Daniels hits Mitchell with 2 TDs, Pierre-Paul scores on pick as USF beats SU 34-20

Daniels leads USF over SU 34-20

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — B.J. Daniels hit Carlton Mitchell on scoring passes of 33 and 85 yards, Jason Pierre-Paul returned an interception 18 yards for another score, and South Florida remained unbeaten, 34-20 over mistake-prone Syracuse.

South Florida (5-0) picked off Syracuse’s Greg Paulus five times in the Big East opener for both teams.

Syracuse (2-3) had won two straight behind Paulus, who entered the game completing nearly 70 percent of his passes. But against one of the top defenses in the country the former Duke point guard faltered badly, and the five interceptions tied a Syracuse record.

None of them was more critical than Pierre-Paul’s late in the third quarter.

Pierre-Paul’s touchdown on a poorly thrown dump pass at the line of scrimmage completed a 20-point South Florida blitz that broke open what had been a one-point game at halftime. Mike Ford had scoring runs of 26 and 5 yards for the Bulls.

The first 5 minutes of the game featured five turnovers. Syracuse lost two fumbles and Paulus was intercepted deep in USF territory. Orange nose tackle Arthur Jones recovered fumbles by the Bulls on their first two plays from scrimmage.

Daniels fumbled his first snap of the game and wideout Dontavia Bogan lost another fumble right after Nate Allen picked off Paulus’ pass at the USF 17.

Daniels was 12 for 20 for 208 yards and gained 32 yards rushing in his second college start. Mitchell had six catches for 139 yards, more than offsetting another stellar performance by his counterpart on the Orange. Mike Williams had 13 catches for 186 yards and two scores for Syracuse.

Paulus was sacked three times but had adequate protection for most of the game in the face of South Florida’s vaunted defensive front line. He finished 25 for 46 for 269 yards. His five interceptions equaled the school mark set by Todd Norley in a 28-7 loss at Penn State in 1982.

Daniels, mediocre in the opening half with just 2 yards rushing and 6 of 11 passing for 76 yards, showed the Orange his big-play capability on the first play in the second half. He hit a wide-open Mitchell in stride at the Syracuse 45 with a perfect spiral, and Mitchell raced untouched to give South Florida a 21-13 lead.

Paulus responded by guiding the Orange to the USF 24, converting on third-and-long situations three straight times. Third down had been Syracuse’s weakness on offense with a dismal 20 percent conversion percentage, and against the best third-down defense in the nation the Orange figured to struggle some more.

But when Kayvon Webster picked off a third-down throw and Daniels guided USF on a 48-yard scoring drive capped by Ford’s 5-yard run.

Paulus hit Williams on a 29-yard TD pass early in the fourth period for the game’s final points. Paulus also hit Williams with a 54-yard gain that set up Ryan Lichtenstein’s 40-yard field goal in the first period.

The Bulls, who forced and recovered four fumbles in their big 17-7 win a week ago at Florida State, settled down after their shaky start.

Jerome Murphy recovered a fumble by Orange tailback Mike Jones at the USF 38. Ford scored on a 26-yard run over right tackle for a 7-0 lead.

Cornerback Murphy made a nice sliding catch at the Syracuse 36 of a poorly thrown pass over the middle by Paulus. Three plays later, Daniels avoided the rush and hit Mitchell at the back of the end zone with a 33-yard pass for a 14-6 lead.

Syracuse struck back when Derrell Smith caused a fumble by Mo Plancher and Max Suter recovered at the USF 14. Three plays later, Paulus hit Williams on a pretty fade in the left corner of the end zone with 29 seconds left in the half.