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TUCSON, Ariz. — The offense is alive and well at BYU.
Squally Canada ran for three touchdowns, and the Cougars used a 21-0 run through the third quarter to pull away from host Arizona, 28-23 Saturday night at Arizona Stadium.
Canada finished with 97 rushing yards and three touchdowns, and quarterback Tanner Mangum completed 18-of-28 passes for 209 yards — including a 24-yard strike to tight end Matt Bushman.
“It felt good to start the season off with a win,” said Canada, who emerged as the lead running back to start his senior season. “We just have to carry it over into next week, and keep the momentum rolling.
“I’m going to enjoy tonight.”
The win was BYU's first victory over a Power-5 opponent since its win Oct. 8, 2016 at Michigan State. Last season snapped the Cougars' 12-year streak with at least one win over Power-5 opposition as BYU sputtered to a 4-9 record that led to a complete overhaul of the offensive coaching staff.
But the story of the night was BYU’s defense, which held dual-threat quarterback Khalil Tate to just 17-of-34 passing for 197 yards and a touchdown in addition to a scant 14 yards rushing.
A year after ranking among the worst offensive teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision, BYU (1-0) was just shy of the 400-yard mark — and held the Wildcats below 300 yards on defense.
Moreso, Arizona (0-1) had just 129 yards on the ground. J.J. Taylor accounted for 85 yards and a short touchdown, and Tate was held to just 14 net yards rushing with one score.
“He’s a great player, a Heisman candidate,” BYU linebacker Zayne Anderson said of Tate. “But we had to be worried about doing our task, and everything would work out. We just had to be patient — they run a lot of RPO, so if we are patient, then it worked out well.”
Canada gave BYU the early lead, plunging in for a 1-yard touchdown run with 9:58 left in the half to the Cougars on top 7-0.
Canada’s short-yardage dive was set up by Aleva Hifo’s 30-yard catch-and-run from Mangum, and the Cougars held Arizona to a field goal on the ensuing drive.
But Tate hit Tony Ellison on a seam route from seven yards out to give the Wildcats a 10-7 edge at halftime.
Just like in the first half, BYU started strong out of the break.
“We saw the potential that we had,” offensive lineman Thomas Shoaf said. “We looked back on the first half, and most of the drive-killers were on our own side of the ball: missed assignments or not reading the defense correctly. Now we had 30 minutes of football to look back on and see what their defense is going to do.
“It was a reset. We had a feel for it, and we just played well.”
Dylan Collie’s first career catch in a BYU uniform was a spectacular grab for 22 yards to put the Cougars on the 24-yard line. Two plays later, Matt Bushman caught his 50th pass as a Cougar to put BYU up 14-10 with 8:25 left in the third quarter.
“It’s never all about one play, but it counts,” Mangum said of Collie. “That was a huge play for him. It didn’t surprise me one bit. Dylan is that type of player. He fights for it, he makes play, and he is confident in himself. I love seeing that.”
After the defense forced a three-and-out, Canada had his second 1-yard touchdown of the night to give BYU a 21-10 lead with 4:29 left in the third quarter. The senior running back’s bruising play was set up nicely by freshman Dallin Holker, whose first collegiate catch went for 14 yards before being forced out inside the 1-yard line.
Canada scored touchdowns of four-total yards as the BYU offensive line helped the team out-rush Arizona, 183 yards to 129.
“I thought I did alright, but I can do better,” Canada said. “The O-linemen opened up so many holes that I missed a couple of runs that should’ve been made. I can do better on my end, but those guys up front made my job a lot easier.”
Tate scored two touchdowns in the final quarter, one with his legs and another with his arm.
But it was too late for the Wildcats and new coach Kevin Sumlin, who lost a season opener for only the second time in his career, as Canada and the offensive line finished off the game with six-straight carries in the final two minutes.
“I think this was a much-needed win. A morale boost,” Shoaf said. “Coach Grimes and coach Pugh, with the staff that came in this past winter, brought a lot of energy and focus and positive reinforcement for the guys. But I think we just had to be out on the field and execute. It was fun.”
Up next
BYU opens the 2018 home campaign with another Pac-12 opponent, when it hosts California next Saturday.
The Wildcats travel to play at Houston in a homecoming for Sumlin.
