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Toledo
Tames Bearcats in Motor City Bowl
By
LARRY LAGE
AP Sports Writer
Toledo
tailback Chester Taylor (19) is congratulated in the end zone by
teammate Manny Johnson on Saturday.
Photo: Carlos Osorio/Associated Press
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PONTIAC, MI (AP) � Chester Taylor lived up
to the hype.
The Toledo running back ran for a Motor City
Bowl-record 190 yards and scored the go-ahead touchdown with 3:23 left as
the No. 25 Rockets beat Cincinnati 23-16 Saturday.
Toledo (10-2) didn't seal the victory until the Bearcats (7-5) drove to
the 5 but couldn't convert on fourth-and-4 with 50 seconds left.
Cincinnati's Ray Jackson, who transferred from Michigan, bobbled a deflected
pass in a crowded end zone.
Toledo quarterback Tavares Bolden ran for 99
yards and a touchdown and was 14-of-28 for 135 with one interception.
Cincinnati's Gino Guidugli was 29-of-46 for 283 yards and a touchdown.
 Both
teams put together long drives on the first two possessions of the fourth
quarter but settled for field goals.
The Rockets went 76 yards on 14 plays over five minutes, but stalled at
Cincinnati's 13. Todd France's 30-yard field goal gave them a 16-13 lead
with 9:42 left.
The Bearcats then stalled at Toledo's 8 after driving 73 yards. Jonathan
Ruffin's 25-yard kick tied the game with 6:26 to go.
Taylor's touchdown capped an 80-yard drive, which he keyed with three
carries for 52 yards. The third-team All-American, who had 31 carries, was
the bowl's MVP.
Bolden's legs helped Toledo score 10 third-quarter points to tie the game
at 13.
He ran for 41 yards on a draw on the first play of the second half, and
the drive ended with France's 42-yard field goal.
Bolden tied the game late in the third quarter when he rolled left, then
turned upfield and sprinted 28 yards untouched for a touchdown.
Toledo was in control of the game early, but it didn't have much to show
for it.
The Rockets outgained Cincinnati 109-3, with 70 yards from Taylor, in the
first quarter. But all Toledo had was a 3-0 lead on France's 28-yard field
goal from its first possession. Cincinnati held Taylor to 1 yard on a
fourth-and-3 at the 5 midway through the first quarter.
Cincinnati's John Hinson intercepted a long lob from Bolden and returned
it 20 yards to Toledo's 44, leading to Ruffin's 29-yard kick which tied the
game 3-3.
Guidugli threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Tim Walker with 2:43 left in
the half to put Cincinnati ahead 10-3. Ruffin's career-best 46-yard kick as
time expired gave the Bearcats a 13-3 halftime lead.
Toledo's David Gardner made 11 tackles, including a sack, to earn the
award for the game's best lineman or linebacker.
Marshall represented the Mid-American Conference in the first four Motor
City Bowls and won the previous three. The MAC is 2-0 this season in bowl
games while Conference USA is 0-3.
The loss by the Bearcats follows earlier bowl defeats
suffered by C-USA members East Carolina and Texas Christian. The Pirates
fell in double-overtime to MAC foe Marshall in the December 19 GMAC Bowl,
while the Horned Frogs were beaten by Texas A&M on Friday in the
galleryfurniture.com Bowl.
C-USA champion Louisville will have the last chance to
salvage some post-season pride for the league when it battles Brigham Young,
the Mountain West kingpin, in the Liberty Bowl on New Year's Eve.
Copyright 2001
Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
02/23/2007 10:47:49 AM
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