Las Vegas Bowl Moment 20: UNR, Toledo play first ever overtime game
No. 20: Wolf Pack keep struggling
To celebrate the local bowl’s 25th anniversary milestone, the Review-Journal will rank the top 25 moments in Las Vegas Bowl history. We’ll relive one moment per day until game day on Dec. 17 at Sam Boyd Stadium:
Date: Dec. 14, 1995
Score: Toledo 40, UNR 37, OT
Back story: The NCAA adopted a new overtime rule — one in which each team gets a possession at the opposition’s 25 in a format similar to baseball innings — to be adopted beginning with the 1995 bowl season.
Game: These teams didn’t waste time in testing the new rule, as the first bowl game of the year was the first time a Division I-A game went into overtime. UNR kicker Damon Shea capped a 10-point comeback with a 26-yard field goal to force OT. Only one extra “inning” was needed, as Shea kicked a 22-yarder in the top half of the inning and Wasean Tai ran for the winning 2-yard touchdown, his fourth of the game, in the bottom half.
Since: It remains the only Las Vegas Bowl to go into overtime. The Rockets, coached by Gary Pinkel to a record of 11-0-1, were the first ranked team to play in the local bowl. The overtime is still in place and remains one of the most debated OT formats in sports. Pinkel went on to a successful run as the coach of Missouri.
Contact Gilbert Manzano at gmanzano@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0492. Follow @gmanzano24 on Twitter.
