PROVO, Utah -- Kevin Feterik was almost perfect in the debut of Brigham Young's revamped offense, denying Rick Neuheisel a victory in his debut as Washington's coach.

Feterik completed 39 of 59 passes for 500 yards and three touchdowns, the last a 38-yarder to Chris Hale with 1:16 remaining as BYU beat Washington 35-28 in the season opener for both schools Thursday night. Hale, a freshman and the son of Athletic Director Val Hale, scored the winner on his first varsity catch.

Feterik was criticized by BYU fans for a perceived inability to deliver in big situations. His game-winner made a believer of Neuheisel, a former UCLA quarterback and MVP of the 1984 Rose Bowl.

``The real veteran was Kevin Feterik, who has played a lot of football and was magnificent,'' said Neuheisel, who took the Washington job in January after four seasons at Colorado.

For Hale, a freshman and the son of BYU athletic director Val Hale, the game-winner was his first varsity catch.

The Cougars held off a final challenge when the Huskies reached the BYU 12 in the final seconds. Marques Tuiasosopo grounded the ball when he was sacked by Byron Frisch with five seconds left, and Tuiasosopo threw out of the end zone on the game's final play.

``We had a chance to get into the end zone,'' Neuheisel said. ``Those are the kind of plays that you sit and think about and you can't sleep at night because you think of what you might have called.''

Afterward, BYU students swarmed the field to celebrate.

Washington rallied from a 13-point deficit behind two fourth-quarter touchdowns by Tuiasosopo. The Huskies were aided by an interception of Feterik, who otherwise was nearly flawless in BYU's new shotgun offense.

The Cougars led 27-14 after freshman Luke Staley scored his second touchdown of the third quarter on an 11-yard run with 3:16 left. At that point, the Washington offense had crossed midfield once.

Tuiasosopo led a 17-play, 88-yard drive, capped by his 5-yard scoring run. The TD was set up when, with the Huskies at midfield, Tuiasosopo threw for the end zone and BYU's Heishimu Robertson was called for interference.

On the ensuing series, Feterik's pass to Ben Horton was intercepted by Anthony Vonture, who returned it 26 yards to the 11.

Less than two minutes later, Tuiasosopo ran left and scored untouched on an option keeper, and John Anderson's extra point gave the Huskies a 28-27 lead with 5:04 remaining.

That's when Feterik assembled a drive to rival any of BYU's storied quarterbacks, completing dump passes for 14- and 17-yard gains, then finding Horton on a 12-yard throw to midfield on fourth-and-10.

``Kevin made some outstanding choices,'' Cougars coach LaVell Edwards said. ``He showed a lot of great things. I feel he's going to be a very good quarterback.''

Feterik said he tried to follow his instincts.

``I wasn't thinking,'' Feterik said. ``I didn't want to think. When I started thinking, I threw that pick.''

After an incompletion, Washington's Jermaine Smith was called for interfering with Margin Hooks, moving the ball to the 38 and setting up Feterik's pass to Hale on the next play.

It was a thrilling comeback for the Cougars and Feterik's performance stirred memories of BYU's swift and efficient passing game of earlier decades.