Click here to read the 2016 Popeyes Bahamas Bowl Weekly Release – Week 3 – September 15-17 (PDF)
WEEK 2 REVIEW: Big wins for both the American and MAC punctuated a strong Week 2 across our partner conferences. In the American, the conference got victories over the Big Ten and the ACC as Cincinnati beat Purdue 38-20 and East Carolina beat cross-state rival N.C. State 33-30. The MAC had a pair of victories over the Big 12 as Central Michigan upset ranked Oklahoma State on the road 30-27 on a Hail Mary/hook-and-ladder final play for a game-winning touchdown, reminiscent of CMU’s final-play TD in the 2014 Popeyes Bahamas Bowl. It was the Chippewas’ first victory over a ranked team since 1991. Ohio also got a road victory at Kansas 37-21, their first against a Big 12/Big 8 team since 1967. In Conference USA, Marshall and Southern Miss each posted shutout victories. The only conference action was in the American as Navy beat UConn 28-24.
THIS WEEKEND: There are two AAC conference games as Houston (2-0) is at Cincinnati (2-0) Thursday night and Navy (2-0) is at Tulane (1-1) Saturday. The AAC has two games each against the ACC and Big Ten this weekend. In C-USA games against ranked teams, No. 19 (Coaches) Baylor (2-0) visits Rice (0-2) on Friday night and North Texas (1-1) is at No. 23 (AP/Coaches) Florida (2-0) Saturday. C-USA has three games against the Big 12 this weekend. In MAC games against ranked opponents, Ohio (1-1) faces No. 15 (AP/Coaches) Tennessee (2-0). The MAC has one game against the Big Ten.
POLLING PLACE: Houston (AAC) is No. 6 in the Associated Press and No. 7 in the Amway Coaches’ Poll after Week 2. Those receiving votes in the AP poll (in order of votes received) are Central Michigan (MAC) and Cincinnati (AAC). Those receiving votes in the Coaches’ Poll (in order of votes received) are South Florida (AAC), Navy (AAC), Marshall (C-USA), WKU (C-USA), Central Michigan, Toledo (MAC) and Western Michigan (MAC).
RECORD AMONG CONFERENCES: The American is 1-0 vs. C-USA and 1-0 vs. the MAC, while C-USA is 0-0 vs. the MAC this season. There are four C-USA vs. MAC matchups this Saturday as Akron (1-1) is at Marshall (1-0), Middle Tennessee (1-1) is at Bowling Green (1-1), WKU (1-1) is at Miami (0-2) and Eastern Michigan (1-1) travels to Charlotte (1-1).
WEEK 3 SCHEDULE
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
Thursday, Sept. 15
* Houston at Cincinnati (ESPN)
Saturday, Sept. 17
Kansas at Memphis (ESPNU)
Temple at Penn State (BTN)
Virginia at UConn (SNY)
North Carolina A&T at Tulsa (ESPN3)
USF at Syracuse (ESPN3)
East Carolina at South Carolina (SECN)
Maryland at UCF (CBSSN)
Liberty at SMU (ESPN3)
* Navy at Tulane (ESPN3/ASN)
CONFERENCE USA
Friday, Sept. 16
Baylor at Rice (ESPN)
Arizona State at UTSA (ESPN2)
Saturday, Sept. 17
Akron at Marshall (ASN)
Middle Tennessee at Bowling Green (ASN/ESPN3)
Florida Atlantic at Kansas State (FSN)
FIU at Massachusetts (ASN)
WKU at Miami (Ohio) (BCSN/ESPN3)
Eastern Michigan at Charlotte (CUSATV)
Old Dominion at N.C. State (ESPN3)
Louisiana Tech at Texas Tech (FSN)
Troy at Southern Miss (beIN)
Army at UTEP (ASN)
North Texas at Florida (ESPNU)
MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE
Saturday, Sept. 17
Ohio at Tennessee (SECN)
Akron at Marshall (CBSSN)
Middle Tennessee at Bowling Green (ASN/ESPN3)
Eastern Kentucky at Ball State (ESPN3)
UNLV at Central Michigan (ESPN3)
Fresno State at Toledo (WTOL/ESPN3)
San Diego State at NIU (CBSSN)
Monmouth at Kent State (ESPN3)
WKU at Miami (BCSN/ESPN3)
Eastern Michigan at Charlotte (CUSATV)
Buffalo at Nevada (MWN/CI)
* – conference games
WEEK 2 RESULTS
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
Saturday, Sept. 10
Michigan 51, UCF 14
Cincinnati 38, Purdue 20
East Carolina 33, North Carolina State 30
Houston 42, Lamar 0
Temple 38, Stony Brook 0
* Navy 28, UConn 24
Baylor 40, SMU 13
Ohio State 48, Tulsa 3
USF 48, Northern Illinois 17
Tulane 66, Southern 21
CONFERENCE USA
Friday, Sept. 9
Maryland 41, FIU 14
Saturday, Sept. 10
Charlotte 47, Elon 14
Marshall 62, Morgan State 0
Louisiana Tech 53, South Carolina St. 24
North Texas 41, Bethune-Cookman 20
Southern Miss 56, Savannah State 0
Army 31, Rice 14
Appalachian State 31, Old Dominion 7
Alabama 38, WKU 10
Vanderbilt 47, Middle Tennessee 24
Colorado State 23, UTSA 14
Miami (Fla.) 38, Florida Atlantic 10
Texas 41, UTEP 7
MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE
Saturday, Sept. 10
Central Michigan 30, Oklahoma State 27
Ohio 37, Kansas 21
Wisconsin 54, Akron 10
Eastern Illinois 21, Miami 17
Bowling Green 27, North Dakota 26
Indiana 30, Ball State 20
North Carolina A&T 39, Kent State 36
Toledo 45, Maine 3
South Florida 48, Northern Illinois 17
Western Michigan 70, N.C. Central 21
Missouri 61, Eastern Michigan 21
* – conference games
WEEK 2 INDIVIDUAL HONORS
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
Offensive Player of the Week
USF QB Quinton Flowers: The junior completed 21-of-33 passes for 350 yards and four TDs with 53 rush yards in a 48-17 victory over NIU.
