A real head Case

Houston might be playing a hide-and-seek game with Case Keenum, but Neuheisel isn’t buying it.

Keenum suffered a mild concussion in the Cougars’ 54-24 win over Texas-El Paso and coach Kevin Sumlin said that his star quarterback was listed as day-to-day, his status not updated until game-time.

Keenum has reportedly been responding well as he goes through the proper concussion protocol, and is expected to play Saturday at the Rose Bowl.

“I think you have to expect he’ll be ready,” Neuheisel said. “He’s a tough guy. It’s not like he has to be in any contact this week. You just have to anticipate he’ll be ready. And you have to anticipate that if he weren’t ready to go, it would be the same offense you played anyway.”

Backup quarterback Cotton Turner relieved Keenum in the third quarter, completing nine-of-10 passes for 69 yards and a score.

But Turner is a far cry from Keenum, who jumped ahead of Texas’ Colt McCoy and North Carolina State’s Philip Rivers for fifth on the NCAA career passing yardage list with 13,503, after throwing for 279 yards against the Miners.