TAMPA, Fla. -- Quinton Flowers threw for 178 yards and two touchdowns, helping South Florida open the season with a 56-20 rout of overmatched Towson on Saturday night.

The dual-threat quarterback also scored on runs of 5 and 7 yards, showing why he's one of the reasons USF enters the year with heightened expectations of contending for its first American Athletic Conference championship after improving from four wins two seasons ago to eight in 2015.

Two-time AAC rushing champion Marlon Mack ran for 58 yards and a TD before sitting out the second half, ending a streak of five consecutive 100-yard performances. He was slowed getting up after fumbling at the end of a 7-yard run, and there was no immediate word on the nature or severity of the injury.

Red-shirt sophomore Morgan Mahalak, who spent two years at Oregon before transferring to FCS Towson, threw for 165 yards in his debut for the Tigers. His 56-yard completion to Christian Summers set up the first of two TD runs by Darius Victor.