| MOTOR
CITY BOWL
Monday, December 26th 4:00 PM ET - Ford Field
- Detroit, MI
Akron Zips vs.
Memphis Tigers
Akron is in the postseason
in 2005 after missing out last season despite
being the only team that finished with an
above .500 record and wasn't invited. The
Zips would not have made it this season without
winning the MAC Championship which they did
in dramatic fashion over Northern Illinois.
Akron closed the season with three straight
wins and it was the offense that got the job
done against the Huskies and not the defense
that carried it throughout the season.
Memphis was left for dead after
losing its top two quarterbacks early in the
season but the Tigers never quit and two wins
in their final two games got them bowl eligible.
Memphis has one of the best running backs
in the country in DeAngelo Williams and it
was that running game that was the focal point
of the offense. The Tigers defense is a below
average unit but it's a bend-don't-break defense
that allows yards but not many points. Three
of the Tigers five losses were by six points
or less.
The Zips closed the season
with a bad performance on defense against
Northern Illinois but they still finished
22nd in the country in total defense and 38th
in scoring defense. Akron was much better
at defending the pass but that won't come
into play as it expects to see Memphis run
the ball around 70 percent of the time. That
could be a problem seeing that the Zips allowed
a season high 250 yards on the ground against
Northern Illinois in the MAC Championship
and allowed at least 186 yards in half of
their games.
The Tigers were 4th in the
country in rushing, averaging 260.8 ypg and
5.3 ypc led by Williams who averaged 172.6
ypg and 6.2 ypc. They were held to fewer than
200 yards in only two games on the year. Memphis
did not throw often as it finished 112th in
passing offense and finished with only nine
touchdowns while throwing seven interceptions.
The Tigers averaged 26.2 ppg on the season
but a lot of that came in the first half of
the season as they did not score more than
27 points in their final five games.
Akron was carried by its defense
as the offense averaged only 20.3 ppg in its
first nine games but then exploded for 31
ppg in its final three contests. That scoring
momentum needs to carry over. The Zips were
66th in total offense but only 83rd in scoring
offense and that is in part to a poor rushing
game that finished 97th in the country with
113 ypg and 3.4 ypc. They were able to throw
for a lot of yards but they weren't very efficient,
finishing 82nd in passing efficiency, completing
only 51.1 percent of its passes.
They might be able be ok against
the Tigers however as they were 83rd in passing
efficiency defense. They also gave up a ton
of yards, allowing 263.9 ypg through the air
which was 102nd in the country. The defense
played its best game of the season in the
finale against Marshall as they held the Herd
to just 154 total yards after allowing 454.9
ypg in their previous seven games. Marshall
was the only 1-A team to not throw for over
200 yards on Memphis.
Both teams ended the
season with three consecutive covers and it
was Akron who ended the season going 5-1 ATS
as underdogs. Ford Field is also beneficial
for the Zips who went 5-2 ATS on the fake
stuff including a win at Ford in their last
game. Memphis was only 1-3 ATS when laying
points with all three of those games coming
at home. Akron ended the year going on a 7-2
under run while Memphis went 5-1 under in
its final six games. Combined, they went 5-0
under with a total of 48 or less.
MOTOR CITY BOWL
Detroit, Michigan
December 26, 2005, at 5:30 p.m. ET ESPN
Ford Field: 65,000
Memphis (6-5) vs. Akron (7-5)
|
Matt Fargo is a documented member of The Professional
Handicappers League.
Read more of his articles and get his premium
plays here. |
