PROVO -- It was like the glory days of Jim McMahon.
That's how Rob Morris described BYU's 35-28 season-opening win over Washington.With ESPN cameras rolling before a packed house at Cougar Stadium, quarterback Kevin Feterik put on quite a show. His performance, which included 39 completions for a career-high 500 yards passing, left Morris and others wondering who was quarterbacking the Cougars to their first victory over the Huskies in 14 years.
"We thought Jimmy Mac was in there," joked Morris. "So if anyone boos Kevin again, we'll take them out to the back alley."
After two years of up-and-down play, Feterik quieted his critics Thursday. Not only did the senior post impressive numbers, he also marched BYU downfield for a touchdown in the final two minutes. A 38-yard touchdown pass to freshman Chris Hale with 1:16 remaining proved to be the game-winner as the Cougars overcame a 28-27 deficit.
"We made a heckuva drive there at the end of the game and came up big," said BYU coach LaVell Edwards. "We're back in the throwing business -- at least for tonight."
Operating primarily out of the shotgun, BYU's offense continually kept Washington off-guard. Edwards praised Feterik, who completed passes to 12 different receivers, for making outstanding choices throughout the contest.
"Hopefully, this will be a sign of things to come for Kevin and the receivers," added Edwards. "And I think it will." Their defining moment came with 1:26 left to play on a fourth-and-10 situation near midfield. Feterik confidently fired a pass to Ben Horton, who twisted his way into Washington territory for a game-saving first down. A pass interference call later moved the Cougars to the Husky 38, where Feterik found Hale streaking into the left corner of the end zone on the next play. The ball landed right in his hands.
"The plan was simple -- run away from my defender and get to the ball," said Hale, whose father, Val, is BYU's athletic director. "It was a perfect throw."
Feterik, however, deflected any postgame praise. He wasn't surprised with the outcome.
"I knew we could do it. We never gave up," said Feterik. "I looked into my teammates' eyes and knew we'd score." Fortunately they did. Morris said it would have been a travesty to have lost. A glance at the final numbers backs his statement. BYU had more first downs (36-19), more yardage (575-323) and fewer penalties (10-8). Even so, the game went down to the wire.
"It looked as if the life was out of us," said first-year Washington coach Rick Neuheisel. "But nobody quit and we got it in the end zone. Those things just don't happen. It's because a lot of kids had a lot of desire."
BYU, which lost two fumbles in the contest including one on the Washington 12, added an interception to its misfortune with 6:54 left to play when Anthony Vontoure picked off Feterik and returned it 26 yards to the BYU 11. Three plays later, Husky quarterback Marques Tuiasosopo scored from three yards out on fourth down.
The score, coupled with an earlier 5-yard keeper by Tuiasosopo and PATs from Anderson, gave Washington the lead down the stretch. However, BYU's defense tightened as the Cougars survived a late punt to regain possession for their final drive.
Even after Hale's touchdown catch and a subsequent two-point conversion pass from Feterik to Doug Jolley, Washington wasn't finished. The Huskies moved inside the BYU 10 in the closing seconds but could inch no closer.
"I was about to have a heart attack," Feterik said as he left the field.
Before Washington's 2-for-1 touchdown ratio in the fourth quarter, BYU had a similar advantage in the third. Freshman Luke Staley rushed for a pair of touchdowns (from 9 and 11 yards out, respectively) for BYU, while Washington countered with a 35-yard TD pass from Tuiasosopo to Todd Elstrom.
"I think our freshmen came up huge for us today," said cornerback Brian Gray, who fell to the ground in celebration at game's end.
Despite an impressive first half by Feterik and his receivers, the Cougars held a slim 13-7 lead at the intermission.
The culprit? Poor special teams play. Whether it was returning or attempting kicks, BYU had plenty of trouble doing so in the first half. And it proved costly.
BYU kicker Owen Pochman, who missed just seven field-goal attempts and two PATs in 1998, started the new season off on the wrong foot. He missed kicks of 28 and 44 yards. The first would have given the Cougars a 3-0 advantage, and the latter prevented BYU from stretching its lead to nine points 11 seconds before halftime.
As painful as the misfires were, however, they paled in comparison to an even larger miscue. Washington was handed the game's first score when BYU's Heshimu Robertson attempted to scoop up the ball in the end zone on a punt return. He failed to maintain possession, though, and Washington's Ben Mahdavi pounced on it for a touchdown. John Anderson added the PAT as the Huskies took a 7-0 advantage with 2:28 to play in the first quarter.
"It's the first game," Robertson said while trying to explain his actions. "Things like that happen on special teams."
Thanks to Feterik, BYU didn't trail for long. While on his way to completing 21-of-29 passes for 279 yards over the first two quarters, the BYU starter orchestrated a pair of lengthy scoring drives. Both were capped by touchdown passes from Feterik, who at one point had eight consecutive completions.
Jonathan Pittman's 16-yard reception with 14:07 remaining in the half put BYU on the board. It also extended the Cougars' ongoing NCAA record of consecutive games scored to 300. Pochman converted the PAT and the score was tied.
After forcing Washington to punt on its next series, BYU began its second scoring drive. The Cougars moved 78 yards on seven plays before Feterik and Margin Hooks teamed on a 5-yard touchdown pass. The PAT, though, was blocked -- leaving BYU with a point it desperately missed late in the game.
Fortunately for the Cougars, in the end it didn't matter.