CUSA-fans.com Bowl Reviews - Motor City Bowl

Memphis 38 - Akron 31

Memphis capped off a injury-plagued season with a bowl win over Akron in the Motor City Bowl.

There were many story lines for this game including:

• The Memphis Tigers making a bowl game after playing with a WR playing QB, due to injuries.
• The Akron program who snuck in the MAC Championship game and then stole the championship game away from NIU on a last second TD pass.

Then there was the story of DeAngelo Williams, who was quietly breaking rushing records all season.

But after Williams performance in the MCB, the nation now knows what Memphis knew all along. DeAngelo Williams
is the best RB in the nation this side of Reggie Bush.

Memphis rode their horse in the bowl game just as they did all season. And boy did their stud show his stuff.
Williams looked like a man amongst boys on the field in rushing for 238 yards on 31 carries and 3 scores.

But what about the Akron Zips? They almost did what they did in their MACC game in making a late comeback.
Zip QB Luke Getsy showed that he can play some ball himself in throwing for 455 yards and 4 TDs to make things interesting. Make no mistake about it, Akron is for real.

But the day belonged to DeAngelo Williams as he led his Tiger team to victory in his last game.

NEWSFLASH: DeAngelo Williams is a certified NFL 1st round draft pick.

Using the front door in 2006: Akron came through the back door to win the East division and then beat NIU to be MAC champs. In 2006, look for Akron to be using the front door.

Biggest two offseason questions for Memphis:
#1 - Who replaces Williams 2006?
#2 - Who is playing QB 2006?

Prediction: Akron's coach will be gone either this season or after next season. Why? Because it won't be long for a big time program to be in need of a coach who can win with limited resources, such as a program in the MAC.

By Danny Johnson, CUSA-fans Staff Writer