Case Keenum wrapped up his college career in style, passing for 532 yards and three touchdowns as No. 17 Houston beat No. 23 Penn State 30-14 in the TicketCity Bowl in Dallas.
 
Keenum fueled the Cougars (13-1) to a 24-7 halftime lead, throwing for 380 yards and all three touchdowns in the first two quarters. Keenum finished 44 yards shy of the national bowl game record for most yards passing, set by BYU’s Ty Detmer against Penn State in the 1989 Holiday Bowl.
 
Facing a Penn State passing defense ranked fifth in the nation, Keenum passed for 227 yards in the first quarter. His 40-yard touchdown pass to Patrick Edwards and 8-yard touchdown pass to Justin Johnson helped the Cougars build a 17-0 lead after one quarter.
 
After the Nittany Lions (9-4) pulled within 17-7 on Stephfon Green’s 6-yard touchdown run with 5:57 to go before halftime, Keenum and Edwards connected for a 75-yard touchdown pass with 1:43 left in the half.
 
Houston won under interim coach Tony Levine, who took over last month when Kevin Sumlin left to take the Texas A&M job. Penn State interim coach Tom Bradley may have coached his final game.
 
Penn State struggled offensively. Quarterback Rob Bolden, who started because Matt McGloin suffered a concussion in a locker room fight last month, finished with three interceptions and just 137 yards passing – 69 yards on a touchdown pass to Justin Brown with 2:38 left in the third quarter.