Fireworks were the order of the day during this week's Mid-American and Conference USA Championship games. The four teams combined to scored more than 125 points, and one game came right down to the end.

In Detroit, if you gave up on the Akron Zips, you were rewarded with a fine bowl of crow. The Zips, an unlikely divisional champion in the MAC, rallied with a brilliant, Elway-esqe final drive to defeat Northern Illinois, 31-30.

The win was historic for the Zips (7-5), who won the East Division. They earned their first Division I-A bowl bid ever, and will return to Ford Field in a few weeks to play in the Motor City Bowl, awarded to the MAC Championship game winner.

How the Zips got there was a thing of beauty. Down 30-24 late in the contest, the Zips drove downfield until quarterback Luke Getsy threw an interception to NIU freshman linebacker Phil Brown at the Huskies 22. Getsy went back to the sideline dejected, believing that might have been the Zips' last chance to win. But the Akron defense held firm and got the Zips one last shot.

Starting deep in his own territory, Getsy took full advantage of the second chance. He picked apart NIU's prevent defense with surgical precision, getting the Zips all the way to the NIU 37-yard line with less than 20 seconds left. Getsy dropped back and sent the ball flying to Domenik Hixon, running a deep post, in the end zone. Getsy hit Hixon in perfect stride, tying the ball game with 10 seconds remaining. Jason Swiger hit the game-winning extra point.

"We got a double post pattern," Akron coach J.D. Brookhart said. "Luke ad-libbed a little and pumped the inside post and drew the safety and got Domenik over the top. I didn't tell them anything. They're doing what we do and playing football."

That was the last pass of Getsy's night, a 30 of 50 outing for 413 yards. Hixon had eight catches, giving him 68 for the season, a new single-season high. He also had 239 yards of total offense, including 144 yards receiving.

That spoiled an absolutely sterling evening by NIU running back Garrett Wolfe, who improved his NFL stock dramatically. He rushed for a MAC Championship game record 288 yards, an absolutely embarrassing performance for an Akron defense which gave up only 50 yards rushing to NIU in their previous meeting. Wolfe's performance was also the most rushing yards ever in any conference championship game.

"Two years ago I told our coaches we needed to give him 10 to 12 carries a game, because I didn't think he could carry the ball much more than that at 170 pounds," NIU coach Joe Novak said. "What did he carry it today, 42 times? He's exceptional. He's unique. There aren't too many guys that size that can play and carry it that much with the durability that he does. He's obviously a heck of a football player."

It was the seventh 200-yard rushing game of Wolfe's career, and his rushing helped kick-start the Huskies' near-unprecedented scoring run midway through the game.

Akron staked itself to a 10-0 lead after one quarter before the Huskies (7-5) struck. Freshman quarterback Dan Nicholson found freshman wide receiver Britt Davis on a 38-yard pass play. NIU closed the gap to 10-7 after Wolfe scored on a 1-yard rush that capped a 67-yard drive that took eight plays and 3:28 off the clock.

Swiger missed a 46-yard field goal attempt with 6:45 left to play in the first half to give the Huskies good field position. The Huskies drove down the field in nine plays to set up a 21-yard field goal by Chris Nendick. The two teams went into the locker room at halftime tied at 10.

Both teams traded possession for most of the third quarter until Wolfe broke a 62-yard run to get down to the 18 yard line. Wolfe finished off the drive with an 11-yard touchdown run to put NIU ahead 17-10.

The NIU defense came up big after the score as junior cornerback Adriel Hansbro forced a fumble that was recovered by junior linebacker Keenan Blalark. The Huskies capitalized on the turnover and scored on a 19-yard touchdown pass from freshman quarterback Dan Nicholson to senior wide receiver Sam Hurd that put NIU up 24-10.

Akron responded at the start of the fourth quarter as Getsy led an 11 play, 80-yard drive that took 2:50. Getsy found sophomore tight end Kris Kasparek on a 32-yard pass play, which set up a three-yard touchdown run by senior running back Brett Biggs that made the score 24-17.

Nendick came back and knocked down a 52-yard field goal to give NIU a 27-17 advantage. The field goal topped Swiger's 47-yard first quarter make as the longest in MAC championship game history.

Getsy came back again scored on a 7-yard rush that capped a 10 play, 76-yard Akron drive that took 3:08. The score cut the deficit to three points, 27-24.

Wolfe and Nicholson took the Huskies down the field on a 42-yard drive to set up Nendick for a 46-yard field goal. NIU extended its lead after the made field goal, 30-24.

For Tulsa, the win gave it its first conference championship in 20 years, and a sure invitation to the Liberty Bowl. It also gave the Golden Hurricane their second bowl bid in three years under head coach Steve Kragthorpe, who inherited a floundering program in Tulsa, just as UCF head coach George O'Leary did two years ago with the Golden Knights.

Tarrion Adams proved unstoppable for Tulsa, as he had three total touchdowns - two rushing - to propel the Golden Hurricane in a wild contest that featured three lead changes in the first half.

Tulsa's Garrett Mills also had eight catches for 152 yards -- giving him 1,183 for the year, a new NCAA record for most receiving yards by a tight end in a season. Brigham Young's Chris Smith had 1,156 in 1990.

Adams had a 15-yard touchdown catch, and a 6-yard touchdown run, both in the first quarter, to give the Golden Hurricane the lead. UCF had jumped out of the box on the opening drive and gone 80 yards for a touchdown, capped by Steven Moffett's 43-yards scoring pass to Willie Thornton. Adams' scores put Tulsa up 14-7.

That was only the beginning for both teams. Tulsa's Uril Parrish scored, off a UCF turnover, to make it 21-7 Tulsa. That ended a seven-minute stretch featuring three Tulsa touchdowns.

UCF, which earlier this season snapped a 17-game losing streak and will most likely play in the Hawaii Bowl, was not deterred.

UCF rallied with 17 unanswered points in a 5 1/2-minute stretch, with running back Kevin Smith, who rushed for 108 yards, scoring on a 31-yard run. Matt Prater kicked a 46-yard field goal and Joe Burnett put the Golden Knights back on top with his second punt return for a score in as many games.

Brad DeVault's 29-yard field goal and Mills' 29-yard touchdown catch with 2:06 left -- the one setting the NCAA record -- gave Tulsa a 31-24 edge, before Prater drew the Golden Knights within four with a 40-yard field goal on the half's final play.

Tulsa proved too much for UCF in the second half, as the Golden Hurricane defense held the Golden Knights to just 55 yards of total offense. Meanwhile, Adams scored again on a 25-yard run in the third quarter, and DeVault added an 18-yard field goal, that pushed the Golden Hurricane lead to double digits.

UCF's Moffett threw for 190 yards and a touchdown, but had two interceptions and lost two fumbles -- with three of those turnovers coming in the second half.