NC State had Vanderbilt right where it wanted it, then watched the whole thing slip away in the most brutal way possible.
The Wolfpack came out sharp in Nashville and looked every bit like the better team for stretches. After rolling past FCS Richmond in Week 2, NC State opened fast again against a Vanderbilt team that had been 2-0 against FCS opponents and was still largely untested entering Saturday. The Commodores had plenty of buzz around freshman quarterback Jared Curtis, who was informed this week he would be making his first start against the Wolfpack, but he didn’t have much impact early as State jumped ahead with touchdowns on its first two possessions.
NC State built its biggest cushion at 17 points before Vanderbilt finally answered late in the first half. Curtis helped spark that push, finishing a 23-yard touchdown pass to get the Commodores on the board with 1:06 left before halftime. From there, the game turned into a completely different fight.
It really was a game of two halves for the Wolfpack. For much of the afternoon, NC State looked in control on both sides of the ball. But Vanderbilt kept finding ways to punch back with touchdown drives whenever the moment demanded it, and the momentum kept shifting away from State as the game wore on.
CJ Bailey turned in a strong passing performance overall, going 25-for-37 for 275 yards and three touchdowns. But the turnovers were costly, and two of them loomed large. After Brody Barnhardt’s interception with 1:04 remaining and NC State clinging to a three-point lead, the Wolfpack needed only to bleed the clock and finish the job.
Instead, the ending went off the rails.
With three seconds left, on fourth down at NC State’s 4-yard line, Bailey fumbled in the back of the end zone, and Vanderbilt recovered for the winning touchdown. The Commodores pulled out a 35-31 victory in a finish that nobody saw coming.
It was supposed to be NC State’s first regular-season SEC win since 1999. Instead, it became one of those losses that sticks to everyone involved. Bailey’s mistake was the final blow, but the clock management issues earlier in the game also played a part in letting Vanderbilt hang around.
However you slice it, this one belongs in the worst kind of category for the Wolfpack: not just a loss, but a loss that will be replayed over and over. The end zone fumble will be the image that lasts, and for NC State, so will the pain.
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NC State Let A Seemingly Safe Finish Turn Into A Nightmare
It looked for all the world like NC State was about to escape with a narrow road win, the kind of finish coaches spend all week rehearsing and players still find a way to make messy. Instead, the closing sequence turned into a collapse, with Vanderbilt finishing off a 35-31 victory on a last-second fumble recovery touchdown after the Wolfpack had tried to bleed out the final play.
The irony is that the game also featured a breakthrough performance from true freshman quarterback Jared Curtis, who made his first career start and passed for 264 yards and three touchdowns while adding 64 yards on the ground. But Dave Doeren later confirmed NC State had intended to take an intentional safety at the end, and the indecision at quarterback changed everything in a flash, leaving the Wolfpack to absorb a loss that will linger far longer than the final score. [Read more 🡒]
NC State Just Turned A Routine Finish Into A Brutal Loss
For most of the night, NC State had the game where it wanted it, protecting a slim lead and moving toward what looked like a routine finish. The Wolfpack even had a chance to bleed out the final seconds rather than give Vanderbilt any extra life, a choice that seemed to fit the moment and the scoreboard.
Instead, the ending turned on one chaotic snap near the goal line, when a fumble in the end zone flipped everything in an instant. Vanderbilt pounced on it for a touchdown and walked away with a 35-31 win, a stunning escape that also snapped a long skid in games where the Commodores had trailed by double digits in the fourth quarter. [Read more 🡒]
NC State Let A Road Win Slip Away In Brutal Fashion
NC State had more than enough offense to leave Nashville with a road win, with quarterback CJ Bailey throwing for 275 yards and three touchdowns and Keenan Jackson hauling in all three of those scoring strikes. The Wolfpack led early, stayed in control for much of the night at FirstBank Stadium, and still found itself in position to close things out after building a late edge.
Instead, the finish turned cruel in a hurry. Vanderbilt forced a fumble and turned it into the decisive touchdown with one second left, turning what looked like a solid ACC road victory into a 35-31 loss for NC State. For a team that did a lot right for most of the game, the final sequence left the Wolfpack walking away with little more than frustration and a reminder of how quickly a road game can swing. [Read more 🡒]