2004 Motor City Bowl The 2004 Motor City Bowl , part of the 2004 – 05 NCAA football bowl games season , occurred on December 27 , 2004 at Ford Field in Detroit , Michigan . Team selection . The Toledo Rockets entered the game as the champions of the Mid - American Conference as they defeated Miami University on December 2 , 2004 in the MAC Championship Game by a score of 35 – 27 . This was Toledo ' s third trip to the bowl . They also appeared in 2001 and 2002 . The Connecticut Huskies qualified for their first ever bowl appearance by finishing 7 – 4 and had a Big East Conference record of 3 – 3 . Connecticut was invited to the game when the Big Ten could not provide a qualifying team . Game summary . The announced attendance of 52 , 552 was , at the time , a record crowd for the Motor City Bowl . It has since been surpassed by both the 2006 and 2007 games . First quarter . Larry Taylor received the opening kickoff for UConn at the eight - yard line and returned the ball 34 yards to the Connecticut 42 - yard line . Behind the passing of quarterback Dan Orlovsky and the running of Cornell Brockington , the Huskies moved down the field , earning three first downs . The drive stalled at the Toledo 17 - yard line ; Matt Nuzie came on to successfully kick a 35 - yard field goal . UConn took an early 3 – 0 lead , with 11 : 55 left in the first quarter . Toledo received the ensuing kickoff , but lost yardage on the return and had to start their opening drive from their own eight - yard line . On their first offensive play they promptly earned their first first down of the game , on a 12 - yard pass from quarterback Bruce Gradkowski to wide receiver Kenny Higgins . After being stopped for no gain on the next play , running back Trinity Dawson uncorked a 22 - yard run on second down to earn Toledo ' s second first down of the drive . The Rockets were unable to progress further , however , and punted the ball to the Huskies , who likewise were unable to advance . Toledo received the Connecticut punt but could not earn a first down on three plays . On 4th - and - 4 on their own 45 - yard line , the Rockets faked the punt attempt and attempted to earn a first down , but fumbled the ball ; Connecticut ' s Tyler King recovered . The Huskies made Toledo pay for their mistake . After three plays earned only four yards , UConn went for it on fourth down . Dan Orlovsky connected with wide receiver Jason Williams for 32 yards and a touchdown . After Nuzie kicked the extra - point , the Connecticut lead was extended to 10 – 0 , with 4 : 36 left in the first quarter . The Rockets started their next drive from their own 27 - yard line . Two plays netted Toledo five yards , which were promptly lost on a penalty , setting up a 3rd - and - 10 . Gradkowski ' s pass was incomplete , forcing the Rockets to punt . Toledo ' s punt was caught by UConn ' s Larry Taylor , who ran down the right sideline 68 yards , all the way for a touchdown . After the extra point , the Huskies now had a 17 – 0 lead . UConn ' s 17 points were a Motor City Bowl - record for most points scored in a first quarter . The Rockets got the ball back on their own 31 - yard line , and moved down the field on runs by Trinity Dawson , aided by a 15 - yard penalty on the Huskies on third down . Dawson ' s 11 - yard run up the middle on 2nd - and - 6 set up a 1st - and - 10 on the UConn 28 - yard line as the first quarter clock expired . At the end of the first quarter , Connecticut held a 17 – 0 lead . Second quarter . Toledo continued their drive down the field as the second quarter began . Twice UConn had a chance to stop the Rockets , forcing them into second - or third - and - long scenarios . Twice Toledo converted the first down , the first time on a 14 - yard run by Trinity Dawson , the second time on a 16 - yard pass from Gradkowski to tight end Chris Holmes , setting up a 1st - and - goal on the Connecticut 4 . On first down Dawson gained three yards ; on second down Gradkowski kept the ball himself but was stopped for no gain . Gradkowski tried again on third down , and this time punched the ball in for the touchdown . After the extra point , the Rockets now trailed the Huskies , 17 – 7 . Connecticut promptly responded on their next drive . They began in Toledo territory , after a 54 - yard kickoff return by Larry Taylor . After two Cornell Brockington runs and a five - yard penalty against the Huskies set up 3rd - and - 2 , Orlovsky connected with wide receiver Jason Williams for four yards and the first down . After another Brockington run , Orlovsky and Williams would connect again for a first down , this time gaining five yards . On the next play Orlovsky completed a pass to Brandon LcLean for 11 yards and another first down , moving the ball to the Toledo 7 - yard line . After one incompletion , Orlovsky threw over the middle to Brian Sparks , scoring the touchdown . The extra point was good ; Connecticut now held a 24 – 7 lead over Toledo . The Rockets started their next drive from their own 22 - yard line . Gradkowski connected with Chris Holmes for 15 yards and a first down , but after that the drive stalled after a sack and a penalty drove Toledo back to their own 29 - yard line and set up 3rd - and - 15 . Trinity Dawson ' s 10 - yard run still left the Rockets five yards short of the first down ; Toledo punted . Connecticut took over on their own 26 - yard line and used a variety of players to move down the field ; fullback Deon Anderson and wide receiver Jason Williams carried for three and 16 yards respectively to move the Huskies to midfield . On 3rd - and - 5 from the 50 - yard line , Orlovsky connected with wide receiver Matt Cutaia for six yards and the first down . After a seven - yard run by running back Chris Bellamy and a fifteen yard penalty on the Rockets moved the ball to the Toledo 22 - yard line , UConn