STARKVILLE, Miss. -- The comeback Cougars still have BCS dreams.

Matt Payne kicked a 25-yard field goal as time expired Saturday night to give BYU a 41-38 victory over Mississippi State, keeping the Cougars' perfect season alive.

Brigham Young (12-0) extended its winning streak to 14 games and for the third straight game needed last-minute heroics to remain unbeaten.

BYU's Brandon Doman looks for running room. (AP)

Brandon Doman threw for 390 yards and five touchdowns, but it was Luke Staley who did most of the work on the final 63-yard drive, running five times.

"We've done this before," Doman said. "The guys just put it all together on that last drive."

The Cougars scored two touchdowns in the last 3½ minutes to beat Utah in their last game and made a last-minute defensive stand to beat Wyoming the week before. Earlier in the season, they pulled out late victories at UNLV and New Mexico.

The Cougars were No. 12 in the BCS rankings this week. The top 12 are eligible to be selected for one of four big-money bowl games.

Problem is, with Colorado winning the Big 12 title, the Buffs are guaranteed a spot in the Fiesta Bowl.

And with Nebraska poised to finish in the top four in the final BCS rankings, the Cornhuskers are guaranteed one of the two at-large spots.

So ... it's pretty much up to the Orange Bowl to choose between BYU and Florida. Yikes.

As has been the case all season, the offense was potent and the defense did just enough against the Bulldogs (3-8).

Staley ran for 149 yards on 28 carries, though he limped off the field after his final carry favoring his left leg. The team said he may have broken his fibula, and that he will undergo tests Sunday in Provo.

Reno Mahe caught 10 passes for 189 yards and two touchdowns and the BYU defense had three takeaways.

The Cougars were No. 12 in the BCS rankings this week. The top 12 are eligible to be selected for one of four big-money bowl games.

"It's out of our hands," Doman said.

BYU and No. 1 Miami are the only unbeaten major-college teams.

First-year coach Gary Crowton defended BYU's so-called soft schedule.

"What else can we do," Crowton said. "We played seven road games. A Pac-10 team (California), an SEC team (Mississippi State). ... I commend our players for keeping focused and going undefeated because it's hard to get up for every game."

BYU finishes its season against Hawaii on Saturday.

With an offense ranked 113th in the nation in scoring, Mississippi State looked comfortable going shot-for-shot against the nation's highest scoring team.

Kevin Fant was 20-for-28 for 346 yards with three touchdowns and an interception, Dicenzo Miller ran for 119 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries and Justin Jenkins had seven catches for 133 yards and two scores.

The teams combined for 1,035 yards of offense.

Bulldogs coach Jackie Sherrill said poor officiating marred a great game. He said officials missed numerous penalties against the Cougars and made too many calls against his team.

"This is the first time I can honestly say the officials took the game away from us," he said.

BYU was flagged nine times for 70 yards. Mississippi State was called for 10 penalties for 127 yards.

BYU, which needed two touchdowns in the final 3½ minutes to beat Utah in its last game, trailed 31-21 in the third quarter before rallying behind Doman, who was 23-for-32 with three interceptions.

The senior quarterback found Doug Jolley deep down the sideline for a 26-yard scoring play early in the fourth quarter to tie it at 31.

BYU was threatening again on its next drive when Pig Prather intercepted a long pass at the Bulldogs 9.

Fant and the Mississippi State offense went to work with a well-balanced 91-yard drive that BYU's offense would have been proud.

Miller finished the drive by darting into the end zone from 22 yards out to give Mississippi State a 38-31 lead with about 10 minutes left.

The Cougars came right back with a 69-yard touchdown drive of their own. Doman rolled right and threw back to a wide-open Spencer Nead, who rumbled in from 12 yards to tie it at 38 with 6:11 left.

BYU's defense finally came up with a stop, forcing the Bulldogs to punt on their last drive.

The Cougars drove down the field methodically on the final drive, with Doman completing two passes for 31 yards.

Payne said he wasn't nervous before the game-winning kick.

"Those are the kind of kicks that you love," he said. "If you make them you win, if you miss then you go to overtime."