Gainesville, Fla. – Wes Byrum started celebrating before his kick even cleared the uprights. He knew it was good when it left his foot.

For Auburn, it was actually perfect. For Florida, it was a kick where it hurt most.

Byrum’s 43-yard field goal as time expired lifted the Tigers to a 20-17 victory over No. 4 Florida on Saturday night and gave them one of the biggest upsets on a day filled with them.

“It doesn’t get any better than that,” said Byrum.

The loss snapped an 11-game winning streak for the defending national champions, who lost to Auburn last year, and gave the Gators their first home loss under coach Urban Meyer. They had won 18 in a row, 17 straight since Meyer took over in 2005.

It also might have jeopardized Florida’s chances of repeating. Then again, with all the other upsets Saturday, the Gators surely won’t slip too far out of the picture.

Florida (4-1, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) could take a big step next week at No. 2 LSU.

No. 1 USC 27, Washington 24

Seattle – For three-plus quarters, Southern California was teetering toward becoming the sixth and mightiest top-10 team to fall this weekend.

Ultimately, the top-ranked Trojans survived.

Stafon Johnson ran for 122 yards and a touchdown, and Chauncey Washington added 106 yards and a score as USC overcame its numerous mistakes.

The Trojans (4-0, 2-0 Pac-10) committed three turnovers and 16 penalties – their most in more than two seasons – for 161 yards and had a missed a field goal and blocked punt. Yet they won for the 60th time in 64 games.

No. 2 LSU 34, Tulane 9

New Orleans – One good half was more than enough for LSU against Tulane.

Jacob Hester’s second touchdown of the game and Charles Scott’s pair of scoring runs helped LSU (5-0) amass 24 unanswered second-half points.

Matt Flynn shook off six sacks to throw for 258 yards. His passing was inconsistent in the face of constant pressure, and he was intercepted once.

No. 6 California 31, No. 11 Oregon 24

Eugene, Ore. – DeSean Jackson had 11 catches for 161 yards and two touchdowns, while Justin Forsett ran for 101 yards and another two scores to lead California.

The Golden Bears (5-0, 2-0 Pac-10) snapped a seven-game losing streak at Autzen Stadium – they hadn’t won there since 1987 – and needed a close call to go their way to hang on to the victory.

No. 8 Ohio State 30, Minnesota 7

Minneapolis – Chris Wells rushed for 116 yards and two touchdowns, and the Ohio State defense didn’t budge.

The eighth-ranked Buckeyes (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) have allowed only 34 points in five easy victories, making life much easier for new quarterback Todd Boeckman. He wasn’t great, but he threw for two scores and didn’t turn the ball over – leaving Wells to wear down the overmatched Gophers (1-4, 0-2).

No. 9 Wisconsin 37, Michigan St. 34

Madison, Wis. – P.J. Hill ran for 155 yards and two touchdowns, and Wisconsin extended the nation’s longest winning streak to 14.

The Badgers (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) seemed in complete control late in the third quarter after Hill ran for his second touchdown from a yard out to give Wisconsin a 34-24 lead.

Maryland 34, No. 10 Rutgers 24

Piscataway, N.J. – Rutgers apparently doesn’t like being in the Top 10.

Backup quarterback Chris Turner led three second-half scoring drives, Keon Lattimore rushed for 124 yards and a touchdown, and Maryland’s defense shut down Ray Rice.

It marked the second straight year that Rutgers was upset after getting into the Top 10. Last year, Cincinnati surprised the Scarlet Knights a week after they reached No. 7 following an upset of then-No. 3 Louisville.

No. 12 Boston College 24, Massachusetts 14

Boston – Andre Callender ran for 115 yards and two touchdowns, and Matt Ryan threw for one TD to lead Boston College past its feisty cross-state rival and give the Eagles their best start in more than 50 years.

Ryan was 24-for-42 for 204 yards, helping BC (5-0) open a 17-0 lead before slumping in the third quarter as UMass (4-1) closed within a field goal at 17-14. But Ryan answered with a 61-yard drive, completing five of seven passes and adding a 14-yard scramble before Callender scored from the four to make it 24-14.

