BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Toledo Rockets fought till the very end at the Bush’s Boca Raton Bowl of Beans but ultimately succumbed to Louisville, 27-22, on Tuesday.
 
Toledo trailed throughout the entire game and was down 27-14 late in the fourth quarter before staging a final rally. Avery Smith returned a blocked extra point for two points, and Chip Trayanum scored from three yards out to cut the Louisville lead to five with 2:24 left. But the Cardinals were able to run out the clock to claim the victory.
 
The game was the final collegiate contest for many seniors but a big part of the game’s story belonged to a redshirt freshman, quarterback Kalieb Osborne. Filling in for injured senior Tucker Gleason in his first collegiate start, Osborne completed 17-of-28 passes for 167 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions. He also led the Rockets with 77 yards on the ground, scrambling for numerous first downs.
 
Toledo’s defense came through with another big performance as well, holding Louisville to 333 yards of total offense. Senior All-America safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren fought off a lower leg injury and played inspiring football. Junior linebacker K’Von Sherman led the Rockets with nine tackles. Senior defensive tackle Martez Poynter added six tackles and two tackles for loss.
 
First Quarter


Louisville opened the game with an eight-play, 75-yard drive that culminated in a 17-yard touchdown pass.
Esean Carter’s blocked field goal set up a short Toledo drive that concluded with a 41-yard field goal from Robert Hammond III with 11 seconds left in the quarter.

Second Quarter


The defenses dominated the second quarter. The teams exchanged punts, with neither side making it to the red zone. 

Third Quarter


Toledo missed an opportunity to cut the lead to one when a holding penalty negated a pass completion to the one-yard line, and a subsequent 41-yard field goal attempt was no good.
Louisville countered with a 77-yard touchdown drive that was finished off with a five-yard TD pass to increase the Cardinal lead to 14-3 with 3:40 left in the third quarter.

Fourth Quarter


Louisville scored on the first play of the fourth quarter, an 11-yard touchdown run to make the score 21-3.
Toledo cut the lead to 21-11 on a 26-yard TD pass from Kalieb Osborne to tight end Jacob Petersen. Chip Trayanum took the direct snap in for a two-point conversion.
The Rockets trimmed the lead to 21-14 on a 50-yard field goal by Hammond with 6:35 left.
Louisville extended the lead to 27-14 on a 53-yard run, but Avery Smith blocked the extra point and returned it 79 yards for two points, making it 27-16.
Toledo cut the lead to 27-22 on Chip Trayanum’s three-yard run but the two-point conversion failed.
Louisville got the ball with 2:24 left on the clock and was able to control the ball the rest of the way.

Post-Game Notes


In his first collegiate start, redshirt freshman Kalieb Osborne completed 17-of-28 passes for 167 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. He also ran for 77 yards, including a 29-yard scamper in the second half.
Chip Trayanum’s 65-yard performance gives him 1,015 yards for the season, becoming the 19th Rocket to pass 1,000 yards in a season.
Wide receiver Junior Vandeross III caught seven passes for 61 yards. He now has 215 career receptions and 2,647 receiving yards, moving past Steve Odom (2,631 from 2003-06) for eighth place all time at Toledo.
Sophomore Robert Hammond made his first two collegiate field goals, a 41-yarder in the first quarter and a 50-yarder in the fourth quarter.
Toledo’s defense held Louisville to 145 yards of total offense in the first half, 75 of which came in the Cardinals’ opening drive.
Junior linebacker K’Von Sherman led the Rockets with nine tackles. Senior defensive tackle Martez Poynter added 2.0 tackles for loss.