NC State’s Collapse vs. Vanderbilt Ended With A Wild Last-Second, Game-Winning TD

You had one job, NC State.

NC State was one snap from beating Vanderbilt on Saturday. Instead, the Wolfpack fumbled in their own end zone, Vanderbilt recovered the ball for a touchdown, and the Commodores won, 35-31.

Quarterback CJ Bailey took the snap and scrambled in the end zone in an attempt to waste time and end the game. Vanderbilt defensive end Miles Capers knocked the ball out of his hands, and cornerback Cayden Daniels recovered it in the end zone for a touchdown on the second-to-last play of the game. 

The touchdown stood after review, and one second was put back on the clock. 

Vanderbilt’s extra point made the final score 35-31. Vanderbilt was a three-point favorite, so the four-point win covered the spread. The extra second put back on the clock resulted in a win instead of a push because of the ensuing extra point.

“I’m obviously proud of the team,” Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea told the SEC Network after the game. “We talk about every blade of grass on defense, and literally that’s every blade of grass. I think you’ve gotta credit North Carolina State. They played the better football today, but we had enough at the end there to get it close and to put pressure on them. And it was going to take every second of the clock, so I’m proud of the resilience of my team. But we’ve gotta play better football.”

Before the play that flipped the game on its head, NC State’s plan appeared to be a simple one: snap the ball, run around and let the clock expire, or give up a safety if it came to that. Either one would have resulted in a Wolfpack victory.

Vanderbilt had not led at any point before the fumble recovery.

The Commodores trailed by 17 points in the game, and freshman quarterback Jared Curtis was making his first career start. They cut NC State’s lead to 31-28 with a little over six minutes left, then got a fourth-down stop with 2:04 to go. Curtis drove the offense into the red zone, but he was intercepted at the 2-yard line with 1:04 left.

NC State took over with a three-point lead and ran the clock down to six seconds, facing fourth-and-7. The Wolfpack were trying to run out the clock. Taking a safety would have ended the game with NC State ahead 31-30.

It was the second finish this month involving a restored second. On Sept. 5, Michigan beat Western Michigan 13-12 on a game-ending Hail Mary after officials determined one second remained on the clock following an earlier incompletion.

Vanderbilt (3-0) plays at Auburn on Saturday, Sept. 26. at 4:15 p.m. ET, and NC State (1-2) hosts Appalachian State at 7:30 p.m. ET.