NC State had Vanderbilt backed into a corner, and still found a way to lose.
With 6 seconds left and facing 4th and 7 from its own 5-yard line, the Wolfpack had the ball, a one-point lead, and a choice to make. Vanderbilt had no timeouts left. NC State could punt and risk a return, or it could try to burn the clock in the end zone and live with the safest possible outcome.
Dave Doeren went with the second option, and at first it looked workable. CJ Bailey spent 5 seconds moving around in the end zone, but he never made it to the finish line. As he was tackled, he failed to secure the ball, it came loose, and Vanderbilt recovered it for a touchdown with 1 second left.
If Bailey was going to be contacted at all, he needed to go down immediately. Anything else was playing with fire.
He could have just run out the back of the end zone and taken the one-point lead with him. Instead, he let the play turn into disaster.
It was one of the most stunning finishes you’ll ever see in college football.
The worst part for NC State is that this should never have come down to that moment in the first place. The Wolfpack led by 17 points with about 9 minutes left in the third quarter, then let the game slip away in every way possible.
Bailey was sharp for most of the day. He finished 68% passing for 275 yards and 3 touchdowns, with 1 interception, and posted a passing efficiency rating of 151.4.
Keenan Jackson turned in the best game of his career, catching a career-high 8 passes for 102 yards and a career-high 3 touchdowns.
None of it will matter much to NC State fans, though. What they’ll remember is the ending: a road loss to an SEC opponent that vanished in the most improbable fashion imaginable.
Coming into the day, teams holding the lead and the ball with 10 seconds or less left had gone 1,046-1 over the last 20 seasons of college football.
NC State became the second.
In Other News...
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 🡒]