STARKVILLE, Mississippi (Ticker) -- Brigham Young may have almost no chance to make the Bowl Championship Series, but the Cougars refuse to lose.

Matt Payne kicked a 25-yard field goal on the final play of the game as No. 7 BYU kept its perfect season intact with a 41-38 victory over Mississippi State.

"I was not nervous before the kick," Payne said. "These are the kind of kicks that you love. If you make it, then you win. If you miss, then you go to overtime."

It marked the third straight week the Cougars rallied for a victory in the fourth quarter. They will try to complete a 13-0 regular season next week at Hawaii, but may be without star running back Luke Staley due to a leg injury.

"This is very exciting to be 12-0," BYU quarterback Brandon Doman said. "I don't think BYU has ever beaten Mississippi State before. That last drive at the end showed how hard we have been working."

The Cougars suffered a 44-28 setback last season in Provo in the first meeting between the teams. BYU had been 0-4 in the Deep South.

The Cougars are just 12th in the latest BCS standings due to a weak schedule. BYU and Miami are the only unbeaten teams in Division I-A.

"It feels really good to be 12-0," BYU coach Gary Crowton said. "No matter who you play, it's tough to go undefeated."

Mississippi State finished 3-8, matching the worst record in Jackie Sherrill's 11 seasons as coach.

"This hasn't been the best season, but we wanted to go out with a bang," Mississippi State wide receiver Justin Jenkins said. "We didn't, but we know we played well enough to win."

Doman completed 23-of-32 passes for 390 yards with a career-high five touchdowns and three interceptions. His favorite receiver was Reno Mahe, who had 10 catches for 189 yards.

Staley rushed for 149 yards on 28 carries, but had to be helped off the field in the final minute.

"The guy played tough the entire night," Crowton said. "We are hoping that he will be able to play next week. What they are looking at is a possible broken left fibula. He will be X-rayed in the morning."

BYU ran one play to set up Payne's game-winning kick that ended a shootout in which each team gained more than 500 yards.

"I hate those drives in the last quarter in some ways, but in other ways, I love it," Doman said. "In the moment, I love it. What more can you ask than for a chance to make a game-winning drive against an SEC team?"

Kevin Fant completed 20-of-28 passes for 346 yards and three touchdowns for the Bulldogs, while Dicenzo Miller rushed for 119 yards and two touchdowns on only 12 carries.

Mississippi State took its last lead, 38-31, on Miller's 22-yard TD run with 9:27 left in the fourth period. The Cougars answered on Doman's 12-yard TD pass to tight end Spencer Nead with 6:11 remaining.

"This is a noisy place to play," Crowton said. "It is tough to come in on the road to play in the SEC. I think it took us a little while to settle in. The noise was a factor early in the game at late."

John Marlin kicked a 23-yard field goal with 1:10 left in the second quarter to give Mississippi State a 24-21 halftime lead.

The Bulldogs stretched their advantage to 31-21 on Fant's 27-yard TD pass to Jenkins with 9:33 left in the first quarter.

But BYU tied the contest, 31-31, on Payne's 42-yard field goal with 1:53 left in the third period and Doman's 26-yard TD pass to Doug Jolley 38 seconds into the final period.