BY PERRY A. FARRELL
FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER |
| DeAngelo Williams and his roommate put a damper on Akron's first bowl game. |
| Quarterback Maurice Avery sparked the University of Memphis offense early and Williams took over in the second half as the Tigers raced to a 38-31 victory Monday in the Motor City Bowl at Ford Field. |
| Williams, the game's MVP, became just the fourth running back in NCAA history to go over 6,000 yards for his career (6,021) with 233 yards on 30 carries against the Zips. |
| He was just short of the Motor City record of 237 by Northwestern's Jason Wright in 2003. Williams' three touchdowns tied the bowl record. |
| The senior tailback set an NCAA record of 34 games of 100 yards or more rushing. He entered the bowl game tied at 33 with Heisman Trophy winners Archie Griffin and Tony Dorsett. |
| "I'm not really a statistics guy, but when you mention those names, it puts it in perspective," said Williams, who put his head down and cried during the postgame news conference. |
| "The thing I'll remember most is the relationships and friendships I've built here. People asked me was it hard being away from home this holiday weekend. It didn't feel like I was away from my family because I was with my brothers, my extended family." |
| Memphis used the long ball to keep the Zips defense off-balance before a crowd of 45,801. But the Tigers (7-5) did receive a scare in the fourth quarter when Akron scored 21 points. |
| The Zips recovered an onside kick and scored 51 seconds later to cap their scoring. And during the Memphis' next drive, Akron players howled in protest when Avery appeared to fumble a snap from center while trying to kneel down. |
| "The referee said that we touched the ball before the center hiked it, so I'm sure the replay showed that," said Akron coach J.D. Brookhart, whose team finished 7-6. "We had a lot of missed opportunities in the first half. We didn't play the way we wanted to play, but you have to give them credit for some of that. Williams is a great runner and he's fast. He does a tremendous job of taking away angles. He burned us." |
| Said Memphis coach Tommy West: "I didn't want to be the first guy to have Gatorade poured on him and lose the game. That would've been a SportsCenter moment. Our special teams and kicking were great in the first half. Our offense was out of sync, but we got it going in the second half." |
| With his deep passes, Avery, who started the season as a wide receiver and took over at quarterback because of injuries, helped stake the Tigers to a 13-3 lead at halftime. |
| Avery completed five of nine passes in the first half for 143 yards and finished seven of 13 for 170 yards. His favorite target was Ryan Scott, who caught three for 103 yards with a long of 50 yards. |
| "I don't think we win without Maurice being able to throw the ball," Williams said. "He was our MVP." |
| Avery's effort helped offset a record day for Akron's Luke Getsy, who completed 34 of 59 passes for 455 yards and four touchdowns. The 59 attempts and 455 yards were Motor City Bowl records. |
| "We just tried to take what they gave us," Getsy said. "Jabari (Arthur) did a good job of using his height to get open." |
| Memphis bottled up Akron in the first half, holding the Zips to 148 yards on 40 plays. The Tigers kept Akron out of the end zone while Getsy scrambled for his life throughout the game. |
| Meanwhile, Akron's inability to control Memphis' passing game plagued the Zips in the second half. |
| Two pass interference penalties helped set up the Tigers with a first-and-goal at Akron's two. Williams raced through a hole on the right side with 3:02 left to put Memphis ahead, 20-3. |
| Akron got to within 10 in the third after Getsy delivered a 46-yard strike to Arthur with 46 seconds left. |
| Memphis place-kicker Stephen Gostkowski booted a Motor City Bowl record 50-yard field goal with 12:04 to play, putting the Tigers ahead, 23-10. |
| The blitzing Tigers eventually paid for their all-out rushes on Getsy when he spotted tailback Brett Biggs in the middle of the field for a 72-yard touchdown with 11:03 to play, trimming the Tigers lead to 23-17. |
| Undaunted, Williams responded in two plays, bursting off the right side for 67 yards and going the final two on the next play for his third touchdown of the game. Avery ran for the two-point conversion with 10:41 left in the game, giving the Tigers a 31-17 lead. |
| "You want to know the truth about that play?" Williams said. "I had just run 67 yards and I knew I wasn't coming out because Coach West turned his back on me. I knew that the only way I was coming out was if I scored so I could run over, get the oxygen mask on and get some air. That's what I was thinking about." |
| Contact PERRY A. FARRELL at 313-222-2555 or pafarrell@freepress.com |