PROVO, Utah — Florida State ran away with No. 7 BYU's BCS hopes.

The Seminoles were too fast for the Cougars yesterday, scoring every time they got inside the 20 and forcing five turnovers in a 54-28 win that crushed BYU's BCS hopes.

Christian Ponder threw for two touchdowns and ran for another, Ty Jones ran for 108 yards and a score and Greg Reid returned an interception 63 yards for a TD in a rout by the Seminoles.

"It shows us what we can do," said Ponder, who passed for 195 yards and ran for 77 more. "It's the first time in a while we played as a whole team. The defense played great. The offense played incredible."

Three weeks after upsetting Oklahoma in the season opener, BYU's Bowl Championship Series aspirations faded a little bit on each drive by the Seminoles.

Florida State (2-1) converted on its first nine third downs, pounced for 10 points in the final 24 seconds of the second quarter and added two touchdowns in the third, running away and spoiling the most anticipated home opener at BYU (2-1) in years.

"I think Florida State was more prepared in general than we were tonight, really from beginning to end," BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall said. "I think their preparation exceeded ours and it showed — especially on third down."

Florida State looked nothing like the team that needed to rally in the final minute a week ago in a 19-9 win over Jacksonville State.

The Seminoles finished 12-for-15 on third-down conversions and scored all eight times they got inside the BYU 20. They scored often enough, starting with a 13-0 lead that BYU was trying to catch up and only continued to fall further behind with mistakes.

Max Hall completed 20 of 31 passes for 306 yards and two touchdowns for BYU, but also threw three interceptions. Harvey Unga ran for 97 yards and a touchdown for the Cougars.

"Any loss is devastating, regardless of if you're ranked," Unga said. "Hats off to those guys. They came here ready to play."

The Seminoles outran the Cougars 313 yards to 108. FSU didn't punt until about a minute remained in the third quarter and avoided starting the season 1-2 for the first time since 1989.

OREGON 31, NO. 14 UTAH 24:

LaMichael James rushed for 152 yards and a touchdown, and John Boyett made a crucial interception to help the host Ducks beat the Utes and the nation's longest winning streak at 16 games.

Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli, a Saint Louis alum from Honolulu, also ran for two touchdowns, but had two fumbles and an interception in the second half as Utah rallied from a 21-7 deficit to within 28-24 after three quarters.

NO. 1 FLORIDA 23, TENNESSEE 13:

Tim Tebow ran for 76 yards and a touchdown, Caleb Sturgis kicked three field goals and the Gators (3-0, 1-0) opened Southeastern Conference play with a victory over the Volunteers (1-2, 0-1). Brandon James returned three kickoffs for 97 yards, helping set up Florida's first 13 points.

NO. 2 TEXAS 34, TEXAS TECH 24:

Colt McCoy threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Dan Buckner with nine minutes left in the fourth quarter for a 31-17 lead and the host Longhorns (3-0, 1-0 Big 12) held on to beat the Red Raiders (2-1, 0-1). Taylor Potts passed for 420 yards and three touchdowns for Texas Tech, but fumbled on a sack by Sergio Kindle to set up McCoy's TD pass.

NO. 4 ALABAMA 53, NORTH TEXAS 7:

Greg McElroy passed for two touchdowns and rushed for another before sitting out most of the second half as the host Crimson Tide (2-0) opened a 30-0 halftime lead in cruising past the Mean Green (1-2). Mark Ingram ran for 91 yards and a TD, and scored on a 29-yard reception for Alabama.

NO. 5 PENN STATE 31, TEMPLE 6:

Evan Royster ran for 134 yards as the host Nittany Lions (2-0) beat their instate rival Owls (0-3) for the 27th straight time. Royster had 119 yards by halftime, including a 7-yard scoring run that gave the Nittany Lions a 14-3 lead late in the second quarter.

NO. 5 MISSISSIPPI 52, SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA 6:

Jevan Snead threw three touchdowns, Brandon Bolden rushed for 105 yards and freshman linebacker D.T. Shackleford recovered two fumbles and finished off the scoring with a 58-yard interception return as the Rebels (2-0) pounded the Lions (2-1).

NO. 8 CALIFORNIA 35, MINNESOTA 21:

Jahvid Best rushed for 131 yards and a school-record five touchdowns to lift the visiting Golden Bears (3-0) over the Golden Gophers (2-1). Cal had lost eight of its last nine on the road, including four in a row to end last season.

NO. 9 LSU 31, LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE 3:

Jordan Jefferson again struggled to complete deep passes, but threw for 165 yards and two touchdowns, and Chad Jones had two interceptions to lead the host Tigers (3-0) past the Ragin' Cajuns (2-1).

NO. 11 OHIO STATE 38, TOLEDO 0:

Terrelle Pryor hooked up with Dane Sanzenbacher on two early touchdown passes and the Buckeyes (2-1) defused the Rockets' (1-2) high-scoring spread attack at Cleveland Browns Stadium.

NO. 12 OKLAHOMA 45, TULSA 0:

Landry Jones set a school record with six touchdown passes, Ryan Broyles caught 11 passes for 128 yards and three touchdowns, and the host Sooners routed the Golden Hurricane (2-1) for their 26th straight home victory.

NO. 13 VIRGINIA TECH 16, NO. 19 NEBRASKA 15:

Tyrod Taylor dodged several defenders and then rifled an 11-yard touchdown pass to Dyrell Roberts with 21 seconds left, rallying the host Hokies (2-1) over the Cornhuskers (2-1). Nebraska lost for the 21st time in its last 22 games against a Top 20 team.

NO. 15 TCU 56, TEXAS STATE 21:

Joseph Turner ran for 129 yards and three touchdowns, Jerry Hughes had three sacks and the Horned Frogs (2-0) won their eighth consecutive home opener with a rout of the Bobcats (1-1).

NO. 16 OKLAHOMA STATE 41, RICE 24:

Zac Robinson rushed for one touchdown and threw for two others — both to Dez Bryant — as the Cowboys (2-1) rebounded from their first loss to hand the Owls (0-3) their third straight loss on the road.

NO. 17 CINCINNATI 28, OREGON STATE 18:

Tony Pike threw for 332 yards and hit Mardy Gilyard with an 18-yard scoring pass in the fourth quarter as the Bearcats (3-0) snapped the Beavers' (2-1) streak of 26 straight nonconference victories at Reser Stadium.

NO. 22 KANSAS 44, DUKE 16:

Todd Reesing threw three touchdown passes and Maxwell Onyegbule returned an interception 48 yards for another score, helping the Jayhawks (3-0) rout the Blue Devils (1-2) for their 25th victory in the last 29 home games.

NO. 23 GEORGIA 52, ARKANSAS 41:

Joe Cox threw for 375 yards and five touchdowns, and the visiting Bulldogs (2-0) rallied from a 35-34 deficit by holding the Razorbacks (1-1) to two short field goals the rest of the way.

NO. 24 NORTH CAROLINA 31, EAST CAROLINA 17:

T.J. Yates threw for two touchdowns and freshman receiver Erik Highsmith had six catches for 113 yards and a score as the host Tar Heels (3-0) beat the Pirates (1-2) for their first 3-0 start since winning the first eight games in 1997.

NO. 25 MICHIGAN 45, EASTERN MICHIGAN 17:

Carlos Brown rushed for 187 yards, including a 90-yard touchdown run, and freshman QB Denard Robinson ran for two TDs as the host Wolverines (3-0) beat the Eagles (0-3).