TOLEDO, Ohio - The Toledo Rockets lost their chance at an upset over No. 21 Miami, falling, 49-24, before a sellout crowd of 28,111 in the Glass Bowl.
But UT locked in on their quarterback of the present and the future in Hudson High product Mitchell Guadagni, one of many unproven sophomores and juniors on offense for the Rockets.
"I didn't know what to expect,'' Toledo head coach Jason Candle said of his offense. "But I thought '6' was ready to roll today,'' he said of Guadagni. "A lot of growth in his perspective."
It was baptism by fire for the junior QB. The 6-2, 210-pound Guadagni was making his second career start for the Rockets, going against both a fast and physical Miami (2-1) defense.
Understand, Guadagni is replacing Logan Woodside, who led Toledo to the 2017 Mid-American Conference title and was also named MVP of the league. The shoes were big to be filled.
He finished with 47 yards rushing and 222 yards passing with two touchdowns.
"I take some good things away from this game,'' the quarterback said. "We can play with the best of the best. I'm ready to get back out there."
Guadagni survived a tough first half, ending it with the Rockets (1-1) in a 21-7 hole. But Guadagni, with help from tailback Shakif Seymour (Parma Holy Name) gave the Rockets a spark at the end of the period, ultimately making it a game through three quarters.
Guadagni engineered an eight-play, 65-yard drive ending with a seven-yard tipped TD pass to receiver Diontae Johnson, giving the Rockets life going into the half.
On that drive Guadagni rushed for 15 yards and was 3-for-4 passing for 31 yards with the TD. Seymour, who struggled to find running room early, ran for 7, 8 and 4 yards in that drive to keep the Hurricanes honest defensively.
If Guadagni ever had any jitters, they were gone by the second half. After the Toledo defense held Miami on downs to start the second half, Guadagni engineered an 81-yard touchdown drive, ending with a five-yard run, cutting Miami's lead to 21-14.
The big play in that drive was a 34-yard pass play from Guadagni to Johnson. With more than 10-minutes still to play in the third-quarter, the packed Glass Bowl was humming for an upset.
Miami answered with a TD to take control again, 28-14, but Toledo had its answer as well. Guadagni solidified himself as UT's quarterback of the present and the future.
By the end of the third quarter he was already in the books with 58 yards rushing plus 222-yards passing with a pair of TD's, including a 40-yarder to Johnson.
Despite a fourth-quarter interception, allowing Miami to push its lead out to 49-24, it was clearly a successful baptism for Guadagni.
Toledo-Miami inked this series contract in 2011. This is when the now No. 21 Hurricanes were in a gridiron swoon. They finished 7-6 in 2010, 6-6 in 2011 and 7-5 in 2012 before fortunes began to change for the better again.