The Vanderbilt Commodores kept fighting until the end against the North Carolina State Wolfpack, pulling off an incredible comeback win in front of their fans at FirstBank Stadium on Saturday. With Vanderbilt coming in as the home favorite, the Wolfpack quickly built a two-touchdown lead in the first quarter. Running back Will Wilson started it with a 38-yard touchdown run in NC State's opening drive.
Later in the quarter, quarterback CJ Bailey found Keenan Jackson on a 30-yard touchdown pass. While the visitors added a field goal to make it 17-0 in the second quarter, Vanderbilt finally answered. Wide receiver Junior Sherrill's 12-yard touchdown reception took some momentum into the locker room as the home team tried to figure out how to respond in the second half.
The two teams traded touchdowns in the third quarter and early in the fourth quarter. North Carolina State led by a field goal with just over a minute remaining and then intercepted Vanderbilt's pass attempt at their own 16-yard line to kill the momentum of a potential late Commodores scoring drive. More news: LSU Fans Fly Lane Kiffin Troll Banner Over Ole Miss’ Stadium With the ball and that late lead, it seemed the game was the Wolfpack's to lose, and that's exactly what they did.
With six seconds remaining, North Carolina State was backed up near the Vanderbilt end zone and had to run out the clock. Unfortunately, quarterback CJ Bailey messed up the assignment and became stuck scrambling in the Commodores' end zone. The defense pounced on him, forced a fumble, and recovered the ball for an epic walk-off win, 35-31.
After the referees reviewed Bailey's fumble and touchdown, the ruling was upheld, giving Vanderbilt plenty of reason to celebrate. Meanwhile, the Wolfpack were left stunned by what transpired. Sophomore cornerback Cayden Daniels was the hero, coming up big with the fumble recovery in the end zone to help his team improve to 3-0 early in the season.
The Commodores scored three touchdowns in the final quarter, including the end-zone fumble recovery, to seize the game. Vanderbilt's junior wide receiver Sherrill deserved much credit for his strong performance, finishing with 108 yards and two touchdowns on six receptions in the win. Quarterback Jared Curtis racked up 277 passing yards and three touchdown passes for his team, but also threw two interceptions and fumbled once.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