Defensive Player of the Week
Navy LB/DB Alohi Gilman: The freshman had a team-high 10 tackles, with a fumble return for a TD in a 28-24 victory over UConn.
Special Teams Player of the Week
Tulane RB Sherman Badie: The junior had 175 all-purpose yards and a 86-yard kickoff return for a TD in a 66-21 victory over Southern.
CONFERENCE USA
Offensive Player of the Week
Louisiana Tech WR Trent Taylor: The senior caught 11 passes for 178 yards and three TDs in a 53-24 victory over South Carolina State.
Defensive Player of the Week
Old Dominion LB Anthony Wilson: The senior had 11 tackles, including a school-record three sacks vs. Appalachian State.
Special Teams Player of the Week
Southern Miss KR Allenzae Staggers: The junior returned a punt 75 yards for a touchdown in a 56-0 victory over Savannah State.
MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE
East Division Offensive Player of the Week
Ohio QB Greg Windham: The senior rushed for 146 yards and a TD and passed for 167 yards and a score in a 37-21 victory over Kansas.
East Division Defensive Player of the Week
Ohio LB Chad Moore: The junior had a team-high seven tackles (five solo) and recorded a tackle for a safety in the victory over Kansas.
East Division Special Teams Player of the Week
Akron PR JoJo Natson: The senior returned a punt 55 yards for a touchdown at No. 10 Wisconsin.
West Division Offensive Player of the Week
Central Michigan QB Cooper Rush: The senior threw for four TDs, including a Hail Mary/hook-and-ladder TD to upset Oklahoma State.
West Division Defensive Player of the Week
Central Michigan DB Josh Cox: The junior had nine tackles (seven solo) and an interception in the 30-27 victory at Oklahoma State.
West Division Special Teams Player of the Week
Western Michigan PR/KR Darius Phillips: The junior returned a punt 66 yards for a TD iin a 70-21 victory over N.C. Central.
“POWER FIVE” VICTORIES
A list of American, C-USA and MAC victories over “Power Five” opponents (teams from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC)
Team (Conference): Opponent/Score
Sept. 3
Houston (AAC): Oklahoma (Big 12)/33-23
Southern Miss (C-USA): Kentucky (SEC)/44-35
Western Michigan (MAC): Northwestern (Big Ten)/22-21
Sept. 10
Cincinnati (AAC): Purdue (Big Ten)/38-10
Central Michigan (MAC): Oklahoma State (Big 12)/30-27
East Carolina (AAC): N.C. State (ACC)/33-30
Ohio (MAC): Kansas (Big 12)/37-21
INDIVIDUAL ACCLAIM
UTEP junior RB Aaron Jones is second in the FBS in rushing at 186.0 yards per game. He has a pair of 100-yard quarters this season and has scored three TDs.
Western Michigan WR Corey Davis is over 4,000 career receiving yards and needs 183 yards to be the MAC’s career leader in that category. He holds the second-longest FBS current consecutive-game reception streak at 38.
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
Each week in 2016, the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl will spotlight an alumni player from each of our partner conferences: the American Athletic Conference, Conference USA and the Mid-American Conference.
TEDDY BRIDGEWATER (Louisville)
Louisville QB Teddy Bridgewater (Photo Credit: Louisville Athletics)
Current NFL quarterback Teddy Bridgewater was a two-time bowl MVP during his college career at Louisville from 2011-13.
He holds the Louisville record for career wins as a starting quarterback (27). He is second in school history in completions (781), third in career touchdowns (72) and third in career passing yards (9.817).
