Mississippi State probably looked at Houston as if it was a happy meal after the beating it absorbed in Southeastern Conference play from Florida, Georgia and LSU.

And after watching running back Jerious Norwood pound the Cougar defense for a school-record 257 yards rushing on Saturday, the Bulldogs should have been looking at a victory.

Think again.

The Bulldogs (2-5) lost their fourth straight game this season, as the Cougars (4-3, 2-2) enjoyed their break from Conference USA action with a 28-16 victory.

But how does a team like Houston give up 257 yards rushing to one player and still win? Here's how:

— Special teams. Down 13-7 in the second quarter, Houston took control of the contest with a 56-yard punt return for a touchdown by Vincent Marshall, giving the Cougars the lead.

— Bend-but-don't-break defense. Starting with the Marshall score, the Cougars held the Bulldogs to an Adam Carlson field goal. Norwood may have racked up the yards, but he couldn't find the end zone.

— Solid offensive production. Houston quarterback Kevin Kolb hit Kendal Briles for an 11-yard touchdown pass soon after the Marshall score, making it a two-touchdown game.

This victory was pretty big for Houston, which at the moment is a game back of Tulsa and UT-El Paso in C-USA's West Division. Houston has already beaten Tulsa, and lost to UTEP in double overtime. The Cougars have four more C-USA games on the schedule, and the next two are tough ones — a road trip to Central Florida on Nov. 5, and a home contest against Southern Miss on Nov. 13.

They can lose both games, win their final two contests and still be bowl eligible, but they'll only be an attractive option to the Fort Worth Bowl, four hours up I-45.

Elsewhere in C-USA, a little separation in the East Division emerged. Southern Miss (4-2, 3-1 East) defeated Alabama-Birmingham (3-4, 1-3 East) 37-28, and Central Florida (4-3, 3-1 East) took care of Tulane (2-4, 1-3 West) 34-24. That puts both one game up in the East Division.

Southern Miss, which beat UCF last week, got three touchdown passes from Dustin Almond, as the Golden Eagles grabbed a 17-0 first-quarter lead and never looked back.

The Golden Knights, playing a day early in Orlando because of Hurricane Wilma, would miss out on the C-USA championship game if the season ended today, given its loss to USM. Of the two, USM has the harder schedule, as they still have Houston and Memphis on the schedule in November.

UCF also has Houston, but its other three opponents are under .500. Memphis (4-3, 3-2 East) defeated East Carolina (3-4, 2-2 East) 27-24, damaging the Pirates' East Division title hopes. Memphis running back DeAngelo Williams continued his assault on the NCAA record books, rushing for 226 yards and two touchdowns. He passed Georgia's Herschel Walker (5,259 yards) and Texas Christian's LaDainian Tomlinson (5,263) on the all-time list, moving into seventh place. Williams now has 5,371 yards. Considering that is Williams' fourth 200-yard game this year, he could potentially pass at least one more spot on the list on Nov. 1 against UAB — Texas' Cedric Benson (5,540 yards) is at No. 6.

Out west, the collision course remains on track. UTEP (5-1, 3-1 West) easily took care of Marshall (3-4, 2-2 East) 31-3. Quarterback Jordan Palmer continued his climb up the school's career passing leaders, as he threw three scores. The junior now has 5,752 total yards, second behind Sammy Garza's 6,056 from 1983-86.

Tulsa (5-3, 4-1 West) remained percentage points ahead of the Miners with a 20-13 win over Southern Methodist (2-6, 1-4). The Golden Hurricanes felt fortunate, as their recent history against SMU isn't very good. Quarterback Paul Smith and wide receiver Garrett Mills hooked up for two touchdown passes. That included a 66-yard touchdown pass that won the game. The Golden Hurricanes had lost seven of their last eight meetings with the Mustangs.

Tulsa and UTEP will meet on Nov. 5.

And, Navy defeated Rice in a non-conference game. The Owls (0-6, 0-3 West) has now lost 12 in a row, the worst streak in the nation.

My record: 4-2 (lost Houston and Rice).

Bowl report (Predictions on who will go where)

GMAC Bowl (C-USA No. 2): UCF

Liberty Bowl (C-USA Champion): Texas El-Paso

Hawai'i Bowl (C-USA No. 3): Tulsa

New Orleans Bowl (C-USA at large): Southern Miss

Fort Worth Bowl (C-USA No. 4): Houston

Bowl eligible: None.

