Jason Candle's head-coaching debut was a success Tuesday, when Toledo upset No. 24 Temple, 32-17, in the Marmot Boca Raton Bowl at FAU Stadium.
Candle, who was promoted from offensive coordinator Dec. 2 after Matt Campbell left for Iowa State, watched the Mid-American Conference's No. 1 scoring defense take control of the contest, intercepting P.J. Walker once and holding the Owls without a touchdown for the game's first 57 minutes.
Temple's late touchdown and two-point conversion made it an eight-point game, and the Owls appeared to recover an onside kick, but after a lengthy period of indecision, officials declared that Toledo had possession. The Rockets added a touchdown on the ensuing drive to account for the final score.
Here's how everything else went down in South Florida:
What the win means for Toledo: The Rockets closed their season on a high note, beating their second ranked team of the year to finish 10-2, the program's first 10-win campaign since 2001. They had gone 9-4 in three of the previous four seasons. This was a terrific way to usher in the Candle era. The offense was efficient, and the defense kept Temple in check, holding the Owls to 335 yards of total offense and recording a safety. Toledo was one of the nation's top Group of 5 teams all season long, and it looked the part again in its 2015 finale.
What the loss means for Temple: There is no minimizing this season for Temple. The Owls made their fifth bowl game, beat Penn State for the first time since 1941, hosted College GameDay, and matched a program high with 10 wins. But the Owls again failed to generate much offense Tuesday and dropped their second straight game to end the season, after losing at Houston in the American Athletic Conference title game. Third-year coach Matt Rhule did wonders this season, earning a raise and extension in the process, but he probably won't be too pleased with his team's 3-4 finish after it started the season 7-0.
Player of the game: Phillip Ely closed his college career in style. Ely, a former Alabama quarterback, completed 20 of 28 passes for 285 yards and two touchdowns with no turnovers. It was a stellar end for Ely, a redshirt senior who bided his time on the scout team in 2013 after transferring only to see his 2014 season end two games in because of an injury. He connected with Cody Thompson four times for 119 yards and a touchdown, an 80-yarder early in the fourth quarter that made it a two-posssession game.
Play of the game: On a third-and-3 play with 12:16 to go in the second quarter, Ely hit Corey Jones on the right side just beyond the first-down marker. But Jones wasn't done. He spun out of the grasp of several defenders and dragged one more, breaking five tackles in all, to march into the end zone for the game's first touchdown, a 26-yard completion. After the extra point, Toledo went up 9-3, a lead it would never relinquish.