HOUSTON -- Kevin Kolb threw two touchdown passes to Biren Ealy and ran for another score to lead Houston to a 34-20 win over Southern Mississippi in the Conference USA championship Friday night.
Kolb completed 19 of 31 passes for 258 yards and became the conference's career passing leader, leapfrogging Louisville quarterback Chris Redman. Kolb, making his 49th career start, has 12,578 passing yards.
Kolb also had a 46-yard touchdown run in the third quarter that gave the Cougars the lead for good.
Kolb's two TD passes moved him into second place on the league's career list, two behind Redman's record of 84.
Vincent Marshall, Houston's career receiving leader, caught eight passes for 100 yards and had a touchdown run on a lateral for the Cougars (10-3), who won their first Conference USA title since 1996, the league's inaugural season.
Houston has matched its highest win total since 1990 and heads to the Liberty Bowl on a six-game winning streak.
Jeremy Young had a touchdown run and threw a TD pass to Chris Johnson to lead the Golden Eagles (8-5), who will play Ohio in the GMAC Bowl.
The Cougars trailed 17-13 at halftime, but came from behind to win for the sixth straight game.
Early in the third quarter, Kolb faked a handoff to Jackie Battle and sprinted for a touchdown, the longest run of his career.
Kolb, Conference USA's career leader in total offense, went 6-for-6 on Houston's next drive and found Ealy for a 33-yard touchdown with 2:52 left in the third quarter.
While Kolb hit his stride after a sluggish first half, Houston's defense held Southern Miss to 46 yards and two first downs in the third quarter.
Darren McCaleb kicked a 31-yard field goal midway through the fourth quarter to cut Houston's lead to 27-20.
But Kolb drove the Cougars to the Southern Miss 32, then lofted a TD pass to Ealy down the sideline with 4:25 left. After the touchdown, Kolb jogged to the sideline and high-fived quarterbacks coach Philip Montgomery.
Southern Miss had beaten Houston in seven of the previous eight meetings, including a 31-27 victory on Oct. 14.
The game drew 31,818, the largest crowd in the history of Robertson Stadium, which was built in the 1940s and expanded in 1999.
Southern Miss freshman Damion Fletcher broke a 36-yard run on the third play from scrimmage that led to McCaleb's 30-yard field goal 5 minutes into the game.
Kolb started 1-for-5 but Marshall caught a lateral on Houston's second drive and ran 22 yards through the Southern Miss secondary for a go-ahead touchdown.
Young completed four of his first six passes, including a 45-yarder to tight end Shawn Nelson later in the first quarter. The play set up Young's 8-yard touchdown scramble that put the Golden Eagles up 10-7.
The Cougars converted two fourth downs on their next drive and Jackie Battle scored with 10:01 left in the half for a 13-10 Houston lead. Battle set a school record with his 29th career rushing touchdown.
The Golden Eagles retook the lead on Johnson's 8-yard touchdown catch from Young with 1:36 left in the half. The play capped an 8-minute drive that was kept alive by a holding penalty on Houston safety Brandon Brinkley.
Houston drove to the 2 in the final seconds of the half but came away with nothing. The Cougars were out of time outs when the Golden Eagles stuffed Battle at the 1. Time expired as the players unpiled.
The Golden Eagles came into the game with the league's top rushing offense, but mustered only 44 rushing yards in the second half.
Fletcher, the league's second leading rusher, finished with 90 yards, 13 below his average.
Southern Miss also had the top scoring defense in Conference USA, but Houston's point total was the most allowed by the Eagles since a 36-6 loss to Virginia Tech on Oct. 21.
other Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles NCAA college football DVDs
other Houston Cougars NCAA college football DVDs
NFL football DVDs /
NCAA college football DVDs /
NBA basketball DVDs /
Major League Baseball DVDs /
NFL Europe DVDs /
XFL football DVDs /
Super Bowl DVDs /
NFL draft DVDs /
Canadian football CFL DVDs /
USFL football DVDs /
Arena football AFL DVDs /
World Leage WLAF football DVDs /
Japanese baseball DVDs /
NCAA college basketball DVDs /
NHL hockey DVDs /
Olympics hockey DVDs /
other DVDs /
contact
the sale of sports telecasts is illegal and not condoned