Tiffin University (11-1) trailed by 10 points at the half and could not catch Slippery Rock as the Dragons fell 45-35 in the second round of the NCAA Football playoffs.

A 10-point swing at the end of the second half gave the Rock a 24-14 halftime edge.

After a scoreless first quarter that saw the Dragons miss a 29-yard field goal attempt on their opening drive, Tiffin put together a 75-yard drive late in the quarter that resulted in a 1-yard TD run by Carson Gresock that gave TU a 7-0 lead.

That score opened the floodgates for both teams as they traded touchdowns over the next three possessions. SRU answered with a 49-yard touchdown run that tied the score 7-7.

TU came right back after a big 66-yard kick return by Ronald Blackman set the Dragons up in prime field position. A 20-yard reception by Will Linkhart set the Dragons up in the red zone, and Gresock punched it in from 1 yard out to make it 14-7, TU.

The Rock came back with their own special teams explosion as Kylon Wilson returned the kick 90 yards for a touchdown that tied the score 14-14.

Tiffin subsequently drove down to Slippery Rock's 16-yard line but could not convert on fourth down to end the drive. The Rock then drove downfield, capping an 84-yard drive with an 8-yard TD rush that put SRU up for the first time 21-14.

After a three-and-out by the TU offense, the Rock took advantage of the final 45 seconds of the half to move into position and kick a 21-yard field goal to make the halftime score 24-14.

The Dragons wanted to turn the momentum in their favor to start the second half but the Rock had other ideas, connecting on a 48-yard pass play on their first possession before hooking up with a 12-yard TD pass that pushed SRU's lead to 31-14 and put TU in a 17-point hole.

Tiffin had a chance to get more points late in the third quarter but a 34-yard field goal attempt went wide left.

Tiffin climbed to within 10 points early in the fourth quarter when Linkhart hauled in a 7 yard pass from Keegan Ray to make it 31-21 at the 12:33 mark, but SRU again responded with more points on its very next possession. A 48-yard run up the middle gave the Rock a score that again pushed their lead back to 17 points.

Tiffin refused to quit, taking their next possession and busting into the end zone on another Gresock 1-yard run that pulled TU to within 38-28 with 6:45 to play.

Tiffin could not stop SRU, as the Rock tacked on another score with 1:31 left to put the game away, eating up 5:00 at the end of the game to seal the victory.

The overall stats were very close for both teams. Tiffin outgained the Rock 489-458 with most of their yards coming through the air. Ray passed for 333 yards on 26 of 39 passing with 2 touchdowns and just one interception. Overall SRU held the rushing edge 219-156. 

Jalen Thomas led TU with 109 receiving yards on 7 catches, while Gresock led the Dragons with 66 yards rushing. Devin Nelson added 52 yards on the ground while Cole Schieder and Linkhart both had 54 yards receiving.

Zeke Brown, Barry Brown, and Ramond Jackson led the team with 7 tackles apiece. Chucky Lewis and Antonio O'Berry had 5 stops each. Jackson and Jesse Connell had sacks while O'Berry and Robert Holtz each had a half sack.