Case Keenum leads Houston to a wild 50-43 win

at No. 15 Houston 50, Southern Mississippi 43: Case Keenum threw for a career-high 559 yards and had five touchdowns, his last coming with 21 seconds left Saturday to lead the Cougars (7-1, 3-1) over the Golden Eagles (5-4, 3-2) in a Conference USA game. Keenum ended the tie with a 46-yard pass to Patrick Edwards. The Golden Eagles had a chance to tie it, but Martevious Young’s heave from midfield was knocked down in the end zone as the final seconds ticked off the clock. Keenum’s other touchdown passes went for 33, 55, 14 and 17 yards as Houston won its fourth straight game. James Cleveland finished with 13 catches for 190 yards, and Charles Sims ran 95 yards as the two teams combined 1,358 yards and 66 first downs. After recovering a fumble, Southern Miss marched downfield and tied it 43-43 on a 13-yard reception by Gerald Baptiste with 57 seconds left.

In other Conference USA games: Freshman quarterback Kyle Padron threw for 354 yards in his first career start to lead Southern Methodist (4-4, 3-1) to a 27-13 victory over host Tulsa (4-4, 2-2). . . . Senior quarterback Joe Webb threw for two touchdowns, ran one and caught a pass for another to lead Alabama Birmingham (3-5, 3-2) to a 38-33 win over host Texas El Paso (3-5, 2-2).

In games involving teams from the Mid-American Conference: Bernard Pierce rushed for 267 yards, including a 41-yard touchdown with 2:41 left, and James Nixon returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown as Temple (6-2) became bowl eligible with a 27-24 victory over host Navy (6-3). . . . Zac Dysert ran for two touchdowns and passed for another, and host Miami of Ohio (1-8, 1-4) held on for a 31-24 victory over Toledo (4-5, 2-3) to end a 13-game losing streak. . . . Theo Scott found Terrence McCrae for a seven-yard touchdown with just over three minutes left to lift Ohio (6-3, 4-1) to a 20-17 victory over host Ball State (1-8, 1-4). . . . Spencer Keith threw for 373 yards and two touchdowns to lead Kent State (5-4, 4-1) to a 26-14 victory over visiting Western Michigan (4-5, 3-3). . . . Tailback Chad Spann scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns and rushed for a game-high 125 yards as Northern Illinois (5-3, 3-1) rallied for a 27-10 win over visiting Akron (1-7, 0-4).

In Sun Belt Conference games: Jerrel Jernigan caught a career-high 13 passes for 203 yards to lead Troy (6-2, 5-0) to a 42-21 victory over visiting Louisiana Monroe (4-4, 3-1). . . . Dwight Dasher ran for a 74-yard touchdown on a quarterback draw to give Middle Tennessee State (5-3, 3-1) a 27-20 victory over host Florida Atlantic (2-5, 2-2). . . . Dustin Rivest kicked a 24-yard field goal in overtime to lift host Florida International (2-6, 2-3) to a 20-17 win over Louisiana Lafayette (4-4, 2-2). . . . Riley Dodge accounted for seven touchdowns as host North Texas (2-6, 1-4) matched its school record for points in a 68-49 win over Western Kentucky (0-8, 0-4), which has lost 16 in a row.