Vanderbilt pulled off a miracle by scoring on a fumble recovery in the end zone with one second left as the Commodores stole one from NC State 35-31 on Saturday in Nashville, Tenn.
Leading the entire game until that point, the Wolfpack had the ball at its own 5-yard line on fourth down with six seconds left, leading 31-28. They were attempting to take an intentional safety, but instead of taking a knee or escaping out of the end zone, quarterback CJ Bailey was hit from behind by edge Miles Capers and cornerback Cayden Daniels picked it up for a touchdown for the unfathomable win.
It was the first start for Vanderbilt quarterback Jared Curtis, who seemingly threw the game away on a costly interception at the NC State 2-yard line with 64 seconds left.
Curtis, a five-star recruit from 2026, was 20 of 34 for 277 yards and recorded three touchdowns, two interceptions, a lost fumble and 64 rushing yards. Junior Sherrill hauled in six catches for 108 yards and two touchdowns.
Bailey finished with 275 yards on 25 of 37 passing, with three touchdowns and an interception. Keenan Jackson had nine catches for 102 yards and hauled in all three of Bailey’s touchdown passes.
The Commodores had trimmed their deficit to 17-7 just before halftime, but Bailey pushed the lead back to 17 on a 6-yard throw to Jackson to open the second half scoring.
Vanderbilt responded four plays later with Makhilyn Young’s 7-yard rushing touchdown to cut it to 24-14 with 7:03 left in the third.
Curtis accounted for 70 yards on a drive that ended with him finding Sedrick Alexander for a 10-yard score to cut the deficit to 24-21 with 14:11 to play.
Bailey found Johnson from 23 yards out for their final touchdown link-up, but Curtis responded with a 43-yard bomb to Sherrill to pull it back to 31-28 with 6:24 left.
NC State kicked off the scoring with backup quarterback Will Wilson taking the read option snap and evading defenders for a 38-yard touchdown run.
On the next Wolfpack drive, Bailey hit Jackson for their first touchdown, a 30-yard score. Kanoah Vinesett’s 24-yard field goal made it 17-0 with 8:09 to go in the first half.
Curtis struggled for most of the first half, starting the game 8 of 13 for 51 yards and turning the ball over on back-to-back possessions. His offensive line did him no favors, committing six first half penalties for 55 yards.
On the final drive of the half, Curtis led the Commodores 45 yards down the field in 54 seconds which he capped with a 12-yard touchdown in the back corner of the endzone to Sherrill. The score with 12 seconds left made it 17-7 into the half.
–Field Level Media
