Brigham Young Cougars vs Connecticut Huskies Box Score on Aug 29, 2014

Brigham Young 35, Connecticut 10: Taysom Hill threw for three touchdowns and ran for two more as the visiting Cougars spoiled the debut of new Huskies coach Bob Diaco.

Hill, who became the first player in school history and 23rd in the NCAA history to rush for 1,000 yards and pass for 2,000 in a season last year, went 28-for-36 for 308 yards and ran for 97 more as Brigham Young (1-0) amassed 329 of its 513 total yards in the first half. Mitch Mathews finished with five catches for 62 yards and joined Terenn Houk and Adam Hine with touchdown receptions.

Geremy Davis tallied seven catches for 96 yards and freshman Joshua Marriner scored from a yard out in the second quarter as Connecticut (0-1) managed only 71 yards on 31 rushing attempts. Casey Cochran, who passed for a school-record 461 yards in the Huskies’ season-ending victory against Memphis last year, threw for 171 yards and an interception Friday.

BYU opened the game with a 15-play scoring drive that Hill capped with a 7-yard scamper. The Cougars quickly extended it to a 14-point lead almost 5 ½ minutes into the first quarter when the Huskies’ Max DeLorenzo fumbled on his first carry, which led to Hill’s 26-yard TD strike to Mathews on the next play.

Hine hauled in a pass from Hill and went in untouched from 7 yards out with 9:13 left in the second quarter to push the advantage to 21 before the junior signal-caller answered Connecticut’s only touchdown drive on a 35-yard catch-and-run to Hauk with just over a minute left before the break. Connecticut added a field goal early in the final stanza, but saw a 14-play drive stall at the BYU 10 and Hill put the game out of reach with a 26-yard TD run on the next possession.

GAME NOTEBOOK: This game marked the first-ever contest between the schools. … The Cougars, who were one of seven FBS schools to draw at least 102 flags in 2013, were penalized 15 times for 150 yards. … BYU improved to 17-2 against American Athletic Conference opponents. The Cougars – one of four FBS Independent schools – will also play AAC foes Houston (Sept. 11) and Central Florida (Oct. 9).