Byrum Brown, No. 19 South Florida run over Florida Atlantic, 48-13

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Byrum Brown threw three touchdown passes and ran for a score as No. 19 South Florida racked up 522 yards in a 48-13 victory over Florida Atlantic on Saturday night.

South Florida (6-1, 3-0 AAC) got touchdown receptions from Jeremiah Koger, Jonathan Echols and Wyatt Sullivan. The Bulls scored the final 27 points to turn a 21-13 lead into a blowout victory.

“I think for us, as complete of a game as we’ve played in terms of the ups and the downs, but continuing to play,” Bulls coach Alex Golesh said. “There was so much in terms of mistakes and non-execution on all three sides of the ball, but we kept answering the bell.”

Brown was 14 of 24 for 256 yards and ran for 111 yards and a touchdown. Nykahi Davenport rushed for 71 yards and a touchdown. Koger had four catches for 90 yards.

“Byrum continues to be a force that’s really hard to stop,” Golesh said. “He’s as special of a player as there is in the country.”

Florida Atlantic’s Caden Vetkamp was 35 of 50 for 244 yards with a touchdown pass and an interception. Assad Wassem had eight catches for 56 yards.

The takeaway

Florida Atlantic (3-4, 2-2) had its two-game win streak snapped and fell a game below .500.

South Florida joins Tulane and Navy as the only teams with an undefeated ACC record. The Bulls will travel to No. 22 Memphis next weekend after the Tigers were upset by UAB.

Plugging the run

South Florida held Florida Atlantic to minus-4 rushing yards in the first half and 23 yards for the game, most of which came on the final possession with both teams emptying their bench.

“Making a team one dimensional is huge. We made them pass 50 times and I think we had five sacks,” Golesh said. “Defensively we were really resilient, not perfect, but incredibly resilient. We were able to stop the run and make them attack us through the air.”

Bigger plans

The Bulls become bowl eligible for the third consecutive season, but Golesh has bigger aspirations this season. South Florida is ranked inside the top 20 for the first time since the end of the 2016 season and in a position to be the Group of Five representative for the College Football Playoff.

“I guess we became bowl eligible tonight and I don’t know if a single guy in that locker room gives a heck about that,” Golesh said. “I said two years ago that’s not the standard here. We’ve got to continue to press forward.”

Up next

Florida Atlantic: At Navy on Oct. 25.

South Florida: At No. 22 Memphis on Oct. 25.

___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football