SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- LSU reached a winning milestone Saturday that set an FBS record.

The No. 8 Tigers won their 50th straight nonconference game, which is the longest streak in the national subdivision's history.

LSU had leading Heisman Trophy candidate Leonard Fournette rush for 244 yards on 26 carries and two touchdowns in a 34-24 victory over Syracuse.

Facing a Syracuse team that was using its fourth-string quarterback, the Tigers (3-0) were expected to roll but led only 7-3 at the half, 17-10 late in the third quarter and 24-17 early in the fourth quarter. LSU overcame 14 penalties for 120 yards and an upstart Syracuse team that was energized by one of the largest Carrier Dome crowds (43,101) in recent years.

"As a football team we won, and we did so in a sloppy manner," LSU coach Les Miles said. "Leonard (Fournette) had a big day and certainly contributed very significantly, but we've got to fix things, all of which includes every player and every coach on the team."

The Orange (3-1) electrified the home crowd late in the third quarter on quarterback Zack Mahoney's 40-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Brisly Estime that cut the Tigers' lead to 17-10.

But on the next series, Fournette burst through the middle of the line and scampered 62 yards untouched to increase LSU's lead to 24-10. On the Tigers' next series, Fournette had an 87-yard touchdown run called back because of an illegal procedure penalty.

"(Before) the second half Miles gave us a speech about picking it up and we did," said Fournette, who has established himself as the leading Heisman Trophy candidate with 635 yards and eight touchdowns in three games.

Syracuse took advantage of a pass interference penalty in the end zone to set up Mahoney's 2-yard touchdown pass to hybrid back Ben Lewis that pulled the Orange within a touchdown, 24-17. The Tigers answered with quarterback Brandon Harris' 51-yard pass to wide receiver Travin Dural that set up Harris' 11-yard scoring strike to wide receiver Malachi Dupre that gave LSU a 14-point lead.

LSU ran for 268 yards and Harris also completed 8 of 16 passes for 157 yards and one touchdown.

"We have to be multi-dimensional and have some balance, pass the ball and run the ball," said Dupre, who had four catches for 73 yards. "I think we showed today we could do both."

Mahoney opened this season as the Orange's fourth-string quarterback and got the nod to start Saturday with starter Terrel Hunt out for the year and backup Eric Dungey sidelined by a concussion. Mahoney, a walk-on who played last year at the College of DuPage junior college, completed 16 of 38 attempts for 154 yards, three touchdowns and one interception against the Tigers. He also led the Orange with 40 yards rushing.

"He's just always positive," said Syracuse wide receiver Steve Ishmael said about Mahoney. "That's one thing I love about him, he don't ever put his head down. He's the same person and he doesn't change."

The Tigers opened the second-half scoring by marching 76 yards in 12 plays to set up Trent Domingue's 21-yard field goal that made it 10-3. After the Orange failed to convert a first down, LSU returner Tre'Davious White fielded Riley Dixon's punt at the Tigers' 31, broke through the first wall and raced untouched into the end zone to boost LSU's lead to 17-3.

"I like the effort from our players, but there were too many big plays," Syracuse coach Scott Shafer said. "I thought Mahoney settled down in the second half and made some good football plays, but LSU showed today why they are a good football team. We were just about there, but a few plays were the difference."

LSU led 7-3 at halftime, but was just a few inches away from trailing 6-0. Midway through the second quarter, a Syracuse defender appeared to wrap up Harris for a sack. But as Harris was falling down -- his left knee about two inches from the ground -- he pitched the ball to Fournette, who carried it 48 yards to the Syracuse 15.

The play was reviewed, but it was ruled that neither of Harris' knees touched the ground before the pitch. Fournette capped the six-play, 91-yard drive with a 14-yard touchdown run to give the Tigers a 7-0 lead.

"I was blocking and I called out to (Harris) and I almost dropped it," Fournette said. "So I did a great job of handling the ball and trying to put our team in a good situation."

After failing to record a first down on its first four possessions, the Orange used a short field to score its first points on Cole Murphy's 43-yarder field goal. Late in the first half, Syracuse drove from its own 26 to the LSU 14 -- a drive that included a first-down pickup by holder Dixon on a fake field-goal attempt. But on the final play of the first half, Murphy's 31-yard field goal attempt missed by inches as it hit the right crossbar.

"All in all, we're a pretty talented football team that needs to improve," Miles said. "They walked off the field wanting to be a better football team than they were during the game."

NOTES: Senior LB Deion Jones, LSU's starter on the weak side and leading tackler, was suspended for the first half of Saturday's game by coach Les Miles after being called for targeting last week. Jones was replaced by junior Duke Riley before returning the second half. ... LSU starting DE Tashawn Bower left the game early in the first quarter with a left leg or ankle injury. He did not return. ... The two previous meetings between LSU and Syracuse were bowl games: The Orange won 23-10 in the 1989 Hall of Fame Bowl and the Tigers won 13-10 in the 1965 Sugar Bowl. ... LSU's last nonconference regular-season loss was a 26-8 defeat at Virginia Tech to open the 2002 season.