SportsDirect Inc. staff
Oct 27, 2011

Case Keenum became the NCAA’s all-time leader in touchdown passes and No. 18 Houston stormed past Rice 73-34 on Thursday night at Robertson Stadium.

Keenum tossed a career-high and Conference USA-record nine touchdowns, giving him 139 in his career, five more than Texas Tech’s Graham Harrell totaled from 2005-2008. He tied the record on an 18-yard hookup with Justin Johnson near the end of the first half, and then broke it with a 41-yard bomb to Charles Sims early in the third quarter.

Keenum, the FBS leader in total offense, now has 32 touchdowns to only three interceptions this season and has thrown for 15 scores in the last two games.

Patrick Edwards had a career-high 318 receiving yards and five touchdowns for the Cougars (8-0, 4-0 Conference USA), who scored on nine straight drives after turning the ball over twice in their first three possessions.

Keenum also had 534 passing yards to notch his fifth career 500-yard game.

Rice (2-6, 1-4 Conference USA) actually led 17-7 in a rain-filled first quarter, but after the weather cleared Houston’s offense was unstoppable. The Owls refused to get out of man-to-man coverage against the Cougars’ speedy wide receivers, and it cost them. All of Houston’s scoring plays came from at least 18 yards out, and the Cougars never took longer than 2:28 to score.

Rice running back Tyler Smith scored on a 67-yard reception and 97-yard run, the longest scoring play in Owls' history.

Keenum wasn’t the only record-breaker for Houston. Tyron Carrier ran the opening kickoff back 100 yards for a touchdown, tying C.J. Spiller’s NCAA record with seven career kick returns for scores.

At 8-0, the Cougars equaled their best start in program history.