Miller Moss throws for 2 TDs, Louisville holds off Toledo 27-22 in Boca Raton Bowl

BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) Miller Moss took a knee to run out the clock on Louisville Cardinals’s season, then flipped the ball to an official.

The official had the presence of mind to flip it right back to Moss. After all, he earned the souvenir.

Moss closed his college career by throwing for 153 yards and two touchdowns, Isaac Brown ran for a pair of scores - including a 53-yarder in the final minutes - and Louisville topped Toledo Rockets 27-22 in the Boca Raton Bowl on Tuesday.

“Really happy for this group of guys that we were able to finish the season off the way that we did,” Moss said. “On to the next journey, but I’m really grateful for this chapter in my life.”

Keyjuan Brown rushed for 112 yards, Treyshun Hurry and Antonio Meeks had touchdown catches and Moss completed 16 of 24 passes for the Cardinals (9-4), who survived a wild fourth quarter to finish their season with back-to-back wins.

Toledo (8-5) got three points from its first eight possessions, then scored 17 points in three possessions in the fourth - nearly rallying from an 18-point deficit. Avery Smith ran a blocked extra point back for 2 points with 5:03 left, and Chip Trayanum scored on a 3-yard run on the ensuing possession to get the Rockets within 27-22.

“It’s been like that for us all year,” Moss said. “We’ve been in dogfights all year."

Kalieb Osborne completed 17 of 28 passes for 167 yards and a touchdown for Toledo, which played under an interim coach, Robert Weiner, after Jason Candle departed for UConn earlier this month.

The Toledo comeback bid started in the fourth. Jacob Peterson caught a 26-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-11; he made the catch around the Louisville 5 and took three defenders with him into the end zone with 10:42 left. The 2-point conversion got Toledo within 21-11.

A 50-yard field goal by Robert Hammond III got the Rockets within 21-14, but Louisville kept the lead the rest of the way.

“Proud of our team,” Louisville coach Jeff Brohm said. “We finished strong. We didn’t play perfect, but we played hard, we played tough, we played to the end.”

Osborne got his first start, with regular starter Tucker Gleason - who played for Weiner at Plant High School in Tampa - out with a pair of fractures in his back.

Gleason was with the Rockets as an assistant coach of sorts for the bowl trip.

“Any chance I can get to come to Florida, I'm going to come to Florida,” Gleason said. “I've been in college for six years. I feel like I've got so much knowledge that if I wasn't at least going to try to pass down that knowledge to some of the younger guys in the room not only am I doing myself a disservice but I'm doing them a disservice.”

Louisville: The game had extra significance for the Cardinals. Florida Atlantic's home stadium exists largely because Howard Schnellenberger - who resurrected the Miami program when he took over as coach 1979 and later coached at Louisville for 10 seasons - wanted it built. Schnellenberger was FAU's initial coach and the field is named in his honor.

Toledo: Here’s an odd one: A pass 13 yards downfield became a 3-yard loss. Osborne threw a pass from the Louisville 23 to the 10, intended for Kenji Christian - but it was deflected and sailed back beyond the line of scrimmage. Toledo offensive lineman Cole Rhett caught the ball and advanced it about 3 yards before he was stopped 3 yards behind the line of scrimmage.

Louisville: The Cardinals' 2026 opener is set for Sept. 5 or 6 against Mississippi, at the Tennessee Titans' stadium in Nashville.

Toledo: The Rockets are set to open next season at Michigan State in the debut for new Toledo coach Mike Jacobs and new Spartans coach Pat Fitzgerald - the former Northwestern coach.

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