No. 17 South Florida outlasted visiting Texas-El Paso 52-24 on Saturday behind an opportunistic defense, and the running and throwing of B.J. Daniels.

Daniels ran for 130 yards and a touchdown, and threw for two scores as the host Bulls (4-0) tuned up for Thursday’s Big East opener at Pittsburgh.

South Florida's Victor Marc had a spectacular 67-yard touchdown run in which he bounced off tacklers and cut back multiple times.

Miners sophomore Carson Meger, who had thrown one career pass coming in, shined in place of injured starter Nick Lamaison until getting picked off twice in the fourth quarter.

South Florida cashed in each miscue to extend its 38-24 lead, with Sam Barrington returning the second interception 30 yards for the final touchdown.

Meger was 26-of-40 for 240 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions as the Miners (2-2) fell to 0-21 against schools from BCS conferences since 1998.

South Florida has scored 159 points in its last three games following its season-opening upset of Notre Dame.

Bulls wideout Terrence Mitchell was carted off with a concussion early in the fourth quarter after a helmet-to-helmet hit.