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Terrel Hunt, making his first career start for the Orange, threw for four touchdowns and ran for another to help Syracuse rout Tulane 52-17 on Saturday in the Carrier Dome.
Hunt completed 16 of 21 passes for 175 yards.
Clay Cleveland snared two of Hunt's scoring strikes for Syracuse (2-2), which put the game away early and took a 42-17 lead into halftime.
Jerome Smith found the end zone twice, scoring on a run from the 1-yard line and another on a 15-yard touchdown catch. Prince-Tyson Gulley also ran for a Syracuse score.
Quarterback Nick Montana, who was playing in front of his father, former NFL great Joe Montana, took a brutal pounding while completing 22 of 38 passes for 213 yards and one touchdown for the Green Wave (2-2).
The win was the 700th in the history of the Syracuse program and came on a day when the Orange busted out stylish new helmets, a brushed blend of orange and blue stamped by a block letter ''S.''
The Green Wave was on the precipice of making it a game early in the second quarter before two more crucial special teams blunders buried the team.
With the Orange up 21-10, the Tulane defense held Syracuse on its own 34. Syracuse punted, and the ball bounced alongside of returner Kedrick Banks. Banks was uncertain whether to field it or back away, but instead he did neither. He sideswiped the ball with his legs, creating a live ball and allowing SU's Devante McFarlane to recover at the Tulane 15.
Three plays later, on a third-and-11 from the 16, Hunt broke free around the right side for a touchdown scramble that made it 28-10 with 13:39 left in the half.
Syracuse bottled up Tulane on its next possession, forcing Peter Picerelli to punt from the Green Wave 27. SU's Eric Crume rammed through the punt protection to block the kick, and the ball rolled out of bounds at the Tulane 17.
Three plays later, Gulley bulled through the middle for a 1-yard score that bloated SU's cushion to 35-10 with 10:43 remaining in the second.
The half only deteriorated from there for Tulane. With 5:33 left in the second quarter, the Green Wave's Cairo Santos lined up for a 32-yard field goal, a mere chip shot for him. Santos had converted 26 straight field goals, four shy of the FBS record held by former Washington kicker Chuck Nelson.
But the streak ended right there when Orange defensive tackle John Raymon seeped through the line to block the kick.
Santos played in the game after returning from Brazil, where he attended the funeral of his father who died in a stunt plane crash.
The Green Wave finally counter-punched with 1:44 left in the half when Montana found wide receiver Justyn Shackleford in the right corner of the end zone for a 16-yard touchdown that cut the Orange lead to 35-17. But Tulane couldn't escape the first 30 minutes without first serving up two more mental mistakes that gave Syracuse seven more points.
The Orange took over on its own 15, perhaps content to take an 18-point lead into the locker room. With a first-and-10 at his team's 25, Gulley picked up four innocent yards before going out of bounds. Tulane linebacker Zach Davis added 15 yards to that when he was called for a late hit.
The Orange drive later appeared stalled when Hunt was stopped for no gain on a third-and-3 on the Green Wave 36, but Tulane nose tackle Chris Davenport handed out a free first down when he tackled Hunt out of bounds, moving the ball to the Green Wave 21.
Syracuse waited until the final ticks of the half to cash in, when Smith powered around the left side for a 1-yard score and a 42-17 lead at the break.
Hunt orchestrated near-matching touchdown drives on SU's first two possessions to get the Orange revved-up. The first covered 75 yards in seven plays and 2 minutes, 21 seconds while the second chewed up the same amount of turf on the same amount of plays in one less tick of the clock.
Hunt put a bow on the opening march with a 15-yard pass to Smith on a crossing pattern for a score for a 7-0 lead. Santos answered with a 21-yard field goal with 7:31 left in the quarter to bring Tulane within 7-3.
But Hunt was ruthless again on his next drive, topping it with a 19-yard laser to wide receiver Chris Clark for a 14-3 SU advantage. Overall, Hunt was a sizzling 14-of-17 for 168 yards and three touchdowns in the first 30 minutes.