As a junior in 2013, Bridgewater was named second-team All-AAC. He completed 303 of 427 passes for 3,970 yards, a school-record 31 touchdowns and only four interceptions. He named MVP of the Russell Athletic Bowl after he threw for 447 yards and three touchdowns in a 36-9 victory over Miami.
In his sophomore season of 2012, he was the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year first team all-conference and honorable mention All-American by Pro Football Weekly. He threw for 3,718 yards and 27 touchdowns and had a pair of 400-yard passing games. He was selected as Most Outstanding Player of the Allstate Sugar Bowl after throwing for two TDs in a 33-23 victory over No. 3 Florida.
As a freshman in 2011, he was the BIG EAST Rookie of the Year and a Sporting News Freshman All-American after throwing for 2,219 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Bridgewater was selected 32nd overall by the Minnesota Vikings in the 2014 NFL Draft.
Through the 2015 season, Bridgewater has thrown for 6,150 yards and 28 touchdowns. He was the NFL’s Pepsi Rookie of the Year and was selected to the PFWA All-Rookie Team in 2014. He guided the Vikings to the 2015 NFC North title and earned a spot in the Pro Bowl.
POPEYES BAHAMAS BOWL MEDIA PROJECTIONS
Media Organization (Reporter) – Date: Matchup
10thYearSeniors.com (John Marc Nutt) – Sept. 14: Temple vs. Florida Atlantic
Nassau Tribune (Renaldo Dorsett) – Sept. 14: Cincinnati vs. Louisiana Tech
USA Today (Erick Smith) – Sept. 14: Marshall vs. Central Michigan
CBSSports.com (Jerry Palm) – Sept. 12: Marshall vs. Ohio
The Sporting News (Bill Bender) – Sept. 12: East Carolina vs. Middle Tennessee
ESPN.com (Brett McMurphy) – Sept. 11: Louisiana Tech vs. Tulsa
ESPN.com (Mark Schlabach) – Sept. 11: Marshall vs. Temple
Campus Insiders (Dave Miller) – Sept. 11: UConn vs. Toledo
CollegeFootballNews.com (Pete Fiutak) – Sept. 11: UConn vs. Northern Illinois
SI.com (Colin Becht) – Aug. 30: Memphis vs. Ohio
FOXSports.com (Stuart Mandel) – Aug. 30: Tulsa vs. Akron
Orlando Sentinel (Brant Parsons) – Aug. 24: UConn vs. Central Michigan
Sports on Earth (Matt Brown) – Aug. 22: Memphis vs. Northern Illinois
Athlon Sports (Steven Lassan) – July 6: Toledo vs. Marshall
SB Nation (Jason Kirk) – June 28: Tulsa vs. Ohio
Bleacher Report (Brian Pedersen) – May 4: Bowling Green vs. Tulsa
Phil Steele Magazine (Phil Steele) – Magazine: Marshall vs. Bowling Green
ESPN EVENTS
ESPN Events, a division of ESPN, owns and operates a large portfolio of collegiate sporting events worldwide. The roster includes three Labor Day weekend college football games; 13 college bowl games, 10 college basketball events and two college award shows, which accounts for approximately 250-plus hours of programming, reaches almost 64 million viewers and attracts over 700,000 attendees each year. With satellite offices in Albuquerque, Birmingham, Boca Raton, Boise, Dallas-Fort Worth, Honolulu, Las Vegas, Montgomery and St. Petersburg, ESPN Events builds relationships with conferences, schools and local communities, as well as providing unique experiences for teams and fans.
ESPN Events also manages the Big 12 Corporate Partner Program.
Collegiate Football
AdvoCare Texas Kickoff (Houston); AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl (Houston); Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl (Atlanta); Birmingham Bowl (Alabama); Boca Raton Bowl (Florida); Camping World Kickoff (Orlando, Fla.); Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Boise); Gildan New Mexico Bowl (Albuquerque); Hawai’i Bowl (Honolulu); Las Vegas Bowl (Nevada); Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl (Dallas-Fort Worth); MEAC/SWAC Challenge (Orlando, Fla.); Popeyes Bahamas Bowl (Nassau); Raycom Media Camellia Bowl (Montgomery, Ala.); St. Petersburg Bowl (Florida); The Home Depot College Football Awards (Atlanta) and Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl (Dallas-Fort Worth)
Collegiate Basketball
AdvoCare Invitational (Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Fla.); Armed Forces Classic (Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Honolulu); DIRECTV Wooden Legacy (Orange County, Calif.); College Basketball Awards Presented by Wendy’s (Los Angeles); Gildan Charleston Classic (South Carolina); Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic (Honolulu); Jimmy V Men’s Classic presented by Corona (New York City); Jimmy V Women’s Classic presented by Corona (Uncasville, Conn.); NIT Season Tip-Off (Brooklyn, N.Y.); Puerto Rico Tip-Off (San Juan) and State Farm Champions Classic (New York City)
