HOUSTON 42, MISSISSIPPI ST 35

HOUSTON (Ticker) -- Kevin Kolb passed for 321 yards and four

touchdowns as Houston kept Mississippi State winless with a

42-35 victory.

Kolb, who completed 20-of-29 passes, threw two TD strikes to

Vincent Marshall, including a 23-yarder that gave the Cougars

(3-1) a 42-21 lead with 12:37 left in the fourth quarter.

Mississippi State scored twice in the final six minutes but it

was not enough to prevent the Bulldogs from taking an 0-3 record

into the start of Southeastern Conference play.

Mississippi State played at Houston for the first time since

1969, when the Cougars handed the Bulldogs their worst loss in

schoool history, 73-0.

The teams split 12 meetings from 1956-1972, the last time they

played.

Marshall caught eight passes for 79 yards, while Brandon

Middleton hauled in four receptions for 124 yards and a score.

Mississippi State continues to be plagued by a porous defense,

allowing 115 points in its first three games.

The Bulldogs fell behind 21-0 in the first quarter as Kolb threw

TD passes of 74 yards to Middleton and 13 yards to Marshall.

Houston increased its lead to 28-0 on Kolb's 50-yard TD toss to

Leonard Gibson with 3:18 left in the first half.

Kevin Fant passed for 360 yards and three touchdowns for the

Bulldogs but was intercepted five times.

Justin Jenkins (172 yards) and McKinley Scott (115) had 100-yard

receiving games for Mississippi State, which has dropped 13 of

its last 16 contests.