South Florida quarterback Byrum Brown threw three touchdown passes and ran for two more scores and the 24th-ranked Bulls forced five turnovers in a 63-36 victory over North Texas on Friday night in Denton, Texas.The Bulls (5-1, 2-0 American Conference) overcame a sloppy first quarter during which they turned the ball over three times.North Texas (5-1, 1-1) was able to muster only seven points off those takeaways and its own mistakes didn’t allow it to add to a 21-14 first-half lead.The Mean Green’s turnover count exceeded the three they had committed combined through their first five games. USF won its third in a row and is averaging 60 points over that span. The Bulls scored 50 or more points in three consecutive games for the first time in program history.North Texas quarterback Drew Mestemaker, who had not thrown an interception in his first five starts this season, was picked off three times. He completed 30 of 46 attempts for 326 yards and two touchdowns.Brown connected on 22 of 28 passes for 245 yards with one interception, and he ran for a game-high 82 yards on 21 attempts.One of the costliest giveaways for North Texas came with 43 seconds left in the first half when Miles Coleman muffed a punt and it was recovered by Cedrick Hawkins Jr. at the Mean Green 17-yard line.On third-and-goal with two seconds left in the first half, Brown connected with tight end Jonathan Echols for a 2-yard touchdown to tie the game at 21.
