Stanford Cardinal head coach Frank Reich (center right) celebrates with Scotty Edwards (21) at Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto after their win against the UNC Tar Heels on Sat Oct 17, 2025 (AP News photo)
By Michael Roberson
STANFORD, Calif. — The Stanford Cardinal (3-4, 2-2 ACC) are perfect at their home stadium, after defeating conference foe Florida State Seminoles (3-4, 0-4 ACC) 20-13, Saturday Night in the Bay Area.
The Cardinal won the coin toss, but deferred their possession to receive the ball after the half.. That turned out to be a good choice, as the Noles could not advance the ball at all, and punted immediately. The Cardinal did take the gift graciously, and used it in their favor.
Midway through the first quarter, Stanford utilized their initial possession to their advantage, by putting points on the scoreboard. Senior Emmett Kenney converted a 32-yard field goal, to put the home team up by three, 3-0.
FSU tried to tie the game later in the period, but missed a 57-yard attempt. Later, Florida State intercepted a pass from redshirt-senior QB Ben Gulbranson. They were not able to parlay that turnover to points, so the quarter ended with the same scoring margin. Stanford 3-0, after 15 minutes of gameplay.
The second stanza definitely had more action. Within a minute of the second quarter, FSU evened the score, 3-3. Redshirt-freshman kicker booted a 39-yard FG through the uprights, evening the score at three. The Cardinal were on a mission to regain the lead.
Stanford had a botched field goal scenario, filling the Seminoles defense with a sense of pride. However, they were called for an offsides penalty, negating their efforts, while giving Stanford another chance to score. They did capitalize on another chance/opportunity.
The Cardinal actually seized the moment and scored a touchdown instead, They intended to go up by three, but the circumstances changed the scenario, they actually went up by seven, 10-3. The Noles still had still had a modicum of time before recess.
With :40 remaining in the first half, FSU senior QB Tommy Castellanos scrambled to paydirt, on an 8-yard keeper, putting the Floridians within three, 13-10 at the half. Although Stanford still was in the lead, and would be receiving the ball in the beginning of the third quarter.
The Cardinal did not do much with that prized possession, but they prevented FSU from doing anything either. With a little over three minutes remaining in the third quarter, Stanford burst through the line of scrimmage and goal line, with a 1-yard rushing TD by redshirt-freshman RB Cole Tabb. That put them up by 10 points, 20-10, after 45 minutes of conference battling.
Five and a half minutes into the final quarter, the Seminoles scratched the scoring column again, by converting a 33-yard FG, making it a one score game, 20-13, Stanford.
Near the end of the quadrant, Stanford’s Mitch Leibor was penalized and ejected with a targeting call on FSU’s QB. This put the Seminoles in an advantageous position to tie the game, or even win with a 2-point conversion.
After several wacky plays, penalties, and conversion, it came down to one last untimed play. Florida State came up short of the goal line. Even that play had to be examined on the replay booth. After the officials emerged from the booth, their determination was that the original call stood, and Florida State would return to the Sunshine State with another L. The final score 20-13 was the total for the victorious Cardinal..
Coincidentally, the Cardinal will next be in action in the State of Florida, as they take on the Miami Hurricanes Saturday, October 25 at 4 PM PT and 7 PM ET. Florida State, on the other hand, will have a week off, before hosting Wake Forest in Tallahassee Saturday, November 1 at TBD.
