MIAMI (AP) -- Ken Dorsey threw three touchdown passes and Santana Moss scored twice as Miami became bowl eligible with a 45-13 victory over Syracuse on Saturday.

Moss returned a punt for a score and caught a 16-yard touchdown pass from Dorsey, who completed 22 of 31 passes for 236 yards in his second start.

More importantly for the Hurricanes (7-4, 5-1 in the Big East), they are headed to a bowl game for the second straight season. And in doing so, they avenged last season's 66-13 loss to the Orangemen (6-5, 3-4).

Miami fell behind 7-2 in the second quarter, but scored 43 straight points to hand Syracuse its fourth loss in five games. The Orangemen finished below .500 in conference play for the first time since 1993.

Moss sprinted 61 yards -- untouched -- to give Miami its first touchdown in the second quarter. Dorsey then hit Reggie Wayne on a 17-yard fade pass to extend the lead to 17-7. Earlier, Dorsey misfired three times on the same play.

Troy Nunes, one of three quarterbacks used by Syracuse, threw an interception on the ensuing drive, which Leonard Myers returned for a touchdown to give Miami a 24-7 lead at halftime. Nunes went 13-of-20 for 147 yards.

After adding 21 points in the third quarter, the only question that remained was whether the Hurricanes would match the 66 points Syracuse scored against them last season. It was Miami's second-worst defeat in school history. Only a 70-14 loss to Texas in 1944 was worse.

The Hurricanes did not score 66, but they tried, continuing to throw with a 32-point lead in the fourth quarter. Miami's Clinton Portis ran for 98 yards on 15 carries, just shy of his fifth consecutive 100-yard game.

If Miami beats Temple next week, it would secure a berth in the Jan. 1 Gator Bowl in Jacksonville against Georgia Tech. The Hurricanes needed seven victories to become bowl eligible because they played in the Kickoff Classic.

Despite the loss, the Orangemen likely will represent the Big East in the Music City Bowl in Nashville, Tenn., because Pittsburgh lost Saturday.