Mobile, Ala. ? Omar Jacobs went from Bowling Green’s question mark to the Mid-American Conference’s latest standout quarterback.

Jacobs capped a marvelous sophomore season by passing for 365 yards and five touchdowns to lead the Falcons to a 52-35 victory over Memphis on Wednesday night in the GMAC Bowl.

“This is just a sign of things to come,” Bowling Green coach Gregg Brandon said in what could have been a compliment or a warning. “When we first talked about what we needed him to do, we needed him to manage the offense and don’t turn it over, and if you get a chance make a play every once in a while.

“Well … he took it to the next level.”

The Falcons (9-3) turned a shootout into a blowout after leading 35-28 at halftime to win their fourth straight bowl game.

Jacobs got them started with four first-half touchdown passes — two apiece to Charles Sharon and Steve Sanders — and P.J. Pope helped carry them the rest of the way.

Pope ran 28 times for 151 yards and a pair of one-yard touchdowns. He also caught a 13-yard pass for the only score of the third quarter.

The Tigers (8-4), playing in back-to-back bowl games for the first time, couldn’t keep up with the nation’s No. 4 offense, which totaled 558 total yards.

“That first half, we felt like we got in a rhythm with our run-pass mix, but we’re not good enough to be one or the other,” Memphis coach Tommy West said. “No team is.”

Memphis’ DeAngelo Williams rushed for 120 yards on 18 carries before limping to the locker room at the end of the third quarter because of a broken right leg.

He hurt it earlier in the game, but went back in and couldn’t get through a tearful postgame press conference.

“He had been their weapon all year, and with him being hurt and out of the game, we knew they’re just a one-dimensional team,” Bowling Green linebacker Jovon Burks said.

Danny Wimprine nearly matched Jacobs’ performance, going 26-of-39 for 324 yards and four touchdowns but passing for just 11 yards in the third quarter and losing a fumble.

Jacobs, whose 41 touchdown passes led the nation and set a Mid-American Conference record, completed 26 of 44 passes with an interception to earn Most Valuable Player honors.

If his first season as a starter is an indication, he’s in line for the kind of prolific career of former MAC quarterbacks such as Byron Leftwich and Ben Roethlisberger.

He used a number of rollout passes to counter a blitzing Memphis defense — a la Roethlisberger in last year’s GMAC Bowl.

“We knew their (modus operandi) was blitzing,” Jacobs said. “They got to me a couple of times, but we came out and made plays.”

At halftime, the teams seemed poised to take aim at the 2001 GMAC Bowl, the highest scoring bowl game in history with 125 combined points for Marshall and East Carolina.