SALT LAKE CITY — Brian Johnson's third quarter was a disaster.

The Utah quarterback's fourth quarter was nearly perfect, though, as he led the 15th-ranked Utes from an 11-point deficit in the final minute-and-half to a 31-28 victory over Oregon State last night.

Louie Sakoda kicked a 37-yard field goal as time expired, stunning the Beavers one week after they had done the stunning with an upset over top-ranked Southern California. The Beavers (2-3) appeared to have the Utes (6-0) finished off as well with a little over 2 minutes remaining.

That turned out to be more than enough time for Johnson, who completed seven of his last eight passes and kept the Utes' Bowl Championship Series hopes alive.

"When we were down eight, I saw a few people leaving and thought, 'They're about to miss a show.' I thought there was no way we were going to lose this game," Johnson said.

Johnson got Utah within 28-26 on a 25-yard touchdown pass to Bradon Godfrey with 1:29 left to play and Johnson tied it by running for the 2-point conversion.

Utah's defense allowed 405 yards, but stifled the Beavers on the next three plays and the Utes got the ball back just 23 seconds later on a punt at their own 45-yard line.

Johnson moved the Utes to Oregon State's 24 and Utah called a timeout with 2 seconds left. Sakoda trotted out and coolly kicked his third field goal of the game.

"That was the biggest kick of my career," Sakoda said. "I stayed calm. I knew it was going to be a chip shot. I had confidence Brian would lead them into my range."

The win gave the Mountain West Conference a 6-1 record against the Pac-10 this season.

"I thought we had enough at the end, but it turned out we didn't," Oregon State coach Mike Riley said. "They just made those plays that we had been covering really well."

Freshman Jacquizz Rodgers ran for 101 yards and a touchdown for the Beavers.

Rodgers also had 76 receiving yards, breaking a middle screen for 41 yards late in the fourth quarter on third-and-9, setting up Lyle Moevao's 2-yard touchdown pass to Brady Camp with 2:18 remaining for a 28-20 lead.

Moevao was 21 of 31 for 313 yards and two touchdowns and the Beavers' defense forced three turnovers, including an interception by Kahuku High alum Al Afalava, who returned it 26 yards for a touchdown that gave Oregon State a 9-3 lead on the first play of the second quarter.

PITTSBURGH 26, NO. 10 S. FLORIDA 21

TAMPA, Fla. — LeSean McCoy ran for two touchdowns and Bill Stull completed 16 of 27 passes for 228 yards and a touchdown to help the Panthers (4-1, 2-0 Big East) upset the Bulls (5-1, 0-1).

The Panthers have beaten the last three nationally ranked teams they have faced, including No. 23 Cincinnati and No. 2 West Virginia in 2007.

MEMPHIS 33, UAB 30

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Vinny Zaccario kicked a 25-yard field goal with two seconds left, lifting the visiting Tigers (3-3, 1-2 Conference USA) over the Blazers (1-5, 0-2).

Memphis won its third straight game and its second in a row over UAB in a series that has become known as the "Battle for the Bones" in honor of the cities' reputations for barbecue.

NO. 23 OREGON AT NO. 9 SOUTHERN CAL

At least for this week, No. 23 Oregon is looking admiringly at its in-state archrival.

Oregon State upset Southern California last week, dropping the national title contender from No. 1 to No. 9 in the polls.

Now it's up to the Ducks (4-1, 2-0 Pacific-10 Conference) to show whether the loss was a fluke, or if the Trojans (2-1, 0-1) do indeed have weaknesses. Oregon visits Memorial Coliseum tomorrow.

"I'll say this, Oregon State played a very, very good football game, almost a perfect game in terms of executing their plan on offense and defense," Oregon coach Mike Bellotti said. "Whether that woke SC up for certain things that they hadn't prepared for and now they will be, that's another thing."

USC had solidified its ranking by romping past Virginia in the opener and routing then-No. 5 Ohio State, 35-3, before heading to Corvallis for their conference opener. But at Reser Stadium the Trojans met the Rodgers brothers.

Freshman Jacquizz Rodgers ran for 186 yards and two touchdowns in the 27-21 victory and his older brother James caught a pair of TD passes, as the Beavers took down a top-ranked team for first time in 41 years.

USC's Mark Sanchez completed 18 of 29 passes for 227 yards and three scores, but threw a crucial interception. Running back Joe McKnight rushed for just 10 yards and had a key fumble against the Beavers.

USC has lost two conference games and shared the title the past two years, with California in 2006 and Arizona State last season.

"This has been an opportunity, is what this is," coach Pete Carroll said. "So we want to see our guys find our way to the focus that takes us right back to the way we're capable of playing. That's what we do."