Conference USA Football 2021: Week 2 C-USA Roundup

Conference USA Football was back in action this weekend. Here’s the latest from the teams on the gridiron in Week 2.

TeamWeek 2ResultWeek 3
Charlottevs Gardner-WebbW, 38-10at Georgia St
FAUvs Georgia SouthernW, 38-6vs Fordham
FIUvs Texas St.L, 23-17 (OT)at Texas Tech
LA Techvs SE LouisianaW, 45-42vs SMU
Marshallvs NC CentralW, 44-10vs East Carolina
MTSUat Virginia TechL, 35-14at UTSA
North Texasat SMUL, 35-12vs UAB
Old Dominionvs HamptonW, 47-7at Liberty
Ricevs HoustonL, 44-7at Texas
Southern Missvs GramblingW, 37-0vs Troy
UABat GeorgiaL,  56-7at North Texas
UTEPat Boise St.L, 54-13— OFF —
UTSAvs LamarW, 54-0vs MTSU
WKUat Army L, 38-35— OFF —

Notable Week 2 results – Standings

Non-conference nonsense

In Week 1, the Texas Longhorns handled Louisiana with ease and Rice came within one quarter of upsetting Arkansas. At the same time, Houston collapses against a Texas Tech team that nearly lost to SFA in Week 2. How then, did Arkansas pummel Texas and Rice get overwhelmed by Houston in their second games? Because this is college football and nothing makes sense.

Second-week snoozers

The seven Conference USA teams that won in Week 2 did so against non-FBS teams. For the most part, those victories were uneventful, save for a too-close-for-comfort escape by Louisiana Tech over in-state foe Southeast Louisiana, who never trailed by more than 10 points at any time in the contest.

Zapped

Western Kentucky quarterback Bailey Zappe lit up the boxscore, but it was too little, too late against Army on Saturday. The Black Knights jumped out to a 21-7 lead in the first quarter, putting the Hilltoppers in come-back mode early. Zappe went on to throw for 435 yards and three scores, but it was too big of a mounting for even him to overcome.

Looking ahead – Key storylines

Let the (conference) games begin

The first Conference USA matchups of the season start next week. Middle Tennessee visits 2-0 UTSA in San Antonio while North Texas hosts UAB in a battle of two programs coming off a Week 2 losss. There’s plenty of season still to be played, but the winners of those matchups can put themselves in favorable position right out of the chute.

More opportunities for marquee wins

FIU and Rice both draw Power 5 opponents this week and Louisiana Tech gets perennial AAC power, SMU. Each of those non-conference foes has struggled early in the season, with Texas coming off a Week 2 loss and neither SMU or Texas Tech looking too mighty following more harrowing wins of their own.

Sneaky, tricky games

Marshall would do well to keep one eye open when they prep for a home contest against East Carolina. The Pirates gave South Carolina a scare in Week 2 and were able to put up some points against Appalachain State the week prior. After consecutive snoozers against Navy and NC Central, this contest might take a bit more focus.