PROVO — Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita punched first in the Wildcats’ long-awaited rematch with No. 15 BYU.

But the Cougars punched back — and landed the knockout blow with a heavy dose of defense to open Big 12 play with a win.

Bear Bachmeier threw for all-but 18 of his 217 yards after the first quarter, and Kyler Kasper caught four passes for 51 yards and two touchdowns as the 15th-ranked Cougars shut out the visiting Wildcats in the second half en route to a 28-17 win in front of a sold-out crowd at LaVell Edwards Stadium.

LJ Martin added 98 yards on 20 carries, and Bachmeier’s 37 rushing yards including a 6-yard touchdown for the Cougars (2-0, 1-0 Big 12).

Fifita completed 23-of-31 passes for 230 yards, a touchdown and an interception for the Wildcats (1-1, 0-1 Big 12). But after completing 16-of-20 passes for 141 yards, a touchdown and an interception in the first half, the fifth-year senior Heisman hopeful completed just six passes for 89 yards after the break.

What changed? Not much, quipped BYU pass rusher Tausili Akana, who had four tackles and 2.5 of the Cougars’ three sacks against the signal caller.

“We were getting real close in the first half,” said Akana, the Skyridge High alum who spent two seasons at Texas. “Now we just needed to finish in the second.”

Fifita carved up BYU on the opening drive, completing 6-of-7 passes for 52 yards before carrying it in himself from 11 yards out to give the Wildcats a 7-0 advantage.

After a three-play opening drive, Cade Uluave took advantage a Isaiah Glasker’s big-hitting pass rush and picked off Fifita near the Arizona 9-yard line. Two players later, Bachmeier cashed it in with a 6-yard TD run to equalize.

The Wildcats held BYU to just 38 yards of offense on six plays in the first quarter. Bachmeier opened the second by finding Reggie Frischknecht amid busted coverage to cap an eight-play, 75-yard drive and give the Cougars their first lead of the game, 14-10.

But Fifita threw for 141 of Arizona’s 237 yards in the first half, including a 16-yard touchdown to Shane King to give the Wildcats a 17-14 halftime lead.

Offensively, the Cougars also got back to doing what they do. After being limited to 25 yards on four carries before halftime, Martin erupted with 16 touches on the ground in the second half behind an offensive line that allowed just one sack and one tackle for loss.

The reigning Big 12 offensive player of the year also had a key 23-yard catch-and-run from Bachmeier in the third quarter, converting a first down on the opening drive to set up Kasper’s first touchdown.

“Getting back to the basics was getting back to LJ Martin running the ball,” BYU coach Kalani Sitake told reporters after the game. “I don’t think we did that enough in the first half.”

After totaling 240 yards in the first half, Arizona had just 39 yards on its first two drives as BYU took a 4-point lead into the fourth quarter. Fifita led a 58-yard drive over eight plays to open the fourth quarter, including a 34-yard pass to Cole Rusk to drive into the red zone.

But Fifita’s 3-yard pass to Rodney Gallagher III on fourth down came up inches short of the line-to-gain after video review.

Sitake wasn’t sure if the review came from his own challenge or an official review. But he joked that he was “standing in the middle of the field, and I wasn’t going to move until they reviewed it.”

“I wish I could say I saw it (immediately),” he added. “But it wasn’t until I saw the review (on the video board) that I saw it in his other hand … It’s a game of inches; that was a big momentum swing for us.”

Indeed it was, when Bachmeier uncorked a 61-yard dart to Legend Glasker two plays later, setting up Kasper’s second touchdown of the game with 6:10 remaining as BYU pulled away for good.

“It was amazing, man,” said Kasper, an Oregon transfer and former four-star recruit out of Williams Fields High School in Gilbert, Arizona. “The atmosphere was electric; it was everything I’ve ever dreamed of in this stadium. Awesome experience.”

Back-to-back sacks by Akana and Keanu Tanuvasa helped the Cougars post the second-half shutout, and Cannon DeVries had a game-high nine tackles and a pass breakup to help BYU pull away for good and clinch the win in victory formation on Arizona’s 6-yard line.

BYU exits Provo for the first time this season next week, hitting the road to face Colorado State on Saturday, Sept. 19. (5:30 p.m. MT, CBS).

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