WSU a dud in Leach's return

PROVO, Utah (AP) - Riley Nelson threw for two touchdowns and third-string quarterback Taysom Hill added another on his first collegiate pass as Brigham Young beat Washington State 30-6 on Thursday night to spoil Mike Leach's return to coaching.

BYU intercepted Jeff Tuel twice and sacked him three times while limiting Leach's vaunted Air Raid attack to 224 yards total offense.

Washington State finished with minus-5 yards rushing.

Nelson finished 25 of 36 for 285 yards. Tight end Kaneakua Friel led BYU with six catches for 101 yards and two touchdowns.

Washington State came out passing as expected, with Tuel starting 8 of 9. But his 10th pass was intercepted by Uona Kaveinga, and the momentum shifted to BYU before a "white-out" crowd.

It was Leach's first game since being fired by Texas Tech in 2009 amid allegations he mistreated a player with a concussion.

While there was much buzz about his return, against his alma mater, the results were the same for Washington State.

Leach never played football at BYU, but he gained inspiration for his spread passing attack from LaVell Edwards, for whom BYU's stadium is named.

At one point in pre-game interviews, Leach said his team looked more like BYU of old than BYU.