NASHVILLE, Tenn. – With three seconds remaining, Vanderbilt’s Miles Capers punched a victory out of the grip of defeat when the Commodores recovered the loose ball in the NC State end zone to stun the Wolfpack, 35-31.
Vanderbilt led for exactly one second Saturday afternoon in a sold-out FirstBank Stadium, trailing by 17 on multiple occasions, but it was enough to pick up an 11th consecutive home nonconference win and improve to 3-0 for the second season in a row.
Facing fourth-and-7 at their own 5-yard line and six seconds remaining, NC State (1-2) tried to drain the remaining clock and seal a 31-28 victory. Quarterback CJ Bailey hovered around his own end zone, but before his knees touched the turf, Capers knocked the ball free, and Cayden Daniels fell on the loose ball for a Commodore touchdown with one second left.
It’s the largest comeback victory of the Clark Lea era and Vanderbilt’s first 17-point deficit to be erased since a 27-26 win over Ole Miss on Nov. 10, 2012.
NC State jumped out to a 14-0 advantage in the first quarter and stretched the lead to 17 with a field goal midway through the second. The Dores got on the board just before halftime with Curtis finding Sherrill for a 12-yard score with 12 seconds left in the second quarter.
After a Keenan Jackson touchdown catch gave the Wolfpack a 24-7 lead with 8:52 remaining in the third quarter, the Dores swiftly responded. Tristen Brown hauled in a career-long 33-yard catch to set up a Mahkilyn Young rushing touchdown, which made the score 24-14 just two minutes later.
Vandy cut the deficit to three early in the fourth quarter through Sedrick Alexander, but NC State went on a nine-play, 75-yard drive to push it back to 10 with 9:35 remaining. Curtis and Sherrill connected for a 43-yard touchdown, the second multi-touchdown performance of Sherrill’s career.
The Commodore defense got the stop it needed as NC State failed to pick up a fourth down in Vandy territory, but a Wolfpack interception inside the 5-yard line with just over a minute to go set up the game’s final moments.
Vanderbilt concluded its three-game homestand and will open conference play on SEC Network at Auburn Saturday at 3:15 p.m.