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BYU looks to extend nation's longest winning streak

Sep 6, 2008 - 11:44 AM No. 15 Brigham Young (1-0) at Washington (1-0), 3:00pm EDT

SEATTLE (Ticker) -- Brigham Young had no problems extending the nation's longest winning streak to 11 games with a 41-17 victory over Northern Iowa of the Football Championship Subdivision. But there is still room for improvement.

The 15th-ranked Cougars will look to do a better job of taking care of the ball this Saturday when they visit Washington in a battle of programs headed in opposite directions.

Max Hall threw for 486 yards and tight end Dennis Pritta set a career high with 213 receiving yards in the Cougars' season opener. Hall's total was his highest since throwing for a career-high 537 yards against Tulsa last season.

However, the Cougars fumbled four times in the second half and allowed Northern Iowa to slice a 27-3 halftime deficit to 27-17 in the third quarter.

"We have a very good football team," BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall said. "We made enough plays to win, and I think we showed signs of being the team that we are capable of being."

BYU has not lost since suffering a 27-17 loss in Week Two of last season to UCLA, its opponent next week.

Washington opened a possible make-or-break season for fourth-year coach Tyrone Willingham with a 44-10 loss to then-No. 20 Oregon. The defeat dropped Willingham's record at Washington to just 11-26.

Things do not get any easier for the Huskies, who face their third straight ranked foe next week when they host fourth-ranked Oklahoma.