficit. It was the last time the Miners appeared set to mount a rally.

Gradkowski, who completed 18-of-32 passes for 298 yards, was chosen as the game’s MVP while Dawson (offense), Alston (defensive) and Steve Odom (special teams) also won game honors.

After the game, Gradkowski summed up the sentiment of the team. “It’s been an honor to be here this week,” said Gradkowski. “We were treated unbelievably by the city of Mobile. The southern hospitality has been awesome. We’ve never experienced anything like this. We wanted to give back to Mobile by performing the way we did. I hope we satisfied the fans out there. It’s been a pleasure. What a way to go out. This is our championship. We are GMAC Bowl Champions.”