Byrum Brown threw three touchdown passes and two South Florida players scored on long fumble returns as the Bulls trounced Syracuse 45-0 on Thursday night in the Boca Raton Bowl in Boca Raton, Fla.
Brown twice found Sean Atkins for a touchdown as part of a 19-of-26 passing performance in which he threw for 214 yards without an interception. Atkins finished with six catches for 93 yards, while Brown also registered a team-high 64 rushing yards for the Bulls (7-6).
The Orange (6-7) played without their top two quarterbacks due to injuries. Freshman Braden Davis made his first college start and finished 6 of 13 for 84 yards. The team also ran much of their offense out of a wildcat formation that featured running back LeQuint Allen (20 carries for 2 yards) and tight end Dan Villari (11 rushes for 37 yards and 4-of-11 passing for 55 yards).
Syracuse went 1 for 17 on third downs and had four turnovers in losing its bowl game for the second straight season.
After the teams exchanged punts to begin the contest, South Florida marched 64 yards on 10 plays, capped by Brown's 13-yard touchdown pass to Atkins in the back of the end zone.
The Bulls doubled their lead late in the first quarter on Aamaris Brown's 64-yard fumble return for a touchdown. The Orange were attempting a field goal, but they botched the hold, leading to the fumble.
Early in the second quarter, Byrum Brown found Khafre Brown deep over the middle for a 31-yard score, making it 21-0. John Cannon added a 40-yard field goal with 2:40 left in the period.
The cherry on top of the first-half uprising was Tramel Logan's 61-yard fumble return with nine seconds left. Daquan Evans sacked Davis on the play, and Logan made the recovery.
Byrum Brown's 35-yard pass to a wide-open Atkins made it 38-0 early in the third quarter. Nay'Quan Wright's 2-yard touchdown run accounted for the only points of the fourth quarter as South Florida rolled to its first bowl win since 2017.
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