KANSAS CITY, Mo. – After watching Tony Yelk’s kick sail just above the right upright in the Independence Bowl, Iowa State had d‚j… vu Saturday as quarterback Seneca Wallace came within inches of a touchdown when he leapt for the end zone.

Wide right.

Iowa State had one last chance with four seconds remaining, but Wallace’s rollout was stuffed just short of the goal line.

Game over.

No. 3 Florida State escaped with a 38-31 win in the Eddie Robinson Classic at Arrowhead Stadium.

“I thought it was [a touchdown], but apparently they didn’t think I got in,” Wallace said. “I thought I got the ball across, but they made the call.”

After Florida State’s opening touchdown drive, Wallace was intercepted by Alonzo Jackson, who returned it 48 yards for a touchdown.

“The guy that picked it . . . fell down and he got up quick enough,” Wallace said. “I forced it and he just grabbed it.”

Iowa State trailed 14-0 when Wallace completed a 12-yard strike to Jamaul Montgomery, but the offense sputtered. Yelk’s field goal attempt from 50 yards was blocked B.J. Ward.

Although they were trailing 24-0 after FSU quarterback Chris Rix’s pass to Anquan Boldin for the touchdown, Iowa State kept battling.

“I just got the feeling that we can play with these guys,” ISU head coach Dan McCarney said. “Just hang in there and trust the planning, and we can have a chance to win this game.”

McCarney’s gut instinct was right. Just 39 seconds after a 51-yard kickoff return by Iowa State’s Lance Young, tailback Hiawatha Rutland scampered 36 yards into the end zone.

Nevertheless, Iowa State was still in a big hole at halftime, trailing the Seminoles 31-14.

“We knew that we could play with these boys going into halftime,” ISU cornerback Atif Austin said. “We’re good players, and we just looked them in the eye and said we’re not going to let this happen to Iowa State. We’re going to fight.”

Iowa State got back on track in the third quarter, but only netted a field goal after a 10-minute drive.

The first play of the fourth quarter, Austin stepped in front of Rix’s pass for the interception and returned the ball to the Florida State 25-yard line.

“I just made a break and it landed in my hands, and I just tried to get as many yards as I could,” Austin said.

Four plays later, Wallace dove into the end zone to make it 31-24.

Florida State responded by driving down the field with an 11-play, 80-yard drive, ending in a touchdown pass from Rix to Boldin.

On the ensuing drive, Wallace found Beau Klaffke on a fourth-and-one for a 31-yard gain. Three plays later, it was Montgomery on the receiving end for a 39-yard touchdown.

JaMaine Billups stopped FSU tailback Greg Jones for no gain, and Iowa State’s Tyson Smith caught Rix and forced a punt.

Iowa State moved steadily down the field and converted a critical third-and-17 with Wallace hooking up with Lane Danielsen to the FSU 21-yard line.

Wallace’s 20-yard scramble followed to set up the finish.

“I put the ball with the best player on the team,” McCarney said. “Seneca looked like he got tied up a little bit with Joe [Woodley].”

Wallace, 22-for-33 for 313 yards, said after the team went to the no-huddle offense in the fourth quarter, Florida State seemed to be on their heels.

“A lot of people doubted us, but we came in and played hard against the best team in the country,” Wallace said. “We just came up a foot short.”

FSU head coach Bobby Bowden, who passed Bear Bryant with his 324th career victory, said his team was lucky to get a win.

“I feel like we lost,” Bowden said. “We didn’t scare them any. They came out and executed better in the second half. We were very, very fortunate to win the ball game.”

Bowden said Wallace’s lunge for the goal line looked good to him, and he was already calling up stairs for advice for overtime.

“Oh Lord, I might live to be 95 if I didn’t have a heart attack on that last play,” Bowden said. “From where I was sitting, I thought he had it.”

Wide receiver Lane Danielsen, who finished with 96 yards on six catches, said the Wallace’s composure rubbed off on him and the rest of the team.

“As long as he’s under center we’ve got confidence. We were down 31-7 and we knew we could come back,” Danielsen said.