TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) _ Dee Brown ran for 136 yards and two touchdowns and Syracuse held Toledo to 66 rushing yards in a 35-12 victory Thursday night.

The game was ended with 1:28 remaining after Toledo defensive lineman DeJuan Goulde was knocked out along the sidelines. Medical crews attended to Goulde for nearly 10 minutes before he was taken off on a stretcher. He was moving his legs and his right arm as he was carried into an ambulance.

Syracuse, playing its first game in four seasons without record-setting quarterback Donovan McNabb, struggled on its first three possessions before using its ground game to take control.

The Orangemen scored the next four times they had the ball, running out to a 28-0 halftime lead.

Brown, a junior running back, scored on a 6-yard scamper with 1:42 left in the first quarter.

On the next possession, James Mungro took a pitchout 35 yards, capping a seven-play, 65-yard drive.

Brown's 43-yard TD burst made it 21-0 and Troy Nunes passed 8 yards to Maurice Minter just before halftime.

Syracuse coach Paul Pasqualoni delayed naming Nunes as the starter until just before kickoff, and then rotated his quarterbacks often, also using Madei Williams and Brown.

Last season, the Orangemen depended on McNabb, the second overall pick in the NFL draft, for much of their offense. And on the first three possessions, it seemed Syracuse was searching for a leader.

That's when Brown stepped forward and Syracuse's offensive line, which had four returning starters, gained control. The Orangemen put together drives of 70, 65, 65, and 64 yards.

Brown had 114 yards on 13 carries in the first half and Mungro ran for 74 yards.

Nunes was 9-of-13 for 118 yards.

Syracuse pressured Toledo quarterback Dan Cole early and gave him little time to throw. Cole, starting his first game, completed just two of his first 10 passes.

Even when his receivers were open, Cole was often off the mark. He finished 15-of-33 for 111 yards.

The Rockets scored their first points on Todd France's 40-yard field goal with 3:56 left in the third quarter.

Antwon McCray's 11-yard TD run with three minutes left came after Syracuse lost a fumble at its 11.

George Scott added a 1-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter for Syracuse.