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December 27, 2005
(The Detroit News)

Joanne C. Gerstner / The Detroit News

DETROIT-- His emotions were never far from the surface, and Memphis senior tailback DeAngelo Williams couldn't rein them in anymore.

He cried on the bus ride to Monday's Motor City Bowl, getting some consolation from senior quarterback Maurice Avery -- his roommate and best friend.

Williams cried after the game at Ford Field, while trying to verbalize what his Tigers teammates and friends meant to him.

These were tears of joy mixed with sadness, because Williams knows a chapter of his life is closed. He is no longer a college player.

"I can't explain it, of all the accolades I've gotten, it's the relationships and friendships I've made on this team …" Williams said, before the tears got to him again. "…They're my blood brothers."

Avery looked over at his friend and laughed.

"He's crying again?" Avery said, smiling and shaking his head.

But Avery, too, was emotional.

The best friends wanted to conclude their collegiate careers with a Motor City Bowl victory and good individual performances.

All of the above was achieved:
# Memphis beat Akron 38-31.
# Williams rushed for 233 yards and three touchdowns.
# Avery passed for 170 yards.
Williams also was named the Motor City Bowl's MVP.

"You can't understand everything we've been through together, but that's what makes us so close," Avery said. "I'm a little different than DeAngelo, in that I'm not sad right now, I'm happy about this. I'm so proud of everything that's happened. It's like a dream, the best way to go out."

But Avery is prepared to dry a few more of the emotional Williams' tears.

"Oh man, I know he's going to go back into the locker room and cry again, and probably on the bus," Avery said. "That's how he is. But that's cool."

Fear the 'Roo

Akron coach J.D. Brookhart predicted it would be a Zips love-in the Motor City Bowl.

And he was right. The majority of the fans who turned out were Zips fans, many of whom made the drive from the Akron area.

The Motor City Bowl represents Akron's first postseason appearance since the 1985 Division I-AA playoffs.

The university chartered 13 buses to bring fans to Detroit for the game. Add to that another 20 buses carrying bowl-happy students. The Akron fan total at Ford Field was estimated to be around 15,000 -- which was just about the total home attendance of the 2004 season.

"You could feel how excited they are on campus about what this team has accomplished and the Motor City Bowl," Brookhart said. "This is a huge deal for us. This shows how much the community cares about the team. We love it."

Akron apparel has been a hot seller at the campus bookstore since the team won the Mid-American Conference championship game last month.

The fans at the game brought funny signs, such as "Fear the 'Roo!", "Detroit Roo City", "Zips: Built Roo Tough", all take-offs on Zippy the kangaroo mascot.

Dave Reid, a sophomore at Akron, came with his friends on a holiday trip to see the game.

"This isn't like for the national championship or anything, but this is our trip to a bowl," said Reid, who came bearing a big, plastic blue "Z" to hold up. "I wouldn't miss this for anything."

The records department

The Motor City Bowl record keepers were kept busy, thanks to impressive offensive outputs by both teams:
# Williams went over the 100-yard mark midway in the third quarter. It was the 34th time in his career he's had a 100-yard-plus game, setting an NCAA record. The old record was held by Tony Dorsettand Archie Griffin.
# Akron quarterback Luke Getsy threw for 455 yards passing on 59 attempts, both Motor City Bowl and school records.
# Akron receiver Jabari Arthur had 180 yards receiving, a Motor City record.
# Memphis kicker Stephen Gostkowski made a Motor City Bowl-record 50-yard field goal in the fourth quarter, the third time this season he's been successful from that distance.
# There were 50,616 tickets sold, the third-best in the event's nine years. Actual attendance was 45,801.

They said it…

"I didn't want to be the football coach who got the Gatorade shower but lost the game."

-- Tommy West, Memphis coach.

West was given the traditional sports drink shower with about two minutes to play. Then Akron made a 14-point comeback.

Quick hit

A few "Fire (Matt) Millen" signs were spotted in the Akron fan section. The fans were allowed to keep the signs without interference from Ford Field security.

The "Fire Millen" chant started in the waning minutes of the second quarter and near the end of the game.

You can reach Joanne C. Gerstner at joanne.gerstner@detnews.com or (313) 223-4644.

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