Game-Tying Drive Comes Up Short at Stanford

PALO ALTO, Calif. – The Florida State football team lost at Stanford 20-13 on Saturday night at Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto, California.

With 63 seconds remaining, the Seminoles (3-4, 0-4 ACC) drove down the field 79 yards to try and tie the game, but the game-tying drive came up one yard short. The Cardinal (3-4, 2-2 ACC) had taken a 20-10 lead late in the third quarter before FSU's comeback bid.

Florida State had 444 yards of offense, 311 passing and 133 rushing, while Stanford had 293 offensive yards, 161 through the air and 132 on the ground. FSU did not turn over the ball and forced one turnover that led to a field goal.

Quarterback Tommy Castellanos was 14-for-28 for 242 yards passing with 33 yards rushing on 14 carries with a touchdown. Wide receiver Micahi Danzy paced the team with 106 receiving yards on three catches, while two players caught four passes, including wide receiver Duce Robinson who totaled 98 yards receiving. Running back Gavin Sawchuk had 70 rushing yards on 20 carries, both to lead the team.

Linebacker Omar Graham Jr. had an FSU-best eight tackles, five solo, and linebacker Blake Nichelson was second with seven tackles and had 1.5 tackles for loss. Defensive back Earl Little Jr. had an interception.

Stanford got the game's first points, a field goal with 7:41 left in the first quarter on its opening drive of the night. That made it 3-0, and Florida State tied it at 3-3 less than 30 seconds into the second quarter.

Kicker Jake Weinberg's 39-yard field gool was good to cap a 12-play, 54-yard drive that took 4:00. The drive was kept alive with a 20-yard pass completion from the FSU 39.

The Cardinal responded with their first touchdown of the day, a seven yard pass to make it 10-7 with 9:13 left in the half. The 11-play, 75-yard drive started with back-to-back plays of 16 and 29 yards.

With less than three minutes left in the half, Stanford made it 13-3 with a 26-yard field goal.

Florida State answered right back with a touchdown drive in the final minutes to cut the deficit to three, at 13-10. Castellanos' eight yard run capped the 10-play, 75-yard drive in 2:14 that included a 37-yard pass from Castellanos to Robinson.

Both teams punted to start the second half, but Stanford then added to its lead with a touchdown to make it 20-10 with 3:02 left in the third quarter. A one-yard rush on third down was the third third-down conversion on the 94-yard scoring drive that took more than seven minutes.

On their opening possession of the fourth quarter, the Seminoles got to within seven at 20-13 as Weinberg kicked a 33-yard field goal with 9:21 left in regulation. Castellanos started the nine-play, 44-yard drive with a 31-yard pass to running back Ousmane Kromah, and a two-yard run on fourth down kept the drive alive.

Florida State's defense then forced two three-and-outs. The offense entered Stanford territory on its ensuing next two drives, but turned it over on downs. FSU then got the ball back again with 1:03 on the clock, and quarterback Kevin Sperry attempted a game-tying drive. His 15-yard run got it started, followed by his 15-yard pass.

A 53-yard completion to the Stanford nine came with two seconds left on the clock. An incomplete pass followed as time expired, but a Stanford penalty led to an untimed down with the ball at the two. Sperry's shovel pass to Sawchuk was complete, but he was ruled down just shy of the goal line to end the game.

Following a bye week, FSU returns home to host Wake Forest on Saturday, November 1, at Doak Campbell Stadium.

Game-Tying Drive Comes Up Short at Stanford

Next Event

Team Stats

Tommy Castellanos

Kevin Sperry

Players Mentioned

Tommy Castellanos

Micahi Danzy

Omar Graham Jr.

Ousmane Kromah

Earl Little Jr.

Blake Nichelson

Duce Robinson

Gavin Sawchuk

Kevin Sperry

Jake Weinberg

Florida State University Athletics