Case Keenum Leads Houston to 37-7 Win Over SMU; Season Record Now 11-0

(UH quarterback Case Keenum completed 30-of-45 passes for 318 yards and one touchdown in the Cougars' win over SMU. Photo by Darla Tamulitis-La Vita Loco Photography, Copyright 2011, All Rights Reserved)

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2011 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (November 19, 2011) In a game that saw the Houston Cougars (11-0, 7-0 C-USA) facing a stubborn SMU Mustangs squad; the Cougars managed to keep their record unblemished by downing the Mustangs 37-7 in front of 32,207 fan at Robertson Stadium in Houston.

The Mustangs fall to 6-5 for the season and 4-3 in conference play.

The scene was electric on Saturday afternoon with the Mustangs facing a sea of red in the stands and a determined Houston team that get its first 11-0 start in school history.

Case Keenum continued to dazzle both the fans and the opposing team’s defense, completing 30-of-45 passes for 318 yard and one touchdown.

He also rushed for 21 yards and one touchdown.

The Houston offensive line had a bit of difficulty with the SMU defense, as they continuously pursued and pressured Keenum all afternoon.

Keenum was never caught behind the line for a loss, but he had to continually scramble and look for receivers while keeping the Mustang rushers at bay.

The Cougars scored first on a 28-yard field goal by Matt Hogan at the 9:02 mark in the first quarter to jump out to a 3-0 lead.

They came back in the second quarter with another Hogan field goal with 14:10 left in the half and a 36-yard touchdown run by Michael Hayes with 46 seconds remaining before halftime.

With those two scores, the Cougars took a 13-0 lead into the locker room at the halfway point.

Houston head coach Kevin Sumlin must have made some adjustments at halftime; or chewed a little player behind, because the Cougars came back like gangbusters and scored 10 points in the 3rd quarter.

At the 6:32 mark, Hogan nailed his 3rd field goal of the game; a 22-yard chip shot to take the score to 16-0 in favor of the Cougars.

The Cougars got another score with 30 seconds left in the 3rd quarter on a 12-yard pass from Case Keenum to Justin Johnson to make the score to 23-0.

SMU finally got on the board with 8:33 left in the game on an eight yard TD pass from J.J. McDermott to Darius Johnson.

The Cougars came right back in a bit over two minutes to allow Keenum to run the ball in for the score from the 16-yard line.

That made the score 30-7 with 6:17 left.

Houston added a final touchdown pass when Cotton Turner connected with Gino Collins on 43-yard pass for the score with 1:18 to go in the game.

The win sets up a crucial match up next Saturday when the Cougars travel to Oklahoma to face the 8-3 Tulsa Golden Hurricane for the Conference USA West title.

The Golden Hurricane is 7-0 in conference play and the winner of the game will advance to the C-USA championship game on December 3.

Houston Cougars Face Off Against Tulane With Terrance Broadway At Quarterback

(Terrance Broadway will be the first true freshman to start for Houston since 2003. Photo by Darla Tamulitis-La Vita Loco Photography, Copyright 2010, All Rights Reserved)

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2010 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (September 25, 2010) On a hot and muggy afternoon in Houston, the conversation in the press box and the stand is “Will freshman quarterback Terrance Broadway be able to fill the shoes of Case Keenum?”

Houston Cougar head coach Kevin Sumlin named Broadway his starting quarterback earlier in the week, in an effort to revamp the offense after the loss of Keenum and backup quarterback Cotton Turner to injuries.

The Cougars (2-1 overall, 1-0 C-USA) face the Green Wave of Tulane (1-1 overall, 0-0 C-USA) at Houston’s Robertson.

The game is the 16th meeting between the two schools. Houston leads the series 11-4 and by a 5-2 margin at home.

UH is riding a seven-game winning streak against Tulane dating back to 2003.

That streak stands as the longest current winning streak between schools in Conference USA. The two teams have played all but one season since Houston joined Conference USA in 1996.

Broadway, who is the only player on the Houston roster from the state of Louisiana, is the first true freshman to start for the Cougars since Kevin Kolb in 2003.

Broadway saw action against UCLA, completing 5-of-8 passes for 84 yards and a touchdown.

UH has put together back-to-back sellout attendance marks of 32,119, the biggest crowds in Robertson Stadium history.

Game time is set for 2:30 pm CT and will be shown on television on CBS-CS.

Houston Cougars Lose Quarterbacks Case Keenum, Cotton Turner For Season

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2010 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (September 19, 2010) It has been reported via the University of Houston Department of Athletic Communications and a teleconference call with head coach Kevin Sumlin that senior starting quarterback Case Keenum will miss the remainder of 2010 with a season-ending torn ACL knee injury.

Additionally, junior back-up Cotton Turner suffered a fractured clavicle also resulting in the end of his play this year.

Both quarterbacks sustained injuries in UH’s game vs. UCLA on Saturday. Keenum left at the four-minute mark of the second quarter, while Turner went down at 4:09 in the third quarter.

“I am very disappointed for both these young men,” said Sumlin. “It’s hard to see them hurting right now. They both are a big part of this team and wanted to be contributors to its success this season. I think they can still do that with their off-the-field leadership.”

Keenum finished the season with 636 yards passing on a 66 percent completion percentage, while also throwing five touchdown passes.
With his 2010 numbers, he ranks among the top-10 in the NCAA in five career categories — 14,448 yards of total offense (7th nationally), 13,586 passing yards (5th nationally), 107 touchdown passes (8th nationally), 1,626 pass attempts (10th nationally), 1,118 pass completions (7th nationally).

Turner played in all three games, completing 74 percent of his passes for 180 yards and two touchdowns.

Turner was scheduled for surgery at 2:30pm Sunday, while Keenum was to be re-evaluated on Monday.

Sumlin indicated that Keenum’s injury was a “plant and slip” and not the result of contact.
He also stated in his Sunday teleconference call that he would name a starter early in the week, with Terrence Broadway and David Piland both in consideration for the job.

Broadway went 5 for 8 for 84 yards and one touchdown against UCLA.

Sumlin indicated that the plan for this season was to redshirt both Broadway and Pilant this season. He stated that like in most things, plans change.

Whoever is given the starting job, they will face a Tulane team that is currently 1-2for the season, coming off a 65-18 loss to Oklahoma State on Sept. 18.

I will post more on this as updated information becomes available.