| 2005 GMAC Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | December 21, 2005 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 2005 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Ladd–Peebles Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Mobile, Alabama | ||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Bruce Gradkowski (QB, Toledo) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Penn Wagers (SEC) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 35,422[1] | ||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ESPN | ||||||||||||||||||
The 2005 GMAC Bowl was an American college football bowl game. It was part of the 2005 NCAA Division I-A football season, and was the 8th edition. It was played in December 2005, and featured the UTEP Miners, and the Toledo Rockets.
Toledo scored first on a 10-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Bruce Gradkowski to wide receiver John Allen. Reagan Schneider of UTEP kicked a 34-yard field goal at the end of the first quarter to make the lead 7-3. In the second quarter, Gradkowski threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to David Washington Jr. to make the lead 14-3 Toledo. With 5:46 in the half, quarterback Jordan Palmer found wide receiver Johnnie Lee Higgins for an 18-yard touchdown pass. The extra point made the score 14-10 Toledo.
With 2:56 left in the half, Schneider drilled a 23-yard field goal to cut the lead to 14-13. With 1:13 left, Gradkoski found Steve Odom for a 31-yard touchdown pass that extended the lead to 21-13. With only 10 seconds left in the half, Palmer threw an interception to David Thomas that was returned 37 yards for a Toledo touchdown. Toledo led 28-13 at the half. In the third quarter, Jason Robbins kicked a 29-yard field goal to give Toledo a 31-13 lead. Touchdown passes to Josh Powell and Chris Hopkins gave Toledo a 45-13 win.[2]
| Statistics | Toledo | UTEP |
|---|---|---|
| First Downs | 25 | 16 |
| Rushing Attempts-Yards | 39-164 | 28-63 |
| Passing Yards | 304 | 192 |
| Passes | 19-32-2 | 17-41-2 |
| Total Offense | 71-468 | 69-255 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 1-1 | 1-0 |
| Interceptions-Yards | 2-37 | 2-16 |
| Penalties-Yards | 9-80 | 4-45 |
| Punts-Average | 1-35 | 5-35.4 |
| Punt Returns-Yards | 1-4 | 1-1 |
| Kickoff Returns-Yards | 8-410 | 4-234 |
| Sacks By: Number-Yards | 3-28 | 0-0 |
| Time of Possession | 32:05 | 27:55 |
In 2007, members of the Toledo football team were charged with participating in a point shaving scandal. Members of the football team were connected with Detroit-area gamblers and were paid to intentionally affect the final score so that certain point spreads were covered. The 2005 GMAC Bowl was mentioned as a game that was affected.[3]
In 2011, Toledo running back Quinton Broussard pleaded guilty in connection with the point scandal. In the plea, Broussard admitted to receiving $500 for intentionally losing a fumble in the first half, when Toledo held a small lead.[4]