Out of bowl consideration: Rice (0-6, five games remaining); SMU (2-6, three games remaining)

Mountain West Conference

No. 21 Texas Christian (7-1, 5-0) had absolutely no problems with Air Force (3-5, 2-4), winning 48-10. Quarterback Jeff Ballard threw for 302 yards and two touchdowns, a midseason replacement for the injured Tye Gunn. That keeps the Horned Frogs one game ahead of Colorado State in the standings.

And, losses by No. 16 Auburn and No. 17 Tennessee helped the Horned Frogs move up to No. 20.

Colorado State (4-3, 3-1) had to fight to stay within a game of TCU, though, as the Rams only beat Wyoming (4-4, 2-3) 39-31. That effectively ends the Cowboys' hopes of winning the conference title. In a typical MWC game, Rams quarterback Justin Holland threw for a career-high 419 yards and four touchdowns. Wyoming receiver Jovon Bouknight, perhaps the most versatile offensive player in college football, caught 12 passes for 187 yards to extend his consecutive game streak to 44 games with at least one reception. He caught three TD passes and threw for another.

Utah (4-4, 2-3) took out UNLV (2-6, 1-4) 42-32, scoring 21 points each of the second and third quarters. Quinton Ganther ran for 156 yards and three touchdowns to lead Utah.

New Mexico (5-3, 3-2) moved into third place in the conference with a 47-24 win over San Diego State (3-5, 2-3). New Mexico's DonTrell Moore had another fine game, rushing for 162 yards and one touchdown. His quarterback, Kole McKarney, handled that by tossing three scores and running for another. By the way, New Mexico owns the tiebreaker over Wyoming, now in fourth place. New Mexico gets Colorado State on Friday.

And, BYU's trip to Notre Dame was a good one — for the Irish. They finally gave coach Charlie Weis his first home victory at Notre Dame Stadium, as the Irish won 49-23. Irish quarterback Brady Quinn threw a school-record six touchdown passes, which doesn't bode well when the Cougars play Wyoming and Utah later this year.

My record: 5-0 (and I was pretty close on the CSU-Wyoming game. Score was 39-31. I said 37-31).

Bowl report (Predictions on who will go where)

Las Vegas Bowl (conference champion): TCU

Emerald Bowl (second or third place): Colorado State

Poinsettia Bowl (MWC at large): New Mexico

Bowl eligible: TCU.

Out of bowl consideration: UNLV (2-6, three games remaining)

Western Athletic Conference

No. 24 Fresno State had absolutely no issues with Idaho, beating the Vandals 40-10. The Bulldogs (5-1, 3-0) saw Joe Fernandez return a punt 72 yards for a touchdown, and Jaron Fairman return a blocked punt for another score. It's a great win for Fresno State, who has four big games waiting to end the season — Boise State, at No. 1 Southern Cal, at Nevada and Louisiana Tech. The Bulldogs move into a tie with Nevada (4-2, 3-0) and Boise State (5-2, 3-0). The Bulldogs also moved up to No. 22 in the most recent Associated Press poll.

Nevada was off, and Boise State defeated Utah State 45-21. Jared Zabransky threw for 328 yards and four touchdowns to lead Boise State. It was the Broncos' fifth straight win and their 29th consecutive league victory, the longest current conference winning streak in the nation. Boise State's last league loss was Nov. 3, 2001, at Louisiana Tech.

Hawai'i (3-4, 3-2) won a shootout with San Jose State (1-6, 0-4), 45-38. As usual, Hawai'i is tossing the ball around with wild abandon, as quarterback Colt Brennan passed for 457 yards and three touchdowns.

And Louisiana Tech (3-3, 2-1) took a break from the WACiness of the WAC by beating North Texas 40-14. La. Tech scored the first 30 points of the game to make it easy. They return to conference action next Saturday against San Jose State.

My record: 4-0.

Bowl report (Predictions on who will go where)

GMAC Bowl (MAC or WAC at-large): Nevada

Hawai'i Bowl (WAC at-large): Fresno State

MPC Computers (WAC at large): Boise State

Bowl eligible: None

Out of bowl consideration: New Mexico State (0-7, five games remaining); San Jose State (1-6, four games remaining); Idaho (1-6, four games remaining).

Mid-American Conference

Bowling Green (4-3, 3-1 East) took a serious stumble at home Saturday, falling to Western Michigan (4-3, 2-2 West) 45-14. Of course, there is a reason — the Falcons lost staring quarterback Omar Jacobs early in the contest, after he took a hit from the Broncos' Matt Ludeman. Jacobs had pain in his non-throwing shoulder and didn't come back. The Broncos took advantage, as Tim Hiller threw for 258 yards and three touchdowns as they scored 31 straight points after Jacobs' departure.

