Razing Arizona: Cougs impressive in season-opener

PROVO — Thousands of fans who filled LaVell Edwards Stadium wore blue shirts proclaiming that they are "Fully Invested," borrowing one of coach Bronco Mendenhall's favorite phrases. In Saturday's season-opener against Arizona, the Cougars put a down payment on what they hope is another stellar season.

The Wildcats, meanwhile, left town almost totally bankrupt — bereft of a win and nearly devoid of points.

For months, BYU has talked about "raising the bar," and before a sellout crowd, it enjoyed razing Arizona, 20-7.

Playing in his debut in front of two legendary predecessors, Gifford Nielsen and Ty Detmer — whose No. 14 jerseys were retired at halftime — BYU quarterback Max Hall completed 26 of 39 passes for 288 yards and two touchdowns. Redshirt freshman running back Harvey Unga scored a pair of TDs and rolled up 194 yards of total offense.

And, oh yeah, the defense pitched a shutout for 59 minutes before the punchless 'Cats finally reached the end zone with 53 seconds remaining.

With the victory, BYU avenged last season's heartbreaking 16-13 setback in Tucson. The Cougars also extended their winning streak to 11 games, carrying over from the 2006 campaign.

"I would like this program to be known as a great program and the next group of players coming in picking up where they left off, just going forward," Mendenhall said. "This is one step in that direction. That is our ultimate goal."

In place of last year's offensive stars — quarterback John Beck, running back Curtis Brown and tight end Jonny Harline — Hall, Unga and Dennis Pitta acquitted themselves well and helped lead the Cougar offense, which racked up 392 yards of total offense.

"Max Hall came out and showed he's capable of running this team today," said receiver Austin Collie, who played in his first game for the Cougars since 2004 after returning from a mission in January. "He did extremely well. He put on a show today, and that's what we as a football team was expecting of him."

At the same time, Collie pointed out, there is room for improvement.

"With the things we saw today, we could have put up 42 points," he said. "It's just all about getting into the blue zone and executing. When we finish those things off, we'll have one of the best offenses in the nation."