Nashville saw pure madness on Saturday night when NC State held a victory right in its hands. The Wolfpack needed to run just six seconds off the clock in the final minute at FirstBank Stadium to seal a solid road win. Instead, a nightmare unfolded in the end zone. Quarterback CJ Bailey fumbled while trying to take an intentional safety, allowing SEC outfit Vanderbilt to walk away with an unbelievable 35-31 comeback win.

To understand how wild this victory was, look at the historical record. Over the last 20 college football seasons, teams leading with the ball in the final ten seconds of regulation had a 1,046-1 record. The only other loss happened back in 2015 during Michigan’s famous botched punt against Michigan State. Vanderbilt made it 1,046-2 after snatching the ball in the end zone, pulling off one of the rarest comebacks in modern football history.

“CJ BAILEY FUMBLES THE FOOTBALL ON THE LAST PLAY OF THE GAME AND VANDERBILT SCORES TO WIN. OH. MY. GOODNESS,” an X post by College Football Reports read.

The entire stadium knew NC State just needed a clean play to finish the job. With only six seconds remaining on fourth down, the Wolfpack sideline wanted Bailey to roll out, waste time on the field, and slide down to seal the win. But in a split second, a routine clock-killing plan turned into total chaos.

NC State had fourth-and-seven from its own five-yard line when head coach Dave Doeren called for an intentional safety. The plan was supposed to work, with Bailey rolling out and avoiding the pressure before going down in the end zone. But the plan fell apart, as Bailey moved to his right and Vanderbilt defenders surrounded him before he could get to the ground, losing the ball in the end zone with one second left on the clock.

An intentional safety is normally a foolproof strategy in late-game situations. Instead of risking a blocked punt or a dangerous kick return, the quarterback takes the snap and burns time in his own end zone before giving up two points on purpose. Up 31-28, NC State could afford to give up two points and still win 31-30.

The strategy fails less than one percent of the time, but Bailey made the fatal mistake of holding onto the ball to absorb contact instead of immediately dropping to the turf or stepping out of bounds.

Vanderbilt’s defense kept fighting until the end, as edge rusher Miles Capers got to Bailey and knocked the ball out before cornerback Cayden Daniels recovered in the end zone for the touchdown. The Commodores added the extra point to take a 35-31 lead, with Bailey having a strong night before the fumble with 275 passing yards and three touchdowns.

Wide receiver Keenan Jackson caught nine passes for 102 yards, whereas freshman Jared Curtis made his debut with 277 yards, three touchdowns, and 64 rushing yards despite an early interception and fumble of his own. The Commodores head coach was pleased to have won the game, viewing the win over NC State as nothing short of a miracle.

“We talk about every blade of grass on defense, and, literally, that’s every blade of grass,” Clark Lea said in the postgame interview with SEC Network, according to Andy Backstom of Yahoo Sports. “I think you’ve got to 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.”

While Vanderbilt found a way to take their winning streak to 3-0, NC State had a painful finish and a mistake that cost them a game that they were seconds away from winning, leading to two straight losses.

Dave Doeren opens up after NC State fumbles away win against Vanderbilt

The Wolfpack had the game in their hands, but a final-play mistake turned a likely win into a stunning loss to Vanderbilt. Though Doeren expressed disappointment in their second consecutive loss, he also praised his team for dominating the night until the final play.

“A very sad ending to a game where I thought we did a lot of good,” NC State’s head coach Dave Doeren said, per an X post by FOX College Football. “And fought really hard, controlled the football game, responded when we needed to respond multiple times. But I was proud of how our guys played for 59 minutes and 59 seconds. Yeah, I mean, it’s just a play where you roll out and you don’t get tackled. You try to burn as much time as you can and then fall on your own protective football.”

Doeren said the plan was never for Bailey to run the ball, explaining that Bailey was supposed to roll out and utilize the clock before taking the safety. But Vanderbilt took the opportunity at hand after Bailey was hit, as the Commodores recovered the fumble in the end zone and scored the winning touchdown.

Vanderbilt will open SEC play next week at Auburn, with a chance to build on its 3-0 start before facing Georgia in October and Alabama in November. Meanwhile, NC State falls to 1-2 and will look to clean up its mistakes from the past two weeks when it takes on Appalachian State.