PONTIAC, Mich. — Everybody hugged Ray Jackson. Teammates, coaches, a trainer. They slapped his hand, then bumped their shoulders with his, the football player's universal sign of mutual respect.

UC coach Rick Minter congratulates Toledo coach Tom Amstutz. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

        Gino Guidugli, the freshman quarterback, leaned over and spoke into his senior running back's ear. It wasn't the ending either had planned. But you can't script these things.

        “You'll always be my big brother” is what Guidugli said.

        “That's going to stick with me the rest of my life” was how Jackson felt about that.

        Toledo beat UC 23-16 after Guidugli's pass to Jackson with 56 seconds to play didn't work. It was a fourth-down throw from the Toledo 5-yard line. Jackson had it, then he didn't.

        His hands clutched the ball; when his arms tried to cradle it, the ball hit the shoulder pad of Toledo free safety Andy Boyd. Or maybe the ball hit Boyd's hand. In the end zone craziness, Jackson didn't know. Not that it mattered.

        “It would have been a great catch,” someone said to Jackson.

        “Great players make great plays,” he said.

Last one got away

        And that's how it goes. Ray Jackson's life in the real world began 56 seconds before he'd have liked it to. He played two years at UC after two at Michigan, ran for 1,495 yards and scored 14 touchdowns. Human nature being what it is, though, he'll remember the one he missed.

        “My senior year. My last game,” he said. “Maybe my last play. I should have made it.”

        To which Guidugli replied, “You can't blame the guy for missing one great play after so many he's made.”

        You'd guess Guidugli would say that. Big brother taught him well. “He was the first guy to make me feel comfortable” at UC, Guidugli said.

        Jackson met him early last summer. He made it a point to show Guidugli around, take him to eat, tell him to study. Guidugli might have been a local kid. He might have arrived in Clifton on a magic carpet of hype. But he was still a freshman. He needed to know some things.

        “Stay focused. Stay on your books,” Jackson told him, right away. Jackson the senior understood Guidugli's physical gifts; he wanted to make sure his head kept pace. And so he did.

        “He took care of me,” Guidugli said. “He led me in the right direction, gave me confidence when I needed it.”
       

Nearly "storybook'

        And just look how it's turning out. Guidugli completed 12 of 14 passes on UC's last two drives Saturday. He took the Bearcats to the edge of a win, right to the brink, until the “double out” pass bumped from Ray Jackson's grasp.

        That TD toss might have cemented Guidugli's local legend almost before it began. UC football has been searching for this guy for years, ever since Sid Gillman and Greg Cook, someone to turn the local apathy on its so-what ear. Maybe they've found him.

        If so, part of who Guidugli is belongs to his big brother. Jackson will be going now. He's a criminal justice major who'll graduate in the spring. Jackson will be fine.

        But what an ending it would have been. “Storybook,” someone said to Jackson. Fairy tale. Little brother hits big brother with a game-tying TD pass. It would have been perfect.

        “Yes,” Jackson agreed. “It would have. It would have.”

        E-mail: pdaugherty@enquirer.com. Past columns at Enquirer.com/columns/daugherty.

UC can't pull out bowl victory DAUGHERTY: Guidugli, Jackson will cherish 'brotherhood' Defense worn down by Toledo star Toledo's Taylor lives up to hype UC 73, Akron 57 Logan has another rough homecoming Undefeated UC women put on show for poll voters

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