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Ranked for first time, USF hosts North Carolina

Sep 22, 2007 - 12:37 PM North Carolina (1-2) at No. 23 South Florida (2-0) 12:00 pm EDT

TAMPA, Florida (Ticker) -- South Florida hopes to stay in the rankings for a while.

Ranked for the first time in program history, the No. 23 Bulls host North Carolina in a non-conference matchup Saturday.

South Florida joined what was then called Division I-A in 2001 but had not entered the polls until Sunday. The Bulls were on the cusp of being ranked after stunning then-No. 17 Auburn on the road in overtime on September 8 and become so after a few teams above them lost last week while they had a bye.

"It is nice and we certainly appreciate the ranking, but we have put all of our focus on North Carolina and that game this weekend," South Florida coach Jim Leavitt said.

In the 26-23 triumph over the Tigers, Matt Grothe threw a 14-yard touchdown to Jesse Hester to end the game.

USF won despite four missed second-half field-goal attempts by Delbert Alvarado.

While the Bulls improved to 2-0 with the win, North Carolina slipped to 1-2 in its first campaign under former Miami and Cleveland Browns coach Butch Davis with a 22-20 home loss to Virginia last Saturday.

The Tar Heels, who were playing their Atlantic Coast Conference opener, pulled within two points on T.J. Yates' two-yard pass to Richard Quinn with 1:57 to go, but Yates' two-point conversion pass was knocked down.

USF posted a 37-20 road win over North Carolina last year in the teams' first meeting.