• Recap
• Bleachers

Grothe has record-setting performance vs. Syracuse

Nov 11, 2006 - 10:05 PM TAMPA, Florida (Ticker) -- Matt Grothe continues to add to a superb first season.

Grothe threw for a school-record 364 yards and two touchdowns as South Florida improved its bid for a postseason bowl with a 27-10 victory over hapless Syracuse in a Big East Conference contest.

Notching his second career 300-yard game, the redshirt freshman completed 25-of-35 passes, including a six-yard touchdown to S.J. Green that gave the Bulls a 7-3 lead late in the first quarter.

Grothe added a long scoring play late in the third quarter, connecting with Taurus Johnson for a 79-yard TD and a 20-3 lead.

The lone blemish for Grothe was an interception, his fourth in his last three games.

Johnson finished with five catches for 131 yards and Delbert Alvardo kicked a pair of field goals, including a 56-yarder as time expired in the first half.

South Florida (7-3, 3-2 Big East) finished 6-1 at home. It will travel to both Louisville and West Virginia to close out the season.

The struggles continued in league play for the Orange (3-7, 0-5), who have not beaten a conference foe since 2004.

Perry Patterson, who threw for 174 yards, record Syracuse's first touchdown in two games with a 27-yard scoring pass to Mike Williams in the opening minutes of the fourth.

The Orange have dropped five straight games after beating Wyoming in overtime on September 30.