Stanford Cardinal, Calif. (AP) Stanford tackled Gavin Sawchuk just short of the goal line on an untimed down and the Cardinal barely hung on to hand Florida State Seminoles its ninth straight Atlantic Coast Conference loss with a 20-13 victory on Saturday night.

“It comes down to the last play,” interim cosch Frank Reich said. “Just credit to our defense ... just to keep him just short of the goal line. I know it was close, but just that last-ditch effort to get him on the ground. Big play.”

The Seminoles (3-4, 0-4) nearly pulled off an improbable comeback when backup quarterback Kevin Sperry completed a 49-yard desperation heave to Micahi Danzy on third and 22 to get the ball to the 9 with 2 seconds left.

Stanford’s Che Ojarikre was then called for pass interference in the end zone, giving the Seminoles an untimed down from the 2.

Sperry threw a shovel pass to Galvan who was fighting for the end zone but was stopped just short by Matt Rose and Jahsiah Galvan. The play went to replay review and after a few tense moments Stanford (3-4, 2-2) was able to celebrate its third straight home win.

"At the end of the day we played with energy and passion and made plays when we had to make plays," Reich said.

The Cardinal defense came up big late, stopping Tommy Castellanos just short on fourth-and-2 keeper from the 14 with a little more than 5 minutes to play and on another drive with with 1:26 to play.

Castellanos was knocked out on the that drive on a targeting foul against Mitch Leigber. Sperry came in and almost led the Seminoles to the their first conference win since beating California on Sept. 21, 2024.

“I believe in the guys that we have. I do,” coach Mike Norvell said. “I think that they’ve shown fight throughout. We didn’t fight very smart tonight. But they did fight to the end. ... We were there on the last play and had a chance and they said we were short.”

Stanford broke out to an early lead with help from a key mistake by the Seminoles. Edwin Joseph got called for offsides for Florida State, turning a missed 30-yard FG for Stanford into a 7-yard TD pass from Ben Gulbranson to CJ WIlliams that made it 10-3.

It led to a heated exchange on the sideline with coach Mike Norvell as the frustration of a season that started with high hopes after a win over Alabama has reached a boil.

The Cardinal added a field goal later in the second quarter before Castellanos made an acrobatic leap into the end zone on a scramble in the closing seconds of the first half to make it 13-10.

Gulbranson left with an injury after getting sacked late in the second quarter and was replaced by Elijah Brown.

That didn't doom Stanford as Brown engineered a 13-play, 94-yard drive in the third quarter to give Stanford a 20-10 lead after Cole Tabb's 1-yard run. Tabb finished with 118 yards rushing in place of the injured Micah Ford.

Florida State: The Seminoles were once again sloppy, getting called for a delay of game before the first snap, another before a long field goal try that missed, jumping offside on a fourth-and-1 hard count in the fourth quarter, and committing the big penalty on special teams that helped Stanford score a TD.

Stanford: After winning only three games in each of the last four seasons, the Cardinal have already matched that total in their first year under interim coach Frank Reich. The team that GM Andrew Luck is building is far more competitive than in recent years under coaches David Shaw and Troy Taylor.

Florida State: Hosts Wake Forest on Nov. 1.

Stanford: Visits Miami on Saturday.

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