TAMPA, Fla. — Byrum Brown accounted for four total touchdowns and No. 19 South Florida rolled up 522 yards of offense to cruise past Florida Atlantic 48–13 on Saturday night at Raymond James Stadium .
South Florida (6–1, 3–0 American) marched 75 yards on its opening possession, capped by a 22-yard touchdown run by Brown, and never looked back. After the Owls' Garrison Smith hit a 45-yard field goal to make it 7–3, the Bulls struck twice more in the second quarter — Brown’s 19-yard TD pass to tight end Jalen Echols and a 1-yard plunge by fullback Christian Skinner — to stretch the lead to 21–3. Smith’s 28-yard kick on the final play of the half left the Owls trailing 21–6 at intermission .
Brown dazzled with both his arm and legs, finishing 14 of 24 for 256 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 111 yards and another score. His 60-yard strike to Jeremiah Koger early in the fourth quarter broke the game wide open, giving USF a 38–13 cushion. He also connected with Wyatt Sullivan for a 24-yard TD in the third quarter and found Echols on the earlier red-zone score. Backup Gaston Moore added a completion in mop-up duty .
The Bulls’ offense shredded Florida Atlantic's front with 259 rushing yards on 51 carries, including 71 yards and a touchdown from Nykahi Davenport and 38 from Sean Franklin. In all, USF averaged 6.9 yards per play and went 9-of-18 on third down, converting all four red-zone trips into points. Kicker Nico Gramatica added field goals from 41 and 28 yards .
Florida Atlantic (3–4, 2–2) briefly narrowed the margin to 21–13 midway through the third quarter on Caden Veltkamp’s3-yard TD pass to Michael Kirch, but the Owls’ offense sputtered from there. Veltkamp completed 35 of 50 passes for 244 yards, while Jordan Magwood went 6-for-8 in relief. FAU was limited to 23 rushing yards on 30 attempts, suffering five sacks and 11 tackles for loss against a swarming Bulls defense .
Linebacker Mac Harris led USF with 10 tackles, 1.5 sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss, while Floyd Gaskin added a strip sack. Rico Watson III’s interception in the fourth quarter set up a short-field touchdown for Davenport, capping a 24-point run that sealed the rout .
The win extended South Florida’s home dominance and solidified its top-20 national ranking — the Bulls’ highest since 2018 — as they improved to 6–1 for the first time in 15 years.