Houston 35, Marshall 28

11/17/2007 6:57 PM

By MICHAEL A. LUTZ
AP Sports Writer

HOUSTON (AP) -Case Keenum passed for two touchdowns and ran for another, and Anthony Alridge scored twice to lead Houston over Marshall 35-28 Saturday, keeping alive the Cougars' hopes of winning Conference USA's West Division.

The defending C-USA champion Cougars (7-4, 6-2) could wrap up the division title if Rice beats Tulsa next Saturday. Houston finishes with a non-conference game against Texas Southern next week.

Marshall (2-9, 2-5) had won two of its previous three games.

Leading 10-7 at the half, the Cougars had an 18-point spurt on their first three possessions of the second half to take a 28-14 lead with 10:50 left.

T.J. Lawrence kicked a 24-yard field goal, Keenum hit Alridge with a 26-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter, and then Keenum kept it himself for a 1-yard score and ran in the 2-point conversion early in the fourth quarter for a 28-14 lead.

Marshall got a 13-yard touchdown from Chubb Small in the third quarter and cut Houston's lead to 28-21 on a 1-yard run by Darius Marshall.

After Keenum hit tight end Mark Hafner with a 62-yard touchdown, Marshall drove for a 1-yard touchdown by Kelvin Turner with 2:51 to play.

Keenum completed 24 of 32 passes for 298 yards with an interception. He rushed eight times for 44 yards.

Hafner had six receptions for 128 yards, and Alridge finished with 103 yards on 25 carries.

Houston's halftime lead came on a 32-yard field goal by Lawrence in the first quarter and 3-yard run by Alridge, capping a 70-yard second-quarter drive.

Herd defensive tackle Byron Tinker tipped a pass by Keenum, and it was intercepted by Ryland Wilson at the Marshall 44 late in the first quarter.

Marshall capitalized when Bernard Morris threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to Emmanuel Spann on third down. Morris hit 20 of 32 passes for 260 yards and was sacked three times.