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Tallahassee, Fla. • A much different road opponent for the foundering BYU Cougars on Saturday afternoon brought a strikingly similar result.

Failing to score in the second half for the second straight week, BYU was pounded 34-10 by physically superior Florida State at Doak Campbell Stadium in front of 68,785 chanting, tomahawk-chopping and sun-drenched fans.

"They made all the critical plays as the game wore on, made more of them and at the right times, and that ended up in the outcome that we had," said BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall, who suddenly guides a 1-2 team for the first time since 2007, but one that holds a lot less promise for a turnaround than previous clubs that reeled off 10 wins on two separate occasions.

Fighting off tears outside a somber postgame locker room, senior safety Andrew Rich said the Cougars were "heartbroken, like I am. You don't want to play hard and lose. It's a bad feeling."

And judging by their punchless offensive performance and a defensive effort that is willing, but seemingly incapable of making routine plays and tackles, it might be a feeling the Cougars will have to get used to with offensive juggernaut Nevada coming to Provo this week.

The Cougars (1-2) were outscored 21-0 in the second half, just as Air Force did to them last week in that 35-14 hammering in Colorado Springs. But while the Falcons simply outexecuted them in every phase of the game, the Seminoles physically wore them out.

They had just 191 total yards, and 152 of those came in the first half when it appeared possible BYU could stay with the team that blitzed it 54-28 last year in Provo. The offense in the second half was more inept than it was last week against the Falcons, if that's possible.

Still, freshman Jake Heaps talked optimistically about the future, saying "from right here, the plan is to go 10-0. … I think we can do that."

Then again, he opened his comments by offering praise for an offensive line that allowed eight sacks for a total loss of 52 yards and a defense that gave up oodles of big plays, including a career-long 83-yard touchdown run by FSU sophomore Chris Thompson that staked FSU to a 13-0 lead when the home team could easily have led 21-0 with the way it dominated the first quarter.

"I think it is a matter of us just not making plays when plays needed to be made," said running back J.J. DiLuigi, BYU's lone offensive bright spot with 93 rushing yards on 18 carries and three catches for 36 yards.

When the Cougars fell behind 13-0 midway through the second quarter, Mendenhall scrapped his system of rotating quarterbacks each series, and stayed with Heaps from there on out, with mixed results. Heaps led the Cougars on two scoring drives before halftime, one that resulted in a 28-yard field goal by Mitch Payne and the other coming with 14 seconds left, when he found Cody Hoffman from 4 yards out to send the Cougars into the locker room with plenty of momentum and spirit.

But as the heat and humidity rose, along with Florida State, the Cougars wilted when it really mattered. They had a few nice defensive stops in the first half, but offered little resistance in the second half to an FSU running game that finished with 278 yards on the ground.

They went three-and-out after receiving the ball to open the second half — after picking up 6 yards on the first play. Two long, incomplete passes from Heaps doomed the drive, but afterward Mendenhall said he had no issues with offensive coordinator Robert Anae's play calling.

Quarterback Christian Ponder then guided the Seminoles on a 14-play, 63-yard drive for a TD. Ponder sealed the deal after another BYU punt with a quick, four-play, 86-yard drive. The TD was set up by Thompson's tackle-breaking 31-yard run on first down and a big 34-yard catch by Willie Haulstead over Tallahassee native Brandon Bradley that set the Seminoles up at the BYU 6.

Ponder's sneak with 55 seconds left in the third quarter made it 27-10, and the fourth quarter was mere window dressing.

"We will continue … again, there is some fundamental work [BYU needs to do] that showed last week as well. That resurfaced again this week in our run-game defense," Mendenhall said.

drew@sltrib.com Twitter: @sltribbyu, @drewjay —