SportsDirect Inc. staff
Nov 19, 2011
Case Keenum broke the NCAA record for career completions and No. 10 Houston stayed on pace for a BCS Bowl berth with a 37-7 victory over Southern Methodist on Saturday.
Keenum threw for a touchdown and rushed for another and Michael Hayes added a running score for the Cougars (11-0, 7-0 Conference USA), who are attempting to become the first Conference USA team to play in a BCS Bowl.
Houston entered Saturday ranked 11th in the BCS standings and needs to stay in the top 12 to get the non-automatic-qualifying bid. Boise State is ranked ahead of the Cougars but likely wonกฏt win its conference, making it ineligible for the non-AQ bid.
Keenum needed just six completions to pass former Texas Tech quarterback Graham Harrell for the all-time NCAA completions record and ended up connecting on 30 of 45 passes for 318 yards.
SMU (6-5, 4-3) managed to corral the Houston offense more than most but began to fall off the pace with 46 seconds left in the second quarter, when Hayes rushed for a 36-yard touchdown to give the Cougars a 13-0 lead at the break.
Keenumกฏs touchdown pass at the end of the third made it 23-0 and he responded to the Mustangsกฏ lone score with a 16-yard rushing score with 6:17 remaining. The senior Heisman hopeful has 36 300-yard passing games in his career, tying him with Timmy Chang for the all-time record.