James Mungro put his name in the Syracuse record book with some very elite company. Mungro rumbled 65 yards for a touchdown midway through the first quarter then added a pair of 1-yard scoring runs in the second period to lead Syracuse to a 26-3 win over Kansas State in the 13th Annual Insight.com Bowl.
Mungro finished the day with 112 yards rushing and tied legendary Jim Brown's school record for rushing touchdowns in a bowl game. Brown ran for three scores in the 1957 Cotton Bowl.
Syracuse won 10 of its final 11 games following an 0-2 start to record 10 wins for the fifth time in school history and finish No. 14 in the final Associated Press poll. The Orangemen also avenged a loss to Kansas State in the 1997 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.
Kansas State was making its ninth consecutive bowl appearance and entered the game averaging 255 rushing yards per game. But the Orangemen defense forced four turnovers and held the Wildcats to 33 rushing yards on 34 attempts.
Linebacker Clifton Smith led Syracuse's defensive effort with 12 tackles, including two sacks, to earn defensive player of the game honors. Mark Holtzman and Will Hunter added two sacks each and Willie Ford had two interceptions for the Orangemen.
Following a punt, Syracuse needed just two plays to take a 7-0 lead on Mungro's 65-yard touchdown with 7:38 in the first period. Mungro added two short touchdown runs after a K-State fumble and interception, respectively, in the second quarter. Syracuse's first three scoring drives took a combined 74 seconds.
The Wildcats lone score came on a 29-yard field goal by Joe Rheem in the first quarter.
The Orangemen were not content to sit on the ball in the fourth quarter as R.J. Anderson threw a 52-yard touchdown pass to Johnnie Morant with 3:52 left in the game.
