How Toledo rallied to stun Liberty in the Boca Raton Bowl

BOCA RATON - The University of Toledo handed Liberty University their first bowl loss at the RoofClaim.com Boca Bowl on Tuesday night in Boca Raton.

Despite Liberty holdikg the lead going into the half, Toledo turned the game around in the fourth quarter to get their first bowl win in seven years.

“They played a very competitive football game,” Toledo head coach Josh Candle said. “A competitive start to finish. We're super proud of our seniors. Their perseverance not only tonight, but throughout the course of the season.”

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Down to the wire

Toledo came from behind, then fended off Liberty, handing the Flames their first loss in a bowl game after three bowl victories.

Liberty (8-5) held a 7-3 lead at the half as the defense managed to keep Toledo out of the end zone.

In the 3rd quarter, Toledo turned the ties and scored a touchdown with 8:45 on the clock by a four-yard pass from Dequan Finn to Lenny Kuhl.

Liberty, with possession on 2nd and 1, saw quarterback Kaidon Salter sacked by Nate Givhan, who forced a fumble which was recovered by the Rocket’s Toled Jamal Hines.

Toledo scored a field goal on the next possession, making it 13-7.

Finn made a one yard run in the fourth quarter and capitalized on the two-points conversion to give Toledo a 21-7 lead.

Kaidon Salter found Treon Sibley with a 29-yard scoring pass at 7:24 to make it 21-13 and CJ Daniels struck Bentley Hanshaw with a 67-yard ‘rocket’ to close the game to 21-19.

Liberty wanted to go for the two-point conversion but failed and Toledo held on for the final minutes.

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Toledo’s first bowl win in years

Toledo (9-5) had a successful season that included winning the Mid-Atlantic Conference title, adding their first bowl victory since 2015.

“I think is the first group since 2001 that's won a bowl game and a MAC championship in the same season and I'm proud of that,” said Candle in the postgame interview. “What this group was able to accomplish, they took the words off the wall and turned them into reality with. That's really tough to do sometimes."

The Rockets did admit the difficulty of this contest.

Jacques Stuart, who had a season-high 23 carries for 111 yards on 4.8 yards per carry, contributed massively for Toledo.

"They were hungry,” said Finn in the postgame interview. “They were ready to punch us in the mouth in every single play, huge credit to them.”

This season, Finn threw 2,127 yards with 172 of 291 completions, averaging 7.3 yard per completion.

“It's been a long journey, but it's not done yet,” said Finn. “It’s been rocky, but we stayed on course… and I’m thankful for having coach Candle and the whole team around.”

Liberty’s losing streak continues

This is Liberty’s fourth loss in a row and first bowl loss.

Liberty was directed by interim coach Josh Aldridge, who stepped in for Hugh Freeze, who took over the Auburn program this fall.

This was Aldridge’s first game as the head coach for the Flames. He also said there were a lot of flaws in his own plan, specifically in the third down game.

"Defensively I thought we played good enough to win,” said Aldridge in the postgame interview. “I think the difference in the game were the third downs down the stretch… they were falling forward on us and we were losing our leverage in the back.”

Durrell Johnson was a player to watch. His quickness and ability to create pressure on the line kept Toledo from scoring more points.

Johnson added four tackles for loss to Liberty’s 12 total for the game, in which they lead the nation in team tackles for loss.

“I learned when you’re disciplined and try to be a good teammate, everything will fall into place,” said Johnson. “It’s all about attitude…I got to do this extra work because I want to do better, so that’s how I approached all season

The Flames will now prepare for the 2023 season in the Conference USA with their new head coach, and former Coastal Carolina coach, Jamey Caldwell.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Toledo football rallies to stun Liberty in the Boca Raton Bowl