TALLAHASSEE, Florida. – Ja’Khi Douglas caught a 36-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter and Florida State defeated Cal 14-9 in the Bears’ first Atlantic Coast Conference game on Saturday.

Patrick Payton accounted for three of Florida State’s seven sacks. The final sack came from Marvin Jones Jr. and Edwin Joseph, who combined to sack Cal’s Fernando Mendoza on fourth down with 54 seconds left. The Bears had advanced to Florida State’s 23-yard line.

“We had to play with relentless effort and not just worry about plays and stats,” Payton said. “I think the whole D-line and everyone made great plays. Everyone played with that effort.”

During Florida State’s rocky start, effort was often lacking or at least questionable. The Seminoles started the preseason ranked in the top 10 but lost three games in a row.

On Saturday, they didn’t look like a top-10 team or one worthy of challenging for the ACC title. But the Seminoles (1-3, 1-2 ACC) were good enough against the Golden Bears.

“The first three weeks of the season were tough, just disappointing at the beginning,” said Florida State coach Mike Norvell. “When you go into this week, you say challenge, you say opportunity. We talked about a comeback. We have that under control.”

Lawrance Toafili set season highs in runs (17) and yards (80) as well as a 2-yard touchdown. The senior was the Seminoles’ most consistent offensive option.

FSU’s DJ Uiagalelei was inconsistent, completing 16 of 27 passes for 177 yards, but it was his touchdown pass to Douglas that gave the Seminoles the lead early in the fourth quarter. Uiagalelei led Florida State to just two touchdowns on 11 drives, hardly silencing the vocal critics.

But the Seminoles were able to celebrate a win mainly because Cal was unable to finish its attacks with touchdowns. Ryan Coe attempted field goals from 51, 29 and 25 yards, but also missed from 36 and 38 yards.

“We had a lot of chances,” Cal coach Justin Wilcox said. “We didn’t take advantage of them. They did. We have to find ways to score points. Nine is not enough. I don’t care who you’re playing against.”

Mendoza completed 22 of 36 passes for a season-high 303 yards for Cal (3-1, 0-1). The Miami native also had an interception.

Cal running back Jaydn Ott returned from an injury-related absence and managed 73 yards on 13 carries.

Understaffed Seminoles

Florida State played without offensive tackles Jeremiah Byers and Robert Scott. Starting tailback Roydell Williams was also missing.

The conclusion

California: The Bears managed 422 offensive yards but missed two field goal attempts of less than 40 yards. Pre-snap penalties often hurt California’s drives.

Florida State: The Seminoles were only able to achieve 284 offensive yards, the fourth straight game in which they failed to surpass the 300-yard mark.

Next

Cal has a bye and hosts No. 8 Miami on Oct. 5.

Florida State plays at SMU on Saturday.

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