FIU Stuns Toledo With Last Second Field Goal

DETROIT (AP) — T.Y. Hilton was ready for anything when he showed up for the first bowl in Florida International's young history.

Even fourth-and-17 with time running out.

Hilton picked up a crucial first down on a desperate hook-and-ladder, and FIU stunned Toledo 34-32 with a last-second field goal Sunday night in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl. Jack Griffin's 34-yard kick provided the winning points, but it was Hilton's dramatic fourth-down conversion on a trick play that kept the drive alive.

"We run it every day," Hilton said. "Different guys in different positions."

Of course, this was no ordinary situation.

"That was the prettiest one of all," coach Mario Cristobal said.

The Golden Panthers (7-6) had already rallied from a 24-7 third-quarter deficit, but the game appeared to be slipping away when Toledo quarterback Terrance Owens scored on a 14-yard run with 1:14 to play. The Rockets (8-5) then went for two, and Owens found Eric Page over the middle for a 32-31 lead.

But Hilton had already returned one kickoff for a touchdown, so Toledo went with a squib kick, giving FIU the ball near midfield. Although a sack knocked the Panthers back, they had one trick play left on fourth-and-long.

Jacob Younger caught the pass near midfield, flipped the ball to his team's top player and hoped for the best. Hilton took the lateral and dashed toward the sideline, and the officials ruled he reached the first-down marker before stepping out of bounds. The Rockets felt it was a generous spot at the Toledo 42, but the call stood after a replay review.

"That's not my judgment to make," Toledo coach Tim Beckman said. "It was checked and reviewed and off the review they said that he made it."

Wes Carroll then found Greg Ellingson for a 20-yard pass that put the Panthers firmly in field goal range. Griffin's kick came on the final play of the game.

It was quite a bowl debut for FIU, which finished its ninth season as a program. The school made the transition to what is now called the Football Bowl Subdivision in 2005.

The team has seldom had a chance to celebrate like this. Three years ago, FIU finally snapped a 23-game losing streak, and the program also had to deal with the fallout from a 2006 brawl against Miami.

Earlier this year, the Panthers dealt with tragedy after running back Kendall Berry was stabbed to death on campus.

"It means so much to me and my class," junior Darriet Perry said. "I believed in coach when he told me we'd go to a bowl and here it is. There were a lot of hard times, a lot of ups and downs, we lost a teammate. Everybody came in and stuck it out."

The Panthers trailed 24-7 in the third quarter before Hilton returned a kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown. That was only the beginning of Toledo's problems. Owens threw three interceptions in the second half, each giving FIU the ball in Toledo territory.

FIU ended up scoring 24 straight points, taking a 28-24 lead on Hilton's 10-yard touchdown catch and adding a field goal with 3:18 remaining.

Owens then redeemed himself by leading a 62-yard drive that ended with his touchdown run. The Rockets didn't hesitate to go for two.

"We talked about it even prior to that touchdown drive," Beckman said. "We were going to go for two points and win the football game."

It appeared Toledo had pulled the game out, to the delight of many of the 32,431 in attendance. Toledo is about an hour's drive from Detroit and had plenty of fans at Ford Field.

In the end, the Rockets fell one play short.

Much of the pregame anticipation surrounded Page and Hilton, two shifty wide receivers who also are dangerous return men. Page set up an early touchdown with a 21-yard punt return and nearly won the game for Toledo with his late 2-point conversion. Hilton scored two touchdowns — and his biggest play was nowhere near the end zone.

Perry ran for 132 yards and two touchdowns for the Panthers.

Adonis Thomas rushed for a career-high 193 yards and two touchdowns for the Rockets, including an 87-yard touchdown run to help Toledo build a 21-7 halftime lead — long before anyone realized what an enthralling game this would become.

"What these men have achieved is historical," Cristobal said. "They've set the bar high for the guys who will come later."