Syracuse, NY -- (Sports Network) - Ben Mauk threw for a career-high 431 yards and four touchdowns as 24th-ranked Cincinnati wrapped up its regular season by outgunning Syracuse, 52-31, at the Carrier Dome.

Mauk was 29-for-42 through the air, and also rushed for a touchdown as the Bearcats (9-3, 5-3 Big East) earned a tie for second place in the conference by virtue of Connecticut's loss to West Virginia earlier on Saturday.

Marcus Barnett caught 11 passes for 127 yards and three scores for Cincy, while Earnest Jackson caught a touchdown and Butler Benton had 63 yards on the ground.

Andrew Robinson completed 29-of-47 passes for 419 yards and three touchdowns for Syracuse (2-10, 1-7), which lost its fourth straight and ensured a second straight finish in the Big East basement.

Mike Williams caught nine passes for 160 yards and a score for the Orange, who pulled within four points on a number of occasions but never led.

Cincinnati took an early 14-0 lead with a pair of scoring drives on its first two possessions. Mauk found Bennett for a 32-yard touchdown pass, and Bradley Glatthaar capped the second march when he plunged into the end zone from two yards out with 10:36 on the clock.

Syracuse got on the board thanks to a 43-yard field goal from Patrick Shadle with 2:09 left in the first.

The Orange briefly made it a four-point ballgame with 7:45 to go in the half after Paul Chiara's one-yard touchdown rush, but the Bearcats responded less than two minutes later with a quick-strike scoring drive that culminated in Mauk's hitting Bennett from eight yards out

Mauk found Jackson with a 20-yard touchdown strike at the 3:10 mark before halftime to make it 28-10. But 'Cuse answered with some excellent clock management in marching down the field for a scoring drive of its own, as Robinson found Williams in the back right corner of the end zone for a 10-yard TD with just 1:26 to go before the half.

Syracuse pulled within four points again when Robinson used a fine play-action fake on the first play of the third quarter to free up Taj Smith deep down the left sideline, then hit Smith with a 78-yard touchdown pass to make it a 28-24 game.

But, Mauk again engineered an efficient scoring drive, finding Bennett again for an 18-yard TD hookup with 13:10 to go in the third.

The Orange then controlled the ball for nearly five minutes before Robinson connected with J.J. Nesheiwat from two yards out to make it 35-31 with 8:13 on the clock.

Cincy, though, got the big turnover it needed to regain its 11-point bulge, as Angelo Craig scooped up a fumble at the Syracuse 15 and returned it for a score with just over six minutes left in the third.

Jacob Rogers added a 31-yard field goal early in the fourth to provide the Bearcats with some breathing room, and the defense finally came up with some timely stops before Cincy kept it on the ground to milk the clock in the final five minutes.

Mauk rolled in from 13 yards out to cap the scoring and earn his fifth touchdown of the day with just over a minute remaining.

Game Notes:

Cincinnati earned its ninth win in a season for the first time since 1953...The Bearcats also finished 5-1 on the road for the season...Syracuse has lost 12 of its last 13 Big East home games...Williams has a touchdown reception in a school-record nine consecutive games...Barnett has caught 13 touchdown passes this season.