TUCSON, Ariz. -- Washington hadn't been tested through one of the easiest non-conference schedules in the country for a major-conference team. The ninth-ranked Huskies, though, got all they could handle Saturday night.

Washington (4-0) couldn't put away Arizona in the second half and needed overtime to come away with a 35-28 victory at Arizona Stadium in the Pac-12 opener for both teams.

"It's really hard to win in this league and it's hard to win in Arizona," said Washington coach Chris Petersen, whose team is headed to a home showdown versus No. 7 Stanford on Friday night. "We probably need a month to clean up all these things that we need to improve on."

Wide receiver Dante Pettis caught a 4-yard touchdown pass in overtime and running back Lavon Coleman ran for a career-high 181 yards, including 24 on the first play of the extra period.

Arizona (2-2) reached the 11 on its possession, but a bad snap on fourth-and-10 threw off the timing of the play and quarterback Brandon Dawkins threw incomplete into the end zone.

The Huskies had an easy time in beating Rutgers, Idaho and Portland State, but Arizona gained 475 yards against their stout defense, including three plays of more than 50 yards. The Wildcats could have gone for the win after pulling within 28-27 with 17 seconds left.

Coach Rich Rodriguez was asked if he considered going for two.

"Nope," he said.

"I've been in a bunch of overtime games. I have a philosophy on them."

Arizona freshman running back J.J. Taylor, making his first start in place of injured Nick Wilson, rushed 19 times for 97 yards but left in the third quarter with what Rodriguez said was a broken left ankle.

Coleman, a junior, carried only 11 times, while Myles Gaskins had 24 carries for 85 yards.

Arizona tied the game at 21 with 4:45 to go on Dawkins' 2-yard keeper, but Coleman put the Huskies up with a 55-yard touchdown burst through the left side with 3:25 left.

Dawkins, who earlier had runs of 79 and 56 yards and finished with 176 on the ground, kept Arizona alive by escaping a sack and firing a 54-yard pass down field to receiver Shun Brown. The Wildcats converted on fourth-and-3 at the 7 and Dawkins hit tight end Josh Kern for a 3-yard touchdown with 17 seconds left.

Washington receiver John Ross scored on a 32-yard end-around and a 12-yard pass in the first half as the Huskies won their seventh consecutive game.

Washington quarterback Jake Browning broke a 14-14 tie in the third quarter with a 3-yard run, but the Huskies squandered chances to pad the advantage.

They turned the ball over on downs at the Arizona 28, Browning was picked off by cornerback Dane Cruikshank at the Arizona 1 and Cameron Van Winkle missed a 40-yard field goal -- his second miss of the night.

"There were a lot of mistakes that we made. We had chances, both sides of the ball," Petersen said. "But that's how it goes in this game. You just have to keep fighting."

Browning was 14 of 21 for 160 yards, with two touchdowns and one interception.

Dawkins completed 19 of 31 passes for 167 yards, with one touchdown and an interception. He ran for two scores.

"He competed well," Rodriguez said. "He had some big plays with his feet. He is a competitive runner. Missed a couple of things in the pass game that we'll try to get corrected."

Arizona scored on the opening possession, driving 75 yards on 15 plays, capped by Taylor's 4-yard run. That marked the first touchdown allowed this season by Washington's first-string defense.

Arizona attacked again on its second possession, but the Huskies' defense avoided harm when the Wildcats came up a yard short on Taylor's fourth-and-goal run from the 2.

That seemed to fuel the Huskies, who struck for a 37-yard completion to receiver Chico McClatcher to help set up a 32-yard end-around for a touchdown by Ross, who was sprung by a crack-back block by Browning.

Dawkins responded with a 79-yard touchdown on a zone-read run. He slipped a tackle in the backfield, sped through traffic to the right and raced down the sideline untouched for a 14-7 lead with 9:06 to go in the half.

Washington came right back, with Coleman's 38-yard run setting up a 12-yard scoring pass over the middle to Ross.

The quarterbacks combined to complete their first 18 passes, 11 by Dawkins. There wasn't an incompletion until 4:56 was left before halftime.

NOTES: Arizona starting QB Anu Solomon did not dress. He missed his third consecutive game because of a knee injury suffered in practice after the season-opener. ... Arizona starting RB Nick Wilson (ankle) and OLB DeAndre' Miller (ankle) did not play because of injuries suffered last week against Hawaii. ... Scouts from the Denver Broncos and Jacksonville Jaguars were at the game. ... The home team had won the previous eight meetings. ... Washington WR Brayden Lenius, who was suspended for the first three games because of an unspecified violation of team rules, did not make the trip. He caught 26 passes last season. ... Washington had scored at least 41 points in its previous six games.