B.J. Daniels threw for 254 yards and added 117 yards rushing as the South Florida Bulls broke a four-game losing streak by beating the Syracuse Orange 37-17 on Friday night.
Daniels and Marcus Shaw each scored a touchdown on the ground, and Demetris Murray added 85 yards rushing and two scores of his own. Maikon Bonani kicked three field goals for the Bulls, who won their first Big East conference game of the season. Daniels completed passes to 11 different receivers, and in all USF rolled up 483 yards of total offense (including 234 yards rushing) against a Syracuse defense that came into the game last in the Big East in yards allowed per game.
Alec Lemon had a huge game for Syracuse, with 10 catches for 180 yards and two touchdowns. Ryan Nassib threw for 298 yards, but was just 23-for-46 on the night. He was victimized by several crucial drops by his receivers, including two on plays near the goal line when Syracuse was trying to rally from a 23-10 fourth-quarter deficit. The Orange passed on field goals on two trips inside the USF red zone in the final period, but could not hang on to a pair of touchdown passes that would have made the game completely different down the stretch. Syracuse also shanked a kickoff out of bounds and committed five personal fouls on the night.
South Florida moves to 5-4 on the season and needs just one win in any of their last three games (all at home) to earn bowl eligibility for a seventh straight year. They return to Raymond James Stadium to host the Miami Hurricanes on November 19.