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TOLEDO, Ohio (Ticker) -- Marshall's reign atop the Mid-American Conference came to a shattering conclusion at the Glass Bowl. Toledo became the first school other than Marshall to win the MAC championship game, rallying from a 23-point second-quarter deficit to shock the 18th-ranked Thundering Herd, 41-36, on Chester Taylor's eight-yard touchdown run with 6:34 remaining. Moments after the final gun sounded, Toledo fans who might have believed their team was headed for a third title game loss to Marshall poured onto the field in celebration of the Rockets' 14th straight home victory. "We have a lot of belief in each other and we just keep on playing," first-year Toledo coach Tom Amstutz said. "This is like a dream come true. When I started coaching football, I wanted to have an opportunity like this. This was an unbelievable experience." This was the first time the Thundering Herd (10-2) were forced to play the MAC title game on the road. And despite exploding for 20 points in the opening 8 1/2 minutes, they were unable to hold on for another crown. "You have to give credit to the University of Toledo," Marshall coach Bob Pruett said. "We didn't make the plays we needed to make down the stretch, and they did." The Rockets (9-2) put up 25 points in the third quarter and grabbed their first lead with 4:28 to play in the period when kicker Todd France scored on a 16-yard run off a fake field goal. Quarterback Tavares Bolden rushed for the two-point conversion and a 32-29 lead. Marshall grabbed a 36-35 edge just over three minutes into the fourth quarter as Byron Leftwich hit Denero Marriott for an 18-yard score, but Taylor put the Rockets ahead for good 5 1/2 minutes later. The Thundering Herd, who defeated Toledo in the 1997 and 1998 MAC title games, appeared headed for a winning score, driving inside the Rockets' 20-yard line with just 2 1/2 minutes left. However, on fourth down, Leftwich's pass down the middle was just out of the reach of running back Tony Anderson, and the Rockets needed to get just one first down on the ensuing possession to seal the victory. "Marshall has made this conference better," Amstutz said. "They have raised the standards. To beat a team like that is a great thrill and it is a hard thing to do." Postseason destinations for the two teams did not hinge on Friday night's game. Marshall is headed to the GMAC Mobile Alabama Bowl on December 19 and Toledo will play in the Motor City Bowl 10 days later. It will be the first time two MAC schools have participated in bowl games. Taylor rushed for 188 yards and Bolden completed 16-of-25 passes for 185 yards as Toledo rallied from what seemed like an insurmountable deficit one play into the second quarter, when Curtis Head's 28-year field goal made it 23-0. "Any time you go against a team like Marshall and a player like Byron Leftwich, you are always going to be worried about what happens in the last two minutes of the game," Bolden said. Leftwich was 32-of-52 for 421 yards and four scores. He connected with Denero Marriott on touchdowns of 14 and 15 yards in the first 6 1/2 minutes, and when Franklin Wallace broke loose for a 62-yard scoring scamper, the Thundering Herd had a 20-0 advantage. The Rockets fought within 23-10 by intermission, then dominated the third period. "The second half, we came out and toughened it up," said Taylor. "On the sidelines, the offensive line was telling the coaches what they saw so they could make adjustments. The coaches did a great job making adjustments. The offensive line did a great job all night blocking." After Leftwich and Marriott hooked up on their third TD to make it 29-17, Toledo scored 18 unanswered points to go ahead, 35-29 on France's 28-yard field goal with 1:09 to play in the third quarter. Leftwich, the conference's Player of the Year, was picked off once and sacked twice. "Our kids tried hard and played hard," said Pruett. "We had an opportunity to win at the end of the game, but we did not make the play. I thought it was a great game between two very good offensive football teams."
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