Houston Cougars vs Tulsa Golden Hurricane Match Player Stats On Nov 25, 2011

SportsDirect Inc. staff
Nov 25, 2011

Case Keenum threw five touchdowns to lead No. 7 Houston to a perfect regular season with a 48-16 victory over host Tulsa on Friday at a sold-out Skelly Field.

The Cougars (12-0, 8-0 Conference USA) are the Conference USA West Division champions and will host the conference’s championship game on Dec. 3 against either Southern Miss or Marshall out of the East Division.

Houston entered the week ranked eighth in the BCS standings, so another win in the conference championship would likely mean the first-ever BCS bowl bid in school history.

Tulsa (8-4, 7-1 Conference USA) snapped a seven-game winning streak and missed out on a shot at the conference championship with the loss.

Keenum, the NCAA’s all-time leader in every major passing category, finished with 455 passing yards for the 37th 300-yard game of his career, a new FBS record.

Houston led 13-10 after a lethargic first half, but Keenum and wide receiver Patrick Edwards broke Tulsa’s back with two fourth-down touchdown connections in the third quarter.

On a fourth-and-10 from Tulsa’s 33-yard line three minutes into the second half, Keenum hit Edwards over the middle for a score to put the Cougars on top 20-10. Then, after the Golden Hurricane inched closer with two field goals, Keenum found Edwards again on a fourth-and-1 deep down the left sideline for a 38-yard touchdown that gave Houston a 27-16 lead.

Michael Hayes scored on a 1-yard touchdown run and Keenum added one more touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, as the Cougars pulled away.

Edwards finished with 181 yards and four receiving touchdowns.

Tulsa had multiple chances to tie or take the lead in the second and third quarter, but each drive ended with either a field goal or a turnover.

Quarterback G.J. Kinne hit Willie Carter for an 11-yard score on the Golden Hurricane’s first possession, but they never found the end zone after that point.