Memphis Motors Past Akron 38-31

Monday, December 26

Akron, OH

4:00 pm (ET)

University of Memphis

7-5 , 5-3

University of Akron

7-6 , 5-3

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Univ. of Memphis

Akron

Dec 26, 2005 | Football

Box Score

DETROIT, Mich. — It was the holiday season, and the Memphis Tiger football team gave its fans a Merry Christmas – even though it came a day later. Behind a DeAngelo Williams 238-yard rushing performance and three Stephen Gostkowski field goals, the Tigers posted their second postseason victory in three seasons with a 38-31 win over Akron in the 2005 Motor City Bowl. The game was played at Ford Field, the site of the NFL's 2006 Super Bowl in early February.

Williams, who was named the Motor City Bowl MVP, compiled his bowl record-setting 238 yards on 31 carries and scored three touchdowns. Gostkowski hit field goals of 32, 25 and 50 yards, and the 50-yard effort set a Motor City Bowl mark.

The way the game started gave no indication it would end up being a 38-31 shootout. The Memphis offense sputtered at the start, and the Tigers relied on their defense and punter Michael Gibson's foot. The Tiger defense allowed the Zips only three points, despite having two first-quarter drives deep in Memphis territory. Akron got the field goal on its second drive, but on the first trip across the 50 yard line, the Zips' series was halted at the Memphis 25 when Tim Goodwell and Rod Smith stopped Brett Biggs on 4th-and-1. Gibson played just as important a role in the first quarter with two long punts – 51 and 49 yards – that pinned Akron inside its own 10 yard line both times.

After watching the defense keep the Tigers in the game in the first quarter, the Memphis offense got on track in the second frame. Williams, who gained only 19 yards in the first quarter, picked it up on the Tigers' first scoring drive with 34 yards on the ground. Tiger quarterback Maurice Avery also found his groove in the second quarter, hitting Ernest Williams on a 42-yard strike to the Akron 23. Four plays later, Gostkowski connected on a 32-yard field goal to tie the contest at 3-all.

The Tigers kept it going. The defense held the Zips to three-and-out on their next series, and the Memphis offense continued to roll. On the first play of the ensuing drive, Avery found his target in Ryan Scott for a 50-yard gain to the Akron 2 yard line. Williams then pushed the ball across the goal line for the first Memphis lead of the game. After Gostkowski's PAT, the Tigers led 10-3.

With just over four minutes left before halftime, Akron got the ball with an opportunity to cut into the Tiger lead, but it didn't happen. The Tiger offense took over with 2:30 on the clock and took advantage of another scoring chance. After two rushes netted a minus-3 yards, Avery took back to the air and again hit Scott for a long gain – this time, 48 yards – to the Akron 27. From there, the Tigers moved the ball to the Zips 7, where Gostkowski hit his second field goal for a 13-3 Tiger halftime lead.

The early portion of the second half looked no different for the Akron offense. Stymied by the Tigers in the first half, the Zips were unable to get past their own 40 yard line on the first two possessions. Aided by two Akron defensive pass interference calls, the Tigers moved down to the Akron 2, where Williams scored his second touchdown for a 20-3 Memphis lead.
With only three minutes left in the third quarter and down 20-3, the Zips scored via the air on the ensuing drive. Zips quarterback Luke Getsy was 6-of-7 passing for 80 yards on the series that resulted in a 46-yard scoring strike to Jabari Arthur to cut the Tiger lead to 20-10.

The game moved into the fourth quarter, and the shootout began. Gostkowski got it started with a 50-yard field goal for a 23-10 Tiger lead. Akron responded with a quick three-play, 80-yard drive to cut the Memphis lead to 23-17. The big play was a Getsy-to-Biggs 72-yard scoring strike.

The Tigers then answered with their own big play in the form of Williams. With the Zips closing in and also gaining momentum, Memphis' All-America running back took a handoff and raced 67 yards to the Akron 2. On the next play, Williams scored his third touchdown. Avery added the two-point conversion for a 31-17 Memphis advantage. The Tigers added another score on an Ernest Williams 5-yard run to increase the lead to 38-17 with only 6:38 left.

However, the Zips did not quit. Akron scored two touchdowns in under six minutes to pull to within seven at 38-31 with only 50 seconds left. The Zips' first drive took nearly five minutes, and ended when Getsy hit Domenik Hixon from 14 yards out. The Akron special teams then executed a perfect on-side kick, and recovered the ball at midfield with 1:45 left. One minute later, Getsy connected with Arthur for a 19-yard touchdown pass to cut the Tiger lead to 38-31.

The Zips tried their magic one more time, but this time, the Tiger special teams recovered the on-side kick, and Memphis ran out the clock for the win.

Goodwell, who received the UAW Lineman Award, led the Tiger defense with 12 tackles, five TFLs and two sacks.