found themselves unable to advance further . A 37 - yard field goal by Matt Nuzie gave the Huskies three more points ; their lead was now 27 – 7 over the Rockets with less than two minutes left in the half . Toledo started their next drive from their own 20 - yard line , but went three - and - out after two incomplete passes by Gradkowski and a five - yard run by Dawson , well - short of the required ten yards . After the punt UConn took over on their own 40 - yard line with just over a minute left in the half . Orlovsky completed a pass to Keron Henry for eight yards on first down ; after an incompletion , Brockington ran up the middle for four yards and the first down , moving the ball into Toledo territory . On the next play , Orlovsky completed a long 41 - yard pass to Matt Cutaia to the Toledo seven - yard line . Orlovsky threw incomplete on the next play ; as time was running out , Connecticut elected to kick the field goal rather than risk not scoring any points . Matt Nuzie ' s 25 - yard attempt was good as the halftime clock expired . With one half complete , the Huskies now held a 30 – 7 lead in a game that was rapidly becoming a blowout . Third quarter . Toledo took possession of the ball at the 35 - yard line as the third quarter began . New quarterback Marques Council , who replaced the injured Bruce Gradkowski at halftime , led the Rockets down the field , running for 13 yards and a first down and then completing a 29 - yard pass to Lance Moore for another first down . Toledo had a 1st - and - goal at the Connecticut 6 , but after two rushing plays were stopped for a loss , and an incomplete pass , the Rockets were forced to settle for a 27 - yard field goal . The UConn lead was cut to 30 – 10 just three minutes into the third quarter . Connecticut went three - and - out on the ensuing possession , punting the ball back to Toledo . Marques Council continued to give the Rockets new life , leading them to three first downs as they moved down the field into Connecticut territory . On 2nd - and - 8 from the UConn 22 , Council made his first mistake , throwing a pass over the middle that was intercepted by linebacker Alfred Fincher . The Huskies took advantage of the turnover to advance down the field on a mix of running plays by Cornell Brockington , Chris Bellamy , and Deon Anderson , and passes from Orlovsky to Keron Henry and Dan Murray . The drive advanced as far as the Toledo 20 - yard line , where Connecticut was stopped . Matt Nuzie was called on once again for the field goal ; he successfully kicked the 36 - yarder , giving him a Motor City Bowl - record four made field goals . The UConn lead was back to 23 points with less than two minutes left in the third quarter . Toledo started their next drive on their own 20 - yard line but went three - and - out ; their punt , downed by Connecticut at their own 42 - yard line , was the final play of the quarter . At the end of three quarters , the Huskies held a 33 – 10 lead over the Rockets . Fourth quarter . On the first play of the fourth quarter , Dan Orlovsky completed a 44 - yard pass to Keron Henry , moving the Huskies to the Toledo 14 - yard line . A loss of two on a run by Chris Bellamy and two incomplete passes halted the UConn drive ; Matt Nuzie was called on to attempt his fifth field goal of the game . This time , however , Nuzie missed the kick , a 34 - yard attempt , keeping the score 33 – 10 and giving possession back to the Rockets . Taking over on their own 16 - yard line , Toledo promptly earned two first downs on passes from Council to Lance Moore for 16 yards and to Chris Holmes for 11 , moving the Rockets to midfield . On 1st - and - 10 from the 50 - yard line , however , Council threw a pass that was intercepted by UConn ' s Justin Perkins . The Huskies got to the Toledo 39 - yard line on a pass from Orlovsky to Keron Henry , but after two incompletions Orlovsky threw an interception to Toledo ' s Nigel Morris . The Rockets took over with 11 : 13 left in the game , and led by Marques Council drove down the field as far as the Connecticut 28 - yard line . A sack , incomplete pass , and completion from Council to Trinity Dawson for five yards set up a 4th - and - 7 from the UConn 25 - yard line . The Rockets elected to go for the first down , but Council was sacked , causing Toledo to turn the ball back over on downs . After a three - and - out and punt by the Huskies , the Rockets got the ball back on their own 34 - yard line . Council was sacked again , this time for a loss of 16 yards , and on the next play fumbled . Fortunately for him he recovered his own fumble , but the Rockets were unable to get close to first - down yardage and were forced to punt . With 3 : 17 left in the game , UConn elected to keep the ball on the ground . On 2nd - and - 10 from the Toledo 45 - yard line , Chris Bellamy ran left for 32 yards . Three plays later , on 3rd - and - 8 from the Rocket 11 - yard line , Connecticut running back Matt Lawrence ran by the middle for the final touchdown of the game . The extra point was blocked by Toledo ; after one complete pass from Council to Quinton Broussard for eleven yards and a first down , two incomplete passes , and a sack , the game was over . UConn won the game 39 – 10 . Final statistics . Dan Orlovsky was named the game ' s MVP by completing 21 of his 40 passes for 239 yards and 2 touchdowns . Tyler King , playing in his first game since breaking his leg in the Huskies 29 – 17 win over Pittsburgh on September 30 , was awarded the United Auto Workers Lineman of the Game Award . Aftermath . In the late summer of 2007 , ESPN reported that the Toledo football team , and specifically running back Harvey " Scooter " McDougle and quarterback Bruce Gradkowski , were under federal investigation for a point shaving scandal . The 2004 Motor City Bowl was one of the games in question .