The game took six overtime periods to decide, setting the record for the most overtime periods in a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) bowl game, a record that had previously been set just two days prior when the 2024 Hawaii Bowl took five overtimes to decide.[5] Lasting for four hours and thirty-nine minutes, it is the longest bowl game this season.
Based on conference tie-ins, the game was expected to feature teams from the Big Ten Conference and the Mid-American Conference (MAC). There was no Big Ten team available to play so it became an at-large bid and that let an Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) team participate in the game. This was the fourth time Pittsburgh and Toledo faced each other. In their prior meetings, all during regular-season play, Pittsburgh won in 2002 and 2006, while Toledo won in 2003.[6]
Pittsburgh entered the game with a 7–5 record (3–5 in the ACC), having finished in 10th place in their conference. After winning their first seven games and being ranked as high as 18th, the Panthers finished their regular season with five consecutive losses. This was the Panthers' second appearance in a GameAbove Sports Bowl, the prior being a victory in the 2019 Quick Lane Bowl when the bowl was played under a different name. They also made one appearance in the Detroit-based defunct Little Caesars Pizza Bowl, winning the 2013 edition.
Toledo entered the game with a 7–5 record (4–4 in the MAC), having finished in seventh place in their conference. The Rockets started their regular season with three consecutive wins, went 4–3 in their middle seven games, then finished with back-to-back losses. This was Toledo's first GameAbove Sports Bowl. They played in four editions of the defunct Little Caesars Pizza Bowl (three when it was known as the Motor City Bowl), posting a 1–3 record.
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