WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. ? Wyatt Sexton grew up a Florida State fan, a proud supporter of the team his father once quarterbacked.

Rarely — if ever — did those Seminoles struggle against Wake Forest.

The Florida State quarterback changed that with an up-and-down outing Saturday that forced the No. 5-ranked Seminoles to fight for a 20-17 victory over Wake Forest.

“I never thought growing up we would have to sneak one out of Wake Forest,” Sexton said.

The Seminoles did, in large part because of Sexton’s play.

He had three costly turnovers — two of which were returned for touchdowns that had the Seminoles (6-1, 4-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) trailing 14-10 at the start of the fourth quarter.

Wake Forest (3-4, 0-4) is not exactly a pushover, despite being winless in conference play.

The Demon Deacons have not been easy opponent for anyone, taking Clemson and North Carolina State into overtime and battling down to the wire against Virginia Tech and the Seminoles. Their four ACC losses are by a combined 23 points.

No. 1 USC 38, Washington 0

Los Angeles — Matt Leinart passed for 217 yards and two touchdowns, LenDale White ran for two scores, and the Trojans (7-0, 4-0 Pac-10) handed Washington (1-6, 0-4) its first shutout since 1981. USC blew the game open by scoring three touchdowns in the third quarter for a 31-0 lead. Off to their best start since 1988 when they won their first 10 games, the Trojans have won 16 straight, 19 in a row at home and 27 of 28 overall.

No. 3 Auburn 42, Kentucky 10

Auburn, Ala. — Carnell Williams rushed for 149 yards and two touchdowns, and Auburn allowed only 110 yards. Ronnie Brown also rushed for two TDs for the Tigers (8-0, 5-0 Southeastern Conference), who overpowered the league’s worst defense to overcome a stretch of sloppy play. The Wildcats (1-6, 0-4) have dropped five consecutive games and 14 in a row against the Tigers.

No. 4 Miami 45, North Carolina State 31

Raleigh, N.C. — Brock Berlin tied a school record with five touchdown passes, and Devin Hester returned the opening kickoff 100 yards for another score, helping the Hurricanes (6-0, 3-0 ACC). Miami took advantage of numerous miscues by the Wolfpack (4-3, 3-2), who came in with the No. 1 defense in the country and were trying to beat a top-10 team for the first time since 2001.

No. 6 Wisconsin 24, Northwestern 12

Madison, Wis. — Anthony Davis rushed for two touchdowns, and Wisconsin beat Northwestern without defensive end Erasmus James and his pass-rushing partner Jonathan Welsh on the sideline. Both were out because of ankle injuries, but that didn’t prevent the Badgers (5-0 Big Ten) from going 8-0 for just the fourth time in the program’s 115-year history. Davis ran for 117 yards on 31 carries.

No. 7 Cal 38, Arizona 0

Tucson, Ariz. — Aaron Rodgers threw three first-half touchdowns, and J.J. Arrington topped 100 yards rushing for the sixth consecutive game to lead California (5-1, 3-1 Pac-10). The Bears posted their first shutout since a 17-0 victory over UCLA on Oct. 16, 1999. Arizona (1-6, 0-4) lost its sixth in a row.

No. 9 Utah 63, UNLV 28

Salt Lake City — Morgan Scalley returned the opening kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown, and Alex Smith threw for three TDs and ran 70 yards for another for Utah. The Utes (3-0 Mountain West) reached their highest point total in 10 years and improved to 7-0 for the fourth time in school history.

No. 10 Georgia 20, Arkansas 17

Fayetteville, Ark. — David Greene threw for a career-high 382 yards and two touchdowns, Thomas Brown rushed for 107 yards, and Georgia held off Arkansas. Fred Gibson caught six passes for 169 yards and a touchdown for the Bulldogs (6-1, 3-1, SEC), and Reggie Brown had seven receptions for 107 yards. The Razorbacks (3-4, 1-3) had just 278 yards total offense. They fumbled the ball four times, losing it twice, and were scoreless in the second half.

No. 11 Tennessee 17, Alabama 13

Knoxville, Tenn. — Tennessee turned to its defense to turn back Alabama’s late rally, and the Volunteers (6-1, 4-1 SEC) held on for a victory with key stops and an interception in the final seconds against the Crimson Tide (5-3, 2-3 SEC).

No. 14 Virginia 37, Duke 16

Durham, N.C. — Alvin Pearman ran for a career-high 223 yards and a touchdown, lifting Virginia (6-1, 3-1 ACC) over Duke (1-6, 0-4).

No. 18 LSU 24, Troy 20

Baton Rouge — Marcus Randall threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to David Jones with 2:18 left to give LSU a come-from-behind victory. The Trojans (3-4) had just 36 yards of offense in the first half, but trailed only 17-10 at the break thanks to LSU (5-2) turnovers.

Mississippi State 38, No. 20 Florida 31

Starkville, Miss. — Sylvester Croom’s first big win for Mississippi State sent Florida to a new low under coach Ron Zook. Jerious Norwood’s 37-yard touchdown run with 32 seconds remaining lifted Mississippi State (2-5, 1-3 SEC) over the Gators (4-3, 2-3).

No. 21 Arizona State 48, UCLA 42

Tempe, Ariz. — Andrew Walter threw for 415 yards and six touchdown passes, two in a wild fourth-quarter rally, to lead Arizona State (6-1, 3-1). Walter has 21 TD passes this season against six interceptions, although the Bruins (4-3, 2-2) picked him off three times.

Boston College 24, No. 24 Notre Dame 23

South Bend, Ind. — Paul Peterson threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Tony Gonzalez with 54 seconds left to give Boston College (5-2) its fourth straight victory over the Irish (5-3). A 55-yard field goal attempt by Notre Dame kicker D.J. Fitzpatrick fell well short as time expired.

No. 25 Iowa 6, Penn State 4

State College, Pa. — Iowa held Penn State’s offense scoreless, making Kyle Schlicher’s two first-half field goals stand up. The Hawkeyes (5-2, 3-1 Big Ten) gave the Nittany Lions (2-5, 0-4) their final two points, conceding a safety instead of punting from their own end zone late in the fourth quarter. The strategy worked perfectly when Iowa intercepted Penn State for the fourth time.