From staff reports

South Florida erupted for 45 first-half points Thursday night and never looked back, cruising to a 55–23 win over UTSA at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.

The Bulls (7–2, 4–1 American Athletic Conference) scored twice on defense in the opening minutes on a 40-yard interception return by Tavin Ward and an 85-yard fumble return by Fred Gaskin to seize a 14–0 lead less than eight minutes into the game.

UTSA (4–5, 2–3) cut the deficit to 14–3 on Michael Petro’s 33-yard field goal, but the Bulls piled on with five touchdowns and a field goal before halftime. Quarterback Byrum Brown threw for 239 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 109 yards and another score, leading an offense that averaged 9.4 yards per play.

Keshaun Singleton caught four passes for 122 yards and two touchdowns, including scoring grabs of 16 and 40 yards in the second quarter. Nykahi Davenport added 94 rushing yards and two touchdowns for USF, which totaled 471 yards of offense despite possessing the ball for just 20 minutes.

UTSA quarterback Owen McCown completed 16 of 23 passes for 200 yards and a 45-yard touchdown to Patrick Overmyer, but was sacked five times and lost a fumble. Backup Brandon Tennison added a fourth-quarter touchdown pass to Mekhi Anderson.

Petro made all three of his field goal attempts, from 33, 39 and 27 yards. The Roadrunners held the ball for nearly 40 minutes but were undone by turnovers and missed red-zone chances.

USF’s defense finished with six sacks and 12 tackles for loss. Jarvis Lee led the way with two sacks and three quarterback hurries.

UTSA travels to Charlotte next week to take on the 49ers. Kickoff is scheduled for 11 a.m. and the game will be televised on ESPN+