Mississippi St. 47, Houston 24

Vick Ballard ran for 134 yards and three touchdowns and Mississippi State rushed for 409 yards in a 47-24 win over Houston on Saturday night. The Bulldogs (4-2) held Houston's high-powered offense to 47 yards rushing and snapped the Cougars' 18-game home winning streak. Mississippi State quarterback Chris Relf ran for 96 yards and a touchdown before leaving in the third quarter with an injury. The Bulldogs ran 80 plays and finished with 538 total yards. Corey Broomfield returned an interception for a touchdown off Houston quarterback David Piland, a freshman who made his first career start. The Cougars (3-2) played their second game since senior QB Case Keenum sustained a season-ending knee injury. Piland completed 30 of 57 passes for 301 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions. He started ahead of freshman Terrance Broadway, who led Houston past Tulane on Sept. 25. Coach Kevin Sumlin worked each quarterback equally over the last two weeks, and kept his choice for the starter a secret until just before kickoff.