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It wasn't the prettiest day, with overcast skies hovering over Robertson Stadium. It wasn't the most picturesque performance by Houston, with its high-powered offense not quite lighting up the scoreboard like it has for most of the season.

Aesthetics aside, the Cougars remained perfect in the end.

Aided by a stout defensive performance, No. 11 UH worked its way to a 37-7 win over SMU before a record crowd of 32,207 on senior day Saturday at Robertson Stadium to remain undefeated.

The Cougars (11-0, 7-0 Conference USA) will take their unblemished mark on the road for their regular-season finale, a showdown at Tulsa for the C-USA West Division title and a berth in the conference championship game.

On Saturday, UH was unable to score at the breakneck pace to which it is accustomed. But the Cougars put together one of their best defensive performances of the season to make up for it, holding the Mustangs (6-5, 4-3) to just one touchdown, 24 rushing yards and 263 total yards — all well below SMU's season averages.

"We had a great effort defensively," UH coach Kevin Sumlin said. "To hold them to seven points — and our third-down percentages were great — it was great for our team."

Saturday was the deepest the Cougars have gone into a game this season before scoring a touchdown. Senior running back Michael Hayes (15 carries, 68 yards) broke the ice with a 36-yard scoring run on a draw play with 46 seconds left in the first half, giving UH a 13-0 lead.

Clamping down

And while it didn't hurt that SMU came into the game without C-USA's leading rusher, Zach Line, who is done for the year with a toe injury, UH made sure not to let quarterback J.J. McDermott (23-of-40, 239 yards), or Line's backup, Jared Williams (10 carries, 11 yards), do any significant damage.

The Cougars were able to generate pressure on McDermott, racking up four sacks, three of which came courtesy of senior linebacker Sammy Brown.

Brown came into the game nursing an ankle injury he suffered on Nov. 10 against Tulane, but he was able to fight through it and lead the team with 10 tackles and six tackles for loss.

"We knew they had a good passing game," Brown said. "We just wanted to go out and stop them from making big plays."

The defense also came up with two key turnovers. One came on a Phillip Steward interception of McDermott in the end zone, killing an 11-play, 74-yard SMU drive to open the second half. The next came on the Mustangs' following possession when cornerback D.J. Hayden and defensive end Kelvin King combined to hit McDermott, forcing a fumble that UH recovered at its own 45. The Cougars turned the pair of turnovers into 10 points.

Marked man

Senior quarterback Case Keenum also made some more history. Keenum (30-of-45 passing, 318 yards) became the NCAA's all-time completions leader and the second player in NCAA history to throw for at least 4,000 yards in three separate seasons. He also tied the career record for 300-yard passing games.

The UH offense did come up with big plays at key moments, including a play-action rollout pass from Keenum to Justin Johnson for a 12-yard touchdown on fourth-and-1 that gave UH a 23-0 lead with 30 seconds left in the third quarter. But the Cougars' overall red-zone struggles on Saturday give them a focal point heading into next week.

"We were moving the ball and converting on some good third downs," Keenum said. "It was just little things. When it comes down to it in close games, we're going to need to make those plays."

sam.khan@chron.com

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