Houston’s speedsters were the difference on Saturday

HOUSTON -- Scouting Houston's dynamic offense begins, and essentially ends, with a pair of speed burners.

At least contain 1,000-yard tailback Anthony Alridge and playmaking wide receiver Donnie Avery and you've got a shot. Otherwise, you'd better throw 40-plus of your own on the scoreboard.

Two offensive head-turners indeed proved the difference in Saturday's 35-28 victory over Marshall, but the usual suspects stepped aside on this Homecoming afternoon. Alridge and Avery, while effective, gave way to Case Keenum and, even more surprising, tight end Mark Hafner.

Their more celebrated teammates consume yards in bunches, exploiting creases with sprinter's speed. Keenum and Hafner mostly opted for the dirt road, with a few exceptions.

Keenum threw for 298 yards and two touchdowns on 24-of-32 passing with one interception. Just as impressive, the freshman quarterback moved chains with 44 yards on eight carries, including a 1-yard TD plunge.

He converted sure sacks into near misses, repeatedly darting away from defenders.

"There are a couple of issues there," Marshall coach Mark Snyder said. "He's a good athlete. You've got to credit him.

"And we got a little tired and at times we looked very unathletic chasing him."

Keenum wasn't sacked, often extending plays after escaping a compromised pocket.

"The first half it was a little rainy, a little slippery," Thundering Herd defensive lineman Ryland Wilson said. "(But) he is hard to tackle. We couldn't get him."

Keenum's lone real miscue, a second quarter fumble, was recovered by safety C.J. Spillman at the Cougars 37-yard line. Marshall failed to convert, however, a key storyline in its sixth road loss in as many 2007 games.

"They made a couple more plays than we did, regardless of who got the ball," said Spillman, who led the Herd with 16 tackles.

Hafner, a 6-foot-3, 230-pound junior, tied a career high with six receptions. He translated those into 128 yards, more than doubling his previous career best.

Pass coverage on tight ends and running backs, virtually a season-long issue, continued Saturday (Alridge added 44 yards and a touchdown on five receptions).

"The tight end was sneaking out on delays," Marshall linebacker Mario Harvey said. "He was sneaking out all night, so he was hard to stop."

Like Keenum, Hafner darted and dipped out of tackles in the open field. He showed off speed late, however, sprinting 62 yards on a fourth quarter touchdown.

"In the three-deep defense you can't just let someone run up the field untouched," Spillman said. "We as a secondary have to be better tacklers and make plays."

"They did a good job with him," Snyder added. "They lined him up at tackle -- it wasn't a traditional tight end position -- and caught us off guard a couple of times and it really worked good for him."