Jonathan Stewart rushed for a career-high 253 yards and accounted for two touchdowns, and Justin Roper threw four touchdown passes as Oregon hammered 23rd-ranked South Florida, 56-21, in the Sun Bowl.

Roper, who was playing in place of injured signal-caller Dennis Dixon, completed 17-of-30 passes for 180 yards and Stewart carried 23 times. The Ducks (9-4) racked up 534 yards of total offense en route to a Sun Bowl record for points.

Four different receivers caught touchdown passes for Oregon, which outscored the Bulls 28-0 in the third quarter. Additionally, Walter Thurmond and Michael DiVincenzo returned interceptions for touchdowns.

Oregon began the season 8-1 and was ranked as high as number two in the nation before Dixon went down with a season-ending knee injury in a loss at Arizona. From there, the Ducks dropped two more games to fall out of both BCS and Pac-10 title contention before regrouping to hammer South Florida.

Matt Grothe completed 18-of-35 passes for 197 yards and a score, but was intercepted twice and left the game early in the fourth quarter with a concussion. Grant Gregory relieved Grothe, but fared no better, throwing a pair of picks to outweigh his one touchdown pass and 39 yards.

USF (9-4), which was also ranked second in the country in October before losing three straight, was unable to notch a school-record 10th win. The nine wins the Bulls accumulated tied for the most in the program's 11-year history.

Oregon blew the game wide open out of the locker room in the third quarter. Jonathan Stewart's 41-yard scamper down the right sideline set up Roper's 14-yard touchdown pass to Jaison Williams.

On the next Ducks possession, Roper capped a seven-play drive with a 16-yard strike to Ed Dickson, making it 32-14 with 7:35 remaining in the third. Just 10 seconds later, Thurmond picked off Grothe's pass and returned it 25 yards for a score to increase the Ducks' lead to 25 points.

Later in the third, Roper hit Stewart in the flat for an eight-yard TD that made it 46-14 with over four minutes still remaining in the third.

It was all academic by the fourth, when Matt Evensen hit a 30-yard field goal and DiVincenzo returned an interception 15 yards for a touchdown to sandwich USF's lone second-half score, an 11-yard pass from Gregory to Nate Allen.

Williams and Garren Strong finished with three catches apiece for the Ducks, while Stewart finished with two receptions for 28 yards.

Roper hit Derrick Jones on Oregon's third possession of the game for 29 yards to move inside the USF 10. Three plays later on 3rd-and-goal, Roper found Strong in the back of the end zone for a seven-yard touchdown.

The Ducks used some trickery on the ensuing two-point conversion, lining up in an unbalanced formation, from which Roper pitched to the kicker Evensen, who dove over the goal line for an 8-0 advantage with 6:28 to go in the first.

USF responded by driving 52 yards in 14 plays and consuming nearly seven minutes of clock, but Grothe's potential touchdown pass on 3rd-and-8 from the Oregon 12 was dropped by Jamar Taylor, and the Bulls settled for a 27-yard field goal from Delbert Alvarado just 11 ticks into the second quarter.

Oregon extended its lead to 11-3 when Evensen connected from 39 yards out with 12:08 to go in the half, capping a nine-play, 60-yard drive.

South Florida tied the game with just over seven minutes remaining in the half when Grothe connected with Taurus Johnson for a 21-yard score, then hooked up with Cedric Hill for the two-point conversion and an 11-11 score.

Jonathan Stewart reclaimed the lead for the Ducks with 3:17 to go before the half when he broke loose down the left sideline for a 71-yard touchdown, his 11th rushing score on the season.

USF got a 35-yarder from Alvarado as time expired on the first half to trim the Ducks lead to 18-14.

Game Notes

The game featured a Sun Bowl-record 21 penalties for a total of 202 yards, a mark the two teams achieved before halftime; USF was penalized eight times for 65 yards, while the Ducks drew 13 flags for 137 yards....USF finished with a total of five turnovers, four on interceptions...The Bulls actually dominated the time of possession battle, controlling the ball for nearly 35 minutes.