Then in the waning seconds before halftime, Daquan Evans flew in unblocked on a safety blitz and blindsided the quarterback for a forced fumble. However, South Florida foiled the Orange’s plans and popped the ball loose into the hands of Aamaris Brown, who sprinted for a 64-yard touchdown. In the late first quarter, Syracuse mishandled a snap on a fake goal attempt and tried to salvage the play by running an option. The Bulls didn’t even need the offense to take the field for 14 of their 45 points. The pairing’s final touchdown connection transpired on a 4th and 2 in the third quarter where Brown floated an easy delivery to a completely uncovered Atkins for a 35-yard score. Simultaneously, Atkins became the first 1,000-yard receiver in South Florida history, finishing with 93 yards and two touchdowns to conclude his college career.

The redshirt freshman reset the single-season passing touchdowns record for the program with 26, and he also extended his lead as the Bulls’ single-season passing yards leader. In an efficient 214-yard aerial performance, Brown delivered three touchdown strikes including two to Atkins. South Florida launched the scoring rampage in the middle of the first quarter with a touchdown connection from quarterback Byrum Brown to Sean Atkins. This time, the Bulls out-gained the Orange 407-159 and scored a touchdown in all three phases - offense, defense, and special teams - in their most decisive victory over FBS competition since 2007. South Florida dominated every facet of the game to complete its first shutout since 2005 which coincidentally, was also over Syracuse in a 27-0 result. South Florida clinched its first winning record since 2018, finishing year one of the Alex Golesh era 7-6 after picking up just four aggregate wins in the prior three seasons. The Bulls absolutely steamrolled the Orange in a 45-0 shutout, registering their first bowl victory since 2017 in Tuesday night’s standalone contest. Pick any word or phrase you want, and that’s exactly what South Florida did to Syracuse in the 2023 Boca Raton Bowl.

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