| DETROIT -- It's not certain whether University of Memphis quarterback Maurice Avery, whose emergency play at the position helped the Tigers to a third straight bowl, will get a shot in an NFL camp next spring. |
| But what was clear following the Tigers' 38-31 Motor City Bowl victory Monday at Ford Field in downtown Detroit was this: Motown was Mo's town for one important stretch of the game, allowing the UofM to overcome a sluggish start and defeat Akron, the Mid-American Conference champs. |
| Held to 46 yards in the first quarter, the Tigers finished with 516 yards, including 170 passing by Avery, whose completions to junior Ryan Scott jump-started the offense. |
| Avery, who was 1-of-8 passing for minus-3 yards in the regular-season finale -- a bowl-clinching win over Marshall -- was 7-of-13 for his 170 yards and had at least two passes dropped that would pushed him over 200 yards. |
| ''I've just got to give thanks to the team and coach (Tommy) West for believing in me,'' said Avery, who took over the position at midseason and led the Tigers to five wins in seven games. |
| Avery, who began the year at receiver, had moved into the position after season-ending injuries sidelined quarterbacks Patrick Byrne and Will Hudgens and freshman Billy Barefield had been moved to a reserve role after two starts. |
| Monday in Detroit, Avery and Scott ignited an offense that eventually got 233 rushing yards from game MVP DeAngelo Williams. |
| It was Scott's 50-yard reception late in the second quarter that led to the UofM's first touchdown, a 1-yard run by DeAngelo Williams for a 10-3 lead. Scott beat cornerback Reggie Corner on the play. |
| And on the UofM's following possession, it was Scott again. This time he hauled in a 48-yard pass from Avery at the Akron 25. Six plays later, kicker Stephen Gostkowski booted a 25-yard field goal with 18 seconds left in the half for a 13-3 lead. |
| ''They have some receivers who know how to go up and get the football,'' said Akron coach J.D. Brookhart of Scott, who used his height (6-4) to outjump the smaller Zip cornerbacks. |
| Scott said he knew someone needed to step up for an offense that had been ineffective and one that had also turned the ball over. |
| ''The coaches came to me and said I needed to make some things happen,'' Scott said. ''I'm glad I could. All I know is it feels good to win. I have three bowl rings in three seasons. And next year I'm looking to get a fourth.'' |
| West said he knew it was imperative that the Tigers have an effective passing game if they intended to beat the Zips, whose pass defense ranked second in the MAC and 18th nationally. |
| ''I talked all week about how we'd have to throw the ball in this game to win,'' West said. ''We knew that coming in. We figured we'd take anywhere between five and eight shots deep and we'd have to hit on a least a few of them. |
| ''Mo did a nice job throwing the ball and Ryan did a nice job catching it. Without them we don't win this game.'' |
| -- Phil Stukenborg: 529-2543 |