DETROIT — DeAngelo Williams displayed the speed NFL scouts came to see, bursting through holes up the middle and sprinting around the outside on sweeps.

The 5-foot-10, 217-pound running back also showed possible suitors he has some power.

Williams set an NCAA record with his 34th 100-yard rushing game and scored three touchdowns, leading Memphis to a 38-31 victory over Akron in the Motor City Bowl on Monday.

Williams ran for 233 yards on 30 carries and finished his career with 6,021 yards rushing — trailing only Ron Dayne, Ricky Williams and Tony Dorsett in Division I-A history — and an NCAA-record 7,568 all-purpose yards.

He sprinted for a 67-yard gain to set up his 2-yard, linemen-dragging TD for his third score, tying the Motor City Bowl record.

"That touchdown run was as good of a run as he had all day," Tigers coach Tommy West said.

Williams had such a spectacular game and Memphis had such a big lead that he was taken out of the game midway through the fourth quarter.

After the Tigers (7-5) took a 21-point lead with 3:09 left, they needed tight end John Doucette to recover an onside kick with 55 seconds left to seal the win after Luke Getsy threw his fourth touchdown pass to make it 38-31.

"I didn't want to be the only coach in the country to get a Gatorade bath — then lose the game," West said.

Akron (7-6) made a good showing in its first Division I-A bowl game.

"I'm proud of the legacy and foundation that the seniors started," Zips coach J.D Brookhart said.

Getsy was 34-for-59 for a Motor City Bowl-record 455 yards, and tied Chad Pennington's mark for passing touchdowns in the bowl's nine-year history.

"I would've rather won," Getsy said.

Memphis' Jabari Arthur broke Randy Moss's bowl record with 180 yards receiving, scoring twice on eight receptions.

The Tigers led by 10 at halftime after scoring on three straight drives, then pulled away in the second half before nearly collapsing in the final minutes.

It was a wild finish — with 46 points scored in the final 15:46 — after Akron led 3-0 midway through the first quarter. The teams combined for 1,018 yards of offense.

Williams, who shared the 100-yard rushing record with Heisman Trophy winners Archie Griffin of Ohio State and Dorsett of Pittsburgh, broke the mark in the third quarter when he ran up the middle and bounced to the outside on an 18-yard carry.

"He's really fast," Brookhart said. "Nobody catches him, and he takes away angles real quick."

Griffin set the mark in 42 games, and Dorsett matched it in 43 games — one fewer than Williams.

"Coach West tells me all the time that I'll appreciate it when I'm 50, 60 years old," he said.