What does that do to the Falcons' chances of winning the East Division title and securing a berth in the MAC Championship game? It certainly doesn't damage them, as Akron lost and Miami of Ohio barely won. All the Falcons must do is win out to stay on course toward a championship game berth.

Akron (3-4, 2-3 East) found itself on the losing end against Army, falling 20-0. The Zips missed a golden opportunity to put some pressure on the Falcons, as the Black Knights won their first game of the season and ended an 11-game losing streak.

Miami of Ohio (4-3, 3-2 East) was a little more fortunate, as it slipped by Eastern Michigan (3-5, 2-3) 24-23. A mishandled snap forced Eastern Michigan kicker Andrew Wellock's tying extra-point attempt to hit the right upright and fall into the end zone with just 13 seconds remaining.

The RedHawks will have a chance to further damage BG's postseason hopes on Nov. 15. That should be possible. Miami of Ohio faces two of the conference's worst teams in its next two games — Buffalo and provisional member Temple, who are both winless.

Buffalo (0-7, 0-4) was pounded by West Division leading Toledo (6-1, 4-0) 38-15, which is now bowl eligible, the first MAC team to earn that status. Bruce Gradkowski threw for 186 yards and three touchdowns to lead Toledo.

Meanwhile, Temple (0-8) proved a sacrificial lamb to Clemson in a 37-7 loss.

Also, Northern Illinois (4-3, 3-1 West) easily dispatched Kent State (1-6, 0-4 East) 34-3, and Ohio (3-4, 2-2 East) beat Ball State (1-6, 1-3 West) 38-21.

My record: 5-2 (lost Bowling Green and Army).

Bowl report (Predictions on who will go where)

GMAC Bowl (MAC or WAC at-large): Bowling Green

Motor City Bowl (MAC winner or runner-up): Toledo

Note: Those are the MAC's only binding bowl ties. The league also sent schools to the Fort Worth Bowl, the Liberty Bowl and the Silicon Valley Bowl in 2004.

Bowl eligible: Toledo

Out of bowl consideration: Buffalo (0-7, four games remaining); Temple (0-8, not eligible for bowl consideration out of MAC); Kent State (1-6, four games remaining); Ball State (1-6, four games remaining).

Sun Belt Conference

Louisiana-Monroe (3-4, 3-0) took the weekend off, watching to see if either Arkansas State, North Texas, Middle Tennessee or Troy took a tumble from the one-loss club.

North Texas (2-3, 2-1) wouldn't drop, since it ventured out of the Sun Belt to absorb a 40-10 loss to Louisiana Tech.

Arkansas State wouldn't, but the Indians played perhaps a game stranger than Alabama's 6-3 win over Tennessee. The Indians (4-3, 3-1) defeated Florida Atlantic, 3-0, in overtime. The Indians entered the game as the conference's top scoring offense, tallying more than 35 points per game. Eric Neihouse won a game for the Indians for the second straight time, kicking a 21-yard field goal in overtime. He did so after ASU stopped FAU (1-7, 1-3) on its overtime possession. FAU could have won in regulation, if Daniel Kennard had not missed a 44-yard field goal attempt with 16 seconds left. ASU did dominate the stats, outgaining the Owls 398-168. But ASU committed four turnovers.

Troy (3-4, 2-1) wouldn't, after it beat Florida International (1-5, 0-3) 18-13 on Thursday night. But

Middle Tennessee did. The Blue Raiders (2-4, 1-2), clinging to hopes of challenging for the league crown, fell to Louisiana-Lafayette (1-6, 0-3) 13-10.

So Middle Tennessee is most likely out of the picture. Who's next?

Well, ASU has already lost to Louisiana-Monroe, so it needs some help. Troy has also fallen to La-Mo. So, North Texas is the only team with one loss left to challenge the Indians, who should have no problem with Florida International after an incredible two-week break on Nov. 5. Then, after Middle Tennessee on Nov. 12, it's UNT on Nov. 19 in Denton, Texas.

Of course, UNT needs to get there first. The Mean Green will be the lamb to the slaughter this week, as it goes to LSU for a game postponed because of Hurricane Katrina. Then, they host Louisiana-Lafayette and travel to Florida Atlantic before facing, in order, Louisiana-Monroe and Arkansas State.

My record: 3-0 (didn't pick Troy-FIU contest).

Bowl report (Predictions on who will go where)

New Orleans Bowl (Sun Belt Champion): Louisiana-Monroe

Bowl eligible: None

Out of bowl consideration: Louisiana-Lafayette (1-6, four games remaining); Florida Atlantic (1-7, three games remaining).