PROVO, Utah -- Max Hall passed for 288 yards and two touchdowns in his college debut and Brigham Young won a season opener for the first time under coach Bronco Mendenhall, beating Arizona 20-7 Saturday.
The Cougars ended last season with 10 straight wins and extended the streak to 11 by nearly shutting out the Wildcats, who didn't score until 53 seconds remained in the game.
Harvey Unga ran for 67 yards and a touchdown and caught nine passes for 127 yards. Unga finished with 194 yards of offense, nearly as much as Arizona totaled as a team with 255. The Wildcats gained 80 on their only scoring drive against the BYU reserves.
Arizona, one of two teams to beat BYU last year, had just 32 yards rushing and 223 yards passing as the offense sputtered under new coordinator Sonny Dykes' spread scheme. The Wildcats finally avoided the shutout when Willie Tuitama completed a 7-yard touchdown pass to Earl Mitchell with 53 seconds remaining.
Tuitama finished 26-for-36 for 216 yards. The Wildcats hadn't been shut out in a season opener since 1963.
Hall spent last season running the scout team, ineligible to play under NCAA transfer rules. He redshirted at Arizona State in 2004 and left school to serve a Mormon church mission.
Hall is replacing John Beck, the No. 2 passer in BYU history, and didn't show any signs of the long layoff. He completed his first three passes and went 26-for-39 with no interceptions.
The Cougars were 7-for-15 on third-down conversions under the rookie quarterback, who had a lot of help from the 220-pound Unga as well as the BYU defense.
BYU stopped Arizona on a fourth-and-5 and got the ball back at the Cougars' 28. Hall led a seven play drive, hitting Unga on a 27-yard touchdown pass that put the Cougars up 7-0 with 6:02 left in the first quarter. Unga caught the ball around the 10, spun around and ran through Dominick Patrick's tackle attempt and into the end zone.
Hall added a 2-yard touchdown pass to Dennis Pitta with 38 seconds left in the second quarter, giving BYU a 13-0 halftime lead after Mitch Payne missed the point-after kick.
Unga added the final touchdown on an 11-yard run with 3:24 left. The Cougars had opened the drive at the Arizona 44 after the Wildcats were well 3 yards short on a fourth-and-7.
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