Vanderbilt pulled off one of the strangest finishes college football has seen in a long time on Saturday, turning a near-certain NC State win into a 35-31 Commodores victory on a fumble recovery in the end zone.
NC State had the game in hand, leading by three with six seconds left and facing a fourth-and-5 from inside its own 10-yard line. The Wolfpack could have punted and trusted its defense, but instead quarterback CJ Bailey ran around to burn the clock before taking a safety. The idea was simple: give up two points, still leave with a 31-30 win, and avoid the risk of a disastrous punt return.
That plan unraveled in the most chaotic way possible. As Bailey tried to go down, Vanderbilt forced the ball loose in the end zone and recovered it for a touchdown, flipping the game in an instant and sending Nashville into a frenzy.
The sequence came after Vanderbilt had nearly taken the lead earlier, only for NC State to intercept Jared Curtis at the 1-yard line. From there, the Wolfpack looked ready to close it out and claim a nonconference win, but the final seconds delivered a brutal reversal.
The result ended Vanderbilt’s 66-game losing streak when trailing by double digits in the fourth quarter, according to ESPN Insights. It also burned anyone who had NC State +3, since the touchdown and extra point pushed the final margin to four.
NC State’s collapse also dropped it into some very rare company. Over the last 20 years, teams had been 1,046-1 when leading and possessing the ball in the final 10 seconds of a game.
The only other loss in that situation came from Michigan in 2015, when a botched punt snap led to Michigan State recovering a fumble in the end zone for the win. The other loss may have played into Dave Doeren’s decision to take the safety rather than risk a punt, but it still ended in one of the wildest finishes imaginable.
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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 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 🡒]
Vanderbilt Stunned NC State With A Finish Nobody Saw Coming
NC State had the game right where it wanted it late, trying to manage the final moments and force Vanderbilt to burn precious time before the end. Instead, the finish turned into one of the most chaotic sequences of the college football weekend, with quarterback C.J. Bailey ending up in an intentional safety attempt that was supposed to help the Wolfpack avoid contact and keep control of the situation.
Dave Doeren said the play was designed for Bailey to roll out and take the safety cleanly, but the ball came loose and Vanderbilt recovered it, flipping the game on its head. The Commodores finished off a comeback from 17 points down and escaped with a 35-31 win, moving to 3-0 while NC State dropped to 1-2. [Read more 🡒]