BYU football: Hall-Collie combo can't be stopped

PROVO — Max Hall and Austin Collie aren't just on the same page. They share the same typeface.

That was never more apparent than when the duo hooked up for a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns just before they were ordered to the bench in BYU's 41-12 win over San Diego State on Saturday.

The buzz in the press box at the start of the fourth quarter centered on whether Collie's streak of 100-yard receiving games was about to bite the dust. He had 48 yards at that juncture.

Then, wham! Hall hit the junior for a 61-yard scoring bomb. Collie then added a 9-yard touchdown catch from Hall later in the game.

Collie, the NCAA leader in receiving yards per game, finished with nine catches for 127 yards. The bomb put the Cougars up 34-6 a minute into the fourth quarter. It was an audible at the line, according to receivers coach Pat Higgins.

"It was not the play that was called. Max changed it at the line before the snap," said Higgins.

"It's just the competitive spirit those two have," said BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall of Hall and Collie. "They hate to lose. They think they can make every play.

"They think they're capable of taking over a game."

Hall told reporters a good quarterback can make a receiver like Collie. But when Collie was told of Hall's quip, he joked to reporters, "Don't let Max feed you this bogus stuff."

Higgins said Collie continues to perform and the chemistry he has with Hall is unique.

"He just continues to make plays, and that's awesome," Higgins said. "He and Max Hall have a unique relationship. That post wasn't the play — it was called at the line of scrimmage — and when you know each other as well as they do, those things happen."

Collie now has 2,902 career receiving yards, moving him to No. 2 all-time behind Eric Drage. He passed Margin Hooks on the single-season receiving list and is now No. 2. Hall, who finished 25-of-30 for 317 yards and three touchdowns, posted an impressive pass efficiency rating of 205.09 for the game.

BYU's offense, which mined 421 total yards on the Aztecs, struggled to gain just 104 on the ground against a SDSU team that has yielded huge chunks to the run game this season. But when it came to doing it by air, Hall, Collie and Dennis Pitta took over.

"If you told me before the game we would hold them to 104 yards rushing, I'd have thought we'd have a chance to win the game," said SDSU quarterback Ryan Lindley.

But Hall and Collie tend to iron things out.