South Florida Makes a Mark in the Week Two Underdog Poll

While the Houston Cougars continue to dominate the Underdog poll by a large margin, the USF Bulls are the UDD stars of the week following an impressive showing against perennial MAC heavyweight Northern Illinois. Standout quarterback Quinton Flowers notched a career high 350 passing yards en route to a 48-17 final score. Flowers even managed to pitch in 53 rushing yards on 11 carries for good measure. Unfortunately the game took a turn for the worst after NIU quarterback Drew Hare suffered a season-ending knee injury in the third quarter, dealing a serious blow to the Huskies' season.

East Carolina made their first appearance in the Underdog poll this season following a great home win against North Carolina State in front of a raucous crowd. The Pirates overcame three loses of the lead to claim victory over NC State 33-30 following a touchdown run from Anthony Scott. Impressively enough, the win marked ECU's third straight victory over NC State and sixth straight win against ACC foes. ECU quarterback Philip Nelson finished the game with 297 passing yards and one touchdown while completing 33 of 43 passing attempts. You can read our recent profile on the transfer quarterback at this link.

Also joining the Underdogs this week is Cincinnati of the American. The Bearcats wore down Purdue 38-20 in a key road victory over a Big Ten opponent. Cincinnati forced five turnovers, giving the team great momentum as they head into one of the biggest match ups of the season for the American conference.

Underdogs of the Week

Our brethren in the MAC and MWC took most of the shine this week but Quinton Flowers did receive some much-deserved recognition for his throttling of Northern Illinois.

Quinton Flowers, QB, South Florida - 21-of-33, 350 yards passing, four touchdowns; 53 yards rushing in a 48-17 win vs. Northern Illinois

Games to Watch in Week Three

#6 Houston vs. Cincinnati, 6:30 pm CST, September 15th (ESPN) - Following a 42-0 win over Lamar of the FCS the Houston Cougars will have a tough test to keep their playoff dreams alive. Houston received some welcomed news recently as backfield duo Greg Ward Jr. and Duke Catalon were both cleared to return to action on Thursday night after missing last week's game against Lamar. Trust us, you don't really want to watch the Jets and Bills anyways.

Army vs. UTEP, 6:00 pm CST, September 17th (ASN) - Shade your eyes and clutch your loved ones, Army already has two quality FBS wins on the season. They'll get another shot at building their case for bowl eligibility as they travel to the Sun Bowl on Saturday to face a tough UTEP squad. The Miners took some abuse against Texas last week but starting quarterback Zack Greenlee may be returning to the fray. If the Black Knights pull it off then they should manage a 4-0 start to the season as they travel to Buffalo in week four.

#25 Miami vs. Appalachian State, 11:00 am CST, September 17th (ESPN) - As if the U traveling to Boone wasn't awesome enough, they'll arrive with a fresh #25 ranking in the Amway Coaches' Poll. With the Hurricanes just a 3.5 point favorite, the Mountaineers are in a great position to finish Miami where they left Tennessee off and further expand their brand in a nationally-televised contest.

Thanks to our comrades at the Mountain West Connection for hosting the Underdogs Poll this season. You can find their take on the poll at this link.