Call this one the Music City Miscue.
N.C. State quarterback CJ Bailey fumbled in the end zone while trying to take an intentional safety in the final seconds and essentially handed Vanderbilt a 35-31 victory no one saw coming in Nashville.
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It was as improbable a finish as the Music City Miracle, the famous last-second kickoff return in January 2000 that gave the NFL’s Tennessee Titans a 22–16 playoff win over the Buffalo Bills.
“I can’t put into words what I felt. ... You get one of those in a lifetime,” Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea said. “We cheated the football gods today and got away with it.”
According to ESPN, college football teams were 1,046-1 over the last 20 seasons when having the ball and the lead with 10 seconds to go in a game. The lone loss: Michigan falling to rival Michigan State in 2015.
Leading 31-28, Bailey and the Wolfpack (1-2) were attempting to milk the clock on the final snap. They faced a fourth-and-3 play from their 5-yard line with six seconds remaining. Bailey could have taken a knee, scrambled out of the end zone or even tossed the ball high into the air as the clock expired.
Instead, he paused and then did the unthinkable — coughed it up.
Miles Capers knocked the ball out of Bailey’s hands, and Cayden Van Daniels recovered it in the end zone for a touchdown. It capped Vanderbilt’s rally from a 17-0 deficit in the first half.
“It’s having true brotherhood,” Capers said. “We trust each other, we’re going to play for each other, and we know that we not out of the fight no matter what.”
The ending was reminiscent of Miami’s debacle against Georgia Tech in October 2023, when Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal chose to run the ball instead of taking a knee with 26 seconds left and no timeouts remaining for Georgia Tech. Miami’s Donald Chaney Jr. fumbled, Georgia Tech’s Kyle Canard recovered and the Yellow Jackets won on a 44-yard touchdown pass from Haynes King to Christian Leary.
N.C. State coach Dave Doeren surely will lament his decision. The Wolfpack could have simply punted and played defense for a play or had Bailey do anything else.
“It’s just a play where you roll out, and you don’t get tackled," Doeren said. "You try to burn as much time as you can and then fall to the ground and protect the football. He got hit and didn’t protect the football. The plan was to take a safety, and you’re trying to run out the clock if you can.”
N.C. State, still reeling from a 34-8 loss at Virginia to open the season, was looking for its first road win against a Southeastern Conference opponent since 1977. Vanderbilt (3-0) matched its largest comeback victory since beating Ole Miss in 2012. Vandy's fumble recovery in the end zone ended up being the team's only lead of the game.
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