QB leads Cougars past Southern Miss

[PonyPride]

(From the UH athletic department website)

Cougars snap six-game losing streak to Eagles, 27-24
Kevin Kolb throws two fourth-quarter touchdowns to key Houston victory.


HOUSTON (AP) - Quarterback Kevin Kolb threw for 315 yards and two fourth-quarter touchdowns and Ryan Gilbert rushed for a career high 144 yards to lead Houston to a 27-24 victory over Southern Mississippi on Sunday.

Houston (5-4, 3-3 Conference USA) ended a six-game losing streak to the Golden Eagles (5-4, 4-2) in a game rescheduled due to Hurricane Rita in September.

Kolb hit threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Vincent Marshall with 12:53 remaining in the fourth quarter to give the Cougars a 20-10 lead.

Southern Miss answered with an 84-yard drive highlighted by a 43-yard pass from Dustin Almond to Tavarras Williams to the Houston 1. Cole Mason scored on the next play to make it 20-17 with 9:25 left in the game.

Kolb hit Marshall with an 83-yard touchdown pass with 9:04 to play for a 27-17 lead. Marshall had seven catches for 129 yards.

Kevis Coley helped keep Southern Miss alive when he recovered a Gilbert fumble at the Houston 44 with 2:40 left in the game. Almond, who hit 23 of 45 for 295 yards, covered the ground in two passes, including a 5-yard touchdown to Barnes to make it 27-24 with 2:17 to play.

The Eagles recovered the onside kick and Almond drove them to the Houston 35 before fumbling. Houston's Kade Lane recovered the fumble with 1:27 left to end the threat.

Southern Miss jumped to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter on a 41-yard field goal by Darren McCaleb and a 9-yard pass from Almond to Barnes.

Kolb brought Houston back with a 7-play, 66-yard drive capped by Gilbert's 8-yard touchdown run. He then hit 7-of-9 passes for 79 yards the last three minutes of the second quarter to lead Houston to a 24-yard Ben Bell field goal that tied it at 10 as time expired in the first half.

Bell gave Houston its first lead of the game, 13-10, in the third quarter with a 30-yard field goal.

[Sam I Am]

The UH win means trouble for SMU in Houston next week. Just when I had deluded myself into thinking that the ponies had a chance against the Coogs.

[MrMustang1965]

The UH win means trouble for SMU in Houston next week. Just when I had deluded myself into thinking that the ponies had a chance against the Coogs.

Remember the TCU and UAB games. Anything is possible.

[The PonyGrad]

It was a close game.

Don't over estimate So. Miss. Our defense, especially our pass defense is better than USM's. USM has received a lot of breaks or made them, ranking #7 in turnovers prior to the game.

Granted our offense is not as good with the exception of our running game. That is important as UH's defensive weakness is vs. the run.

There is hope. Keep the faith and beat UH.