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Provo

In recent history, BYU's football games on the first Friday in October have turned into miserable experiences for a bunch of starting quarterbacks.

Tanner Mangum's first performance in such a setting could have been classified either of two ways, as of the start of Friday's fourth quarter vs. Connecticut at LaVell Edwards Stadium. The Cougar freshman already had thrown for a career high of 333 yards by that point, but his two interceptions and the offense's other mistakes kept them tied with the Huskies.

A two-play sequence early in the fourth quarter swung the script in Mangum's favor in the Cougars' 30-13 victory.

Mangum's 21-yard touchdown pass to Mitch Mathews gave BYU a 10-point lead, one play after blitzing safety Kai Nacua forced a hurried, floating pass that Cougar end Bronson Kaufusi intercepted. And then Mangum added a clinching score with another TD pass to Mathews midway through the fourth quarter, as the Cougars earned a win that required more agonizing than it should have for a team that ran 95 plays and racked up 539 yards to UConn's 230.

For a long time, "It was a little frustrating, to be honest," Mangum said.

He finished with 365 passing yards in bouncing back from a dreadful showing for himself and the offense last weekend at Michigan, performing crisply and efficiently all night — except for the little details of finishing drives and scoring points. But overall, he thrived and the Cougars survived, as Mangum avoided the injuries and other troubles that have befallen QBs at this spot on the calendar and UConn's Bryant Shirreffs became another victim with two fourth-quarter interceptions.

Mangum "did a really nice job, for the most part, with decision-making and throwing the football," said BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall.

The quarterback's 35-of-53 night included by far his most passing attempts of the season, with running back Adam Hine injured. "Whatever it takes to win, I guess," Mangum said.

In this decade, some kind of curse has accompanied BYU games played on the first Friday of October — always involving Utah State, until UConn's visit this season. A firing, a benching and season-ending injuries to star quarterbacks have become a big part of the story every year at this time.

Mendenhall fired defensive coordinator Jaime Hill the day after a 2010 loss in Logan. Even the most memorable Friday game of the decade, featuring the Cougars' Riley Nelson-led comeback, included the fallout of quarterback Jake Heaps losing his starting job and eventually transferring. Then came the sequence of major injuries to BYU's Taysom Hill, USU's Chuckie Keeton and Hill (again) last October.

With that eerie backdrop, BYU's offense took the field Friday, hoping to overcome its frightening performance at Michigan. Mangum completed 16 of his first 17 passes, including 12 in a row, and produced his best half of the season, statistically. Yet his 239 yards translated into only seven points, thanks to two turnovers — a fumble on a botched handoff and an end-zone interception — and two missed field goals.

As of late in the first quarter, Mangum and his offense already had topped their passing yardage (55) and total production (105) at Michigan. In contrast, the first completion for Shirreffs came with 3:13 remaining in the half, after he had thrown four incompletions and been sacked three times. But he delivered a touchdown pass on that drive, pulling the Huskies into a 7-7 tie.

BYU opened the second half with a nice drive, but Mangum made another critical mistake, throwing an interception on a fourth-and-1 play. That turnover led to UConn's go-ahead field goal.

Mangum responded by leading a drive that ended with Trevor Samson's tying field goal late in the third quarter, as Mangum went over the 300-yard mark for the game. The Cougars then took advantage of good field position on their next possession to go ahead 13-10 via another field goal early in the third period, although they missed a touchdown shot when Mangum's pass went off Nick Kurtz's chest.

Mathews made up for that drop with a nice catch in the end zone for a 20-10 lead. The Cougars eventually secured the win, while managing to keep their quarterback safe.

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