Georgia Tech 13, No. 13 Clemson 3

Atlanta – Thunder and Lightning were nothing special, and Clemson’s special teams were downright horrible.

Georgia Tech stifled the dynamic running duo of James “Thunder” Davis and C.J. “Lightning” Spiller and took advantage of a stunningly poor performance by Dean Buchholz and the rest of Clemson’s kicking game.

The Yellow Jackets (3-2, 1-2 ACC) snapped a two-game losing streak and avoided their first 0-3 start in league play since 1994.

No. 14 Kentucky 45, Florida Atlantic 17

Lexington, Ky. – Andre Woodson threw for a career-high five touchdowns in an easy win, but had his NCAA-record streak of consecutive passes without an interception snapped at 325.

Four different receivers caught scoring throws from Woodson, who completed 26 of 33 passes for a season-high 301 yards in just over three quarters.

Woodson would have had a sixth TD, but his toss to fullback John Conner was picked off by Tavious Polo as the players battled for the ball near the goal line.

No. 15 Georgia 45, Mississippi 17

Athens, Ga. – Thomas Brown ran for 180 yards – the most for Georgia in six years – and three touchdowns.

The game was tied at 17 early in the third quarter before Brown, who scored earlier on a 50-yard run, took over. The senior had four carries and one catch for a combined 45 yards on a seven-play touchdown drive that ended with his four-yard scoring run. He added a 41-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter.

No. 16 South Carolina 38, Mississippi State 21

Columbia, S.C. – Freshman Chris Smelley threw for a career-best 279 yards and two touchdowns to lead South Carolina.

Smelley was given the starting job by coach Steve Spurrier before the Gamecocks (4-1, 2-1 SEC) left the locker room at LSU’s Death Valley last week after a 28-16 loss. Mississippi State fell to 3-2, 1-2.

Mike Davis added two of his three rushing touchdowns (3, 2 and 12 yards) for South Carolina in the final quarter.

No. 17 Virginia Tech 17, North Carolina 10

Blacksburg, Va. – Tyrod Taylor, Branden Ore and Virginia Tech still can’t find their offense, but the defense made two more big plays.

Taylor scored on a five-yard run, and Ore scored on a one-yard dive for the Hokies (4-1, 1-0 ACC), who managed just 241 yards of offense. Ore’s touchdown was set up by an interception that Xavier Adibi returned 31 yards to the Tar Heels 12-yard line.

No. 19 Hawaii 48, Idaho 20

Moscow, Idaho – Adam Leonard and Myron Newberry returned interceptions for touchdowns, and Hawaii overcame a career-high five interceptions by Colt Brennan.

Hawaii improved to 5-0 – 2-0 in the Western Athletic Conference – for the first time since 1981.

Brennan finished 30 of 49 for 369 yards with three touchdown passes and added a one-yard TD plunge in the third quarter. Brennan’s five interceptions tied a school record.

Illinois 27, No. 21 Penn State 20

Champaign, Ill. – Regus Benn returned a kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown and caught a pass for another, and the Illinois defense intercepted three passes.

The Illini (4-1, 2-0 Big Ten) forced Nittany Lions’ quarterback Anthony Morelli into three interceptions and a fumble, all in the second half and all deep in Illinois territory.

Penn State fell to 3-2, 0-2.

Florida State 21, No. 22 Alabama 14

Jacksonville, Fla. – Xavier Lee came off the bench to throw a pair of touchdown passes to De’Cody Fagg, and Antone Smith scored on a five-yard run for Florida State.

Florida State (3-1) gave Bobby Bowden, who grew up in Birmingham, Ala., and always figured he was destined to follow Bear Bryant in Tuscaloosa, his 369th coaching victory in his first game against Alabama.

No. 23 Arizona State 41, Stanford 3

Stanford, Calif. – In a matter of seconds, Arizona State turned a close game into a blowout.

Rudy Carpenter threw a 62-yard touchdown pass to Rudy Burgess late in the second quarter, and Omar Bolden returned an interception for a score on the next play from scrimmage to lead the Sun Devils.