Toledo Wins Mid-American Title

A broken hand and separated shoulder were not enough to stop Bruce Gradkowski from lifting Toledo to the Mid-American Conference championship Thursday night at Detroit.

Gradkowski threw three of his four touchdown passes to Lance Moore, leading the Rockets to a 35-27 victory over Miami, Ohio.

When Gradkowski hurt his shoulder on the first drive, he missed only one play. He injured his throwing hand late in the second quarter, and X-rays taken at halftime showed his hand was broken.

“There was no way I wasn’t coming back,” said Gradkowski, who completed 18 of 24 passes for 251 yards. “Nothing was going to keep me out of this game.”

Toledo (9-3) will return to Detroit to play Connecticut in the Motor City Bowl on Dec. 27.

The RedHawks (8-4) will play in either the Silicon Valley Classic or the Independence Bowl.

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Tennessee Coach Phillip Fulmer said he was investigating allegations that several players were involved in a bar brawl early Wednesday but that no players would be suspended before Saturday’s Southeastern Conference championship game against Auburn.

The Nashville Tennessean reported that Tennessee student Melvin Ellis had filed a complaint with the Knoxville police, saying he was punched in the face and bloodied by reserve linebacker Daniel Brooks. Ellis told the paper that as many as 20 players were at the club, but not all were involved in the fracas.

Fulmer also announced that quarterback Brent Schaeffer (broken collarbone) has been ruled out of Saturday’s game. Junior Rick Clausen will start.

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University of Colorado officials told the Rocky Mountain News that they plan to notify the NCAA of apparent infractions involving a group of boosters that paid at least $1,000 to each of 15 assistant coaches and athletic department staff members six years ago.... East Carolina has scheduled a news conference for today to announce the hiring of former South Carolina assistant Skip Holtz to replace John Thompson as coach. Holtz is the son of Lou Holtz, who retired last week at South Carolina, and was quarterbacks coach on his father’s staff.... Utah defensive coordinator Kyle Whittingham said he has been contacted by Brigham Young officials about the Cougars’ opening, created Wednesday with the resignation of Gary Crowton.