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Provo

Two games into his career, BYU freshman quarterback Tanner Mangum could be forgiven for believing that college football is pretty easy, in the end.

Mangum's phenomenal start Saturday night led into a disjointed middle of the game, followed by another spectacular ending. And when he walked to the sideline after his latest go-ahead delivery, Mangum stunned BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall by saying, "Sorry for making it so close."

Nobody else associated with the Cougars seemed to feel cheated. Mangum's 35-yard touchdown pass to Mitchell Juergens on a fourth-and-7 play with 45 seconds remaining sent the Cougars ahead of Boise State and added to the Boise-area product's growing legend. Ultimately, Kai Nacua's 50-yard interception return for a touchdown only 15 seconds later gave BYU a 35-24 victory at LaVell Edwards Stadium.

Who knows how the potential 50-plus remaining games of Mangum's BYU career will play out, but he certainly is displaying a knack for big finishes as both a reliever and a starter. The Cougars' last drive began at their 36-yard line and they failed to get themselves into field-goal range before facing that fourth-down play from the Boise 35. So what?

This was just another job for Mangum Force. And somehow, as Mangum rolled out, Juergens broke open in the end zone and fielded the perfect pass. "I didn't really have much of a choice," Mangum said. "I just saw Mitch running free."

Others may appreciate all of this drama more than Mangum, who described the Cougars' need of another last-minute rally as "not the ideal situation."

To summarize: Mangum's last pass against Nebraska, his first completion against Boise State and his last attempt against the Broncos all went for touchdowns.

What might the Cougars have in store next weekend at UCLA? "Holy cow," Mendenhall said. "I don't know where to start with that one."

Saturday's start would be tough to top. The same, of course, is true of the ending.

After a sack and an incompletion on BYU's opening series gave him a brief sense of reality, Mangum was flushed toward the right sideline. He launched a long pass into the middle of the field, where Juergens tracked down the ball and completed an 84-yard touchdown play.

Well, that's pretty much what BYU fans had come to expect from Mangum. In relief of star QB Taysom Hill, lost to another season-ending injury, Mangum had delivered the winning 42-yard touchdown pass on the game's final play at Nebraska in BYU's season opener. And then his first lifetime completion in Provo went for double that distance.

The rest of the night was considerably tougher for Mangum — until the very end. BYU's offense lacked any rhythm, in the absence of a consistent running game, dependable pass protection and reliable routes. Intentionally or not, the Cougars looked like their entire strategy revolved around Mangum scrambling and heaving the ball.

At one point in the third quarter, the Cougars had 225 total yards — with 196 coming via three of Mangum's completions after running around and making plays. As a tradeoff, he threw two first-half interceptions under similar circumstances. To further illustrate the all-or-nothing theme, Mangum's first 13 completions went for 260 yards.

Mangum finished with 17 completions in 28 attempts for 309 yards. Of BYU's 381 total yards, 231 came on four passes.

BYU's offense was going nowhere in the third quarter until Mangum found a wide-open Devon Blackman for a 70-yard connection. That led to Adam Hine's 21-yard touchdown run, cutting Boise State's lead to 17-14. The teams traded touchdowns again, with Mangum's sneak making it 24-21 with a score set up by the second of Nacua's three interceptions.

Just for effect, the Cougars waited until the final minute to take the lead.

The Cougars went through a sudden quarterbacking change last October after Hill was hurt in the second quarter of a loss to Utah State. Christian Stewart made his first start the next week at Central Florida, with wild fluctuations during a 31-24 overtime loss.

Stewart also lost his next two starts, against Nevada and Boise State, before BYU recovered with four wins to close the regular season. The Cougars then lost to Memphis in double overtime in the Miami Beach Bowl, with the Tigers intercepting the last pass of Stewart's career.

The vibe about Mangum's replacing Hill seemed much different in Provo than the atmosphere surrounding Stewart's ascent to the position, for multiple reasons. It obviously helped that Mangum had delivered the last-second, game-winning pass at Nebraska, compared with Stewart's throwing three interceptions in that loss to USU.

And because Mangum is a freshman, there's natural optimism about his potential, as opposed to Stewart's temporarily taking over the job as a senior in 2014.

The fact is that Stewart played surprisingly well, and BYU faces a difficult challenge in trying to top the 8-5 record that he helped produce. The Cougars' 2015 schedule is tougher — and the timing of Hill's latest injury gave Mangum less of a head start. But he's sure catching up quickly.

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