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Boise • Akron coach Terry Bowden loves to tell the story of his offense's evolution from entertaining to practical, as the Zips now are built to function with an old-fashioned, Midwestern running scheme that delivers in the cold weather of Ohio late in the season.

After a 23-21 win over Utah State in Tuesday's Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, Bowden cited a drive that lasted more than six minutes to begin the fourth quarter and led to a critical field goal as evidence of the makeover's impact.

That was partly true. Akron quarterback Thomas Woodson's running and passing were equally vital during that possession, which covered 56 yards in 14 plays and ended with bowl MVP Robert Stein's 46-yard field goal.

Aggie defensive lineman David Moala was justifiably proud that his team held Akron to 100 net rushing yards, as he recorded 2.5 of USU's nine tackles for loss. But the Zips hurt USU through the air, as Andrew Pratt caught nine passes for 94 yards after posting 19 receptions in the regular season.

USU coach Matt Wells cited his defense's inability to get off the field in key moments as part of his team's downfall. That's another mostly accurate statement. Akron converted only 5 of 16 third-down plays, but three of those successes came during lengthy drives in the second and fourth quarters that resulted in field goals.

Stein's kick that made it 23-14 came after USU had moved to a first down at the Akron 44 late in the third quarter. Kent Myers threw two incompletions and was sacked, so the Aggies punted. The Zips moved steadily from their 15, starting with a big conversion via Woodson's 3-yard run on third and 2. Woodson then hit Pratt for 21 yards, ran for 7 yards and found Jerome Lane for 13 yards, moving his team into position for the field goal and a nine-point lead.

That was sufficient, because Akron's defense stopped USU on a fourth-down play on the next possession and the Zips' DeAndre Scott easily recovered an onside kick after the Aggies' touchdown with 1:12 remaining.

The outcome left at least one quarterback in tears. That would be Woodson, who said of his postgame reaction, "I cried, honestly, cried the whole time, I really did, cried tears of joy."

Akron's 8-5 record is the school's most wins in 29 years at the FBS level, quite a distinction for a son of legendary coach Bobby Bowden. "He ain't got that record," Terry Bowden said, happily.

kkragthorpe@sltrib.com

Twitter: @tribkurt —

Akron's scoring drives

Plays Yards Result

3 56 TD

12 59 FG

1 0 FG

8 40 TD

14 56 FG