Provo, UT (Sports Network) – Riley Nelson threw for 131 yards and a pair of touchdowns to lead the BYU Cougars to a 23-17 victory over the Washington Huskies in a non-conference affair at LaVell Edwards Stadium.
Jake Heaps saw time under center as well for the Cougars, completing 13- of-23 passes for 131 yards. J.J. DiLuigi gained 69 yards on the ground for BYU (1-0), and also hauled in four passes for another 83 yards and one touchdown.
Jake Locker threw for 266 yards and one touchdown to lead the way for Washington (0-1), while Chris Polk ran for 92 yards in the losing effort. Jermaine Kearse caught five passes for 108 yards and a touchdown as well for the Huskies.
The Huskies struck first in this one, as Locker completed a 19-yard strike to Kearse early in the first quarter.
BYU responded late in the frame, getting on the board twice with under five minutes to go with a safety and a 22-yard Mitch Payne field goal.
Early in the second period, the Cougars took a 13-7 lead following a 9-yard toss from Nelson to Joshua Quezada.
The Huskies reclaimed the lead midway through the frame, however, with a nine-yard touchdown run by Locker, and padded the lead with a 54-yard Eric Folk field goal as time expired in the first half.
A 29-yard Payne kick midway through the third quarter pulled BYU to within one, while a 48-yard pass from Nelson to DiLuigi late in the period gave the Cougars a 23-17 lead that they wouldn’t relinquish.