ESPN College Football

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.