Vanderbilt didn’t just beat NC State on Saturday. The Commodores stole it in the wildest way possible, turning what looked like a loss into a 35-31 win on a last-second fumble recovery in the end zone.
That finish capped a comeback that had already started to feel unlikely. Vanderbilt trailed 24-7 and had barely found its footing before true freshman quarterback Jared Curtis began dragging the game back into reach in his first career start. Even then, the Commodores still looked cooked when Curtis was intercepted in the red zone with a little more than a minute left.
From there, the clock became NC State’s ally - at least for a moment. Vanderbilt had used its timeouts, the Wolfpack bled the clock down and wound up with the ball at their own 5-yard line, leading 31-30 with six seconds left. On fourth-and-3, the plan appeared to be an intentional safety and a final escape with the lead.
Instead, NC State quarterback CJ Bailey hesitated. He decided at the last second not to go down, apparently noticing there were still a couple of seconds left, and that split-second indecision turned into disaster. Bailey fumbled, Vanderbilt recovered in the end zone, and the Commodores had the go-ahead touchdown.
The sideline emptied onto the field as if the game were over, but officials put one second back on the clock. It didn’t matter. Vanderbilt walked off with the kind of finish that barely seems real, moving to 3-0 on the season.
Curtis was central to the comeback once Vanderbilt settled in. He finished with 264 passing yards and three touchdowns, added 64 rushing yards and twice pulled the Commodores within three in the fourth quarter. Vanderbilt had fallen behind 17-0 and then 24-7 before finally getting on the board with a touchdown in the closing moments of the first half.
The near-miss before the game-winning sequence made the ending even harder to believe. What should have been at least a tying field goal instead became Curtis’ interception, setting up what looked like NC State’s escape.
Afterward, NC State coach Dave Doeren said the sequence was supposed to be "just a play where you roll out and don't get tackled," confirming, "the plan was to take a safety" but also to protect the football.
Doeren is in his 14th season at NC State and has become the third longest-tenured "Power Four" head coach, behind only Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz and Clemson’s Dabo Swinney. He is 119-76 since taking over in 2013, with winning records in five of the last six seasons and 10 of the last 12, even though he has never won more than nine games in a season.
But this season has already turned rough. NC State was beaten soundly by Virginia in its Week 0 opener, and this collapse against Vanderbilt only adds to the pressure as the Wolfpack try to steady things after a brutal start.
In Other News...
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 🡒]
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 🡒]