"Until the Game Hit Double Zeros," How Vanderbilt Football Set Itself Up For Miracle Ending Against NC State – Sports Illustrated

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NASHVILLE—-Vanderbilt football knows how fortunate it is that after a performance in which it needed to rely on NC State to make an unfathomable mistake, it still left FirstBank Stadium with a win. But, it’s not willing to diminish its role in the miracle it played. 
Everything had to go right for this Vanderbilt win to happen. NC State first had to decide not to merely take the safety and run down the clock. Its quarterback CJ Bailey had to have a lapse in judgment that even allowed him to come into contact with a defender as the clock wound down. Bailey’s knee had to not be off the ground rather than down. Vanderbilt’s field-goal block playcall in which every player was instructed to take a direct line to the ball had to work. Miles Capers’ punch had to have been squared up perfectly with enough force for the ball to come out. Cayden Daniels had to be aware of what happened and had to jump on the ball before any NC State player chose to. 
All of it happened. Why? Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea is willing to admit that Vanderbilt has a win merely because of a moment that is unlike anything that he’s ever seen or will see for the rest of his coaching career. He knows Vanderbilt didn’t play well enough to secure a win against the first power-five opponent on its schedule. He declares that NC State outplayed his team. He knows it has to be significantly better if it’s going to be a bowl team. 
Yet, he’s not harping on the negative. Vanderbilt may not have earned this in a conventional way, but it put itself in a position to capitalize on NC State’s mistake. That was good enough to spark a locker room celebration. That was good enough to move to 3-0, and Lea intends to take that. 
“I'm proud of our program,” Lea said. “This has become a program that finds a way to win, and I think that can't be undersold in this moment, that certainly there are plenty of teams that find a way out of that game and yet our guys found a way in.”
Lea knew that his 2025 team–which finished 10-3 and was the most successful team in program history–would almost always find a way to win in close games. That team knew how to win. It always believed it would when the moments were the biggest. 
He didn’t know that about his 2026 team–and he still may not after it squandered a chance to come back and win when freshman quarterback Jared Curtis got trapped on a read and threw an all but game-sealing interception–but he learned something about it on Saturday. He learned that this group won’t back down against long odds like a number of his previous teams did. He learned that it’s got a chance as a result. 
At least, it believes it does. 
“When you play Vanderbilt, you’re gonna have to play four quarters–and that’s till the end,” Daniels–who recovered the game-winning fumble in the end zone–said. “Through all four quarters, we play.” 
There’s a real argument against the idea that Vanderbilt earned its Saturday win or that it all of a sudden learned to win as a result of its miraculous last-second touchdown, but Daniels is clearly right and shouldn’t be disputed. 
Vanderbilt trailed NC State 17-0 at one point. It never led until the last second of the game. It appeared to be completely outclassed by a program that was ran off the field by Virginia a few weeks ago, yet it won. Say what you will about this Vanderbilt team–and there’s plenty to say after a Saturday performance that Lea acknowledges isn’t good enough–but it’s difficult to reason that its struggles are for a lack of determination. 
17-0. Its defense was shredded by NC State quarterback CJ Bailey at times. Curtis looked like a freshman on a number of plays on Saturday. Vanderbilt’s receivers often struggled to create separation in one-on-one situations. Its running game wasn’t as reliable as Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea would’ve liked. Yet, Vanderbilt quarterback Curtis willed it back into the game and its veteran defense picked Curtis up when he made a game-changing mistake.
As a result, that mistake is no longer the story. Vanderbilt’s will is. 
“We just played,” Vanderbilt linebacker Bryce Cowan said, “Until the game hit double zeros.” 
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Joey Dwyer is the lead writer on Vanderbilt Commodores On SI. He found his first love in college sports at nearby Lipscomb University and decided to make a career of telling its best stories. He got his start doing a Notre Dame basketball podcast from his basement as a 14-year-old during COVID and has since aimed to make that 14-year-old proud. Dwyer has covered Vanderbilt sports for three years and previously worked for 247 Sports and Rivals. He contributes to Seth Davis' Hoops HQ, Basket Under Review and Mainstreet Nashville.
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