The Wolfpack haven’t made a colossal mistake like this since “The Hangover” trilogy.
N.C. State fumbled in its own end zone while attempting to run out the clock and stunningly lost a 35-31 decision to Vanderbilt on the second-to-last play of the game in Nashville on Saturday.
After Brody Barnhardt picked off Commodores quarterback Jared Curtis at the goal line with barely one minute to play, N.C. State had the ball at its 2-yard line and a 3-point lead with the chance to run out the clock.
They ran three plays to get time down to six seconds, but rather than punt on fourth down from the back of the end zone, Wolfpack quarterback CJ Bailey took a shotgun snap and tried to scramble around long enough for time to expire.
If Bailey held the ball and took the safety, N.C. State still would have been ahead, 31-30.
Instead, he coughed up the ball following a strip by edge rusher Miles Capers. The fumble was recovered by Vandy cornerback Cayden Daniels for the game-winning touchdown and a wild on-field celebration.
N.C. State led by as many as 17 points in the first half, but Vanderbilt scored 21 in the fourth quarter to cap the comeback.
“We talk about every blade of grass on defense, and, literally, that’s every blade of grass,” Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea said in his on-field postgame interview. “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.”
