Music City Miscue gives Vanderbilt a win against North Carolina State no one saw coming

Call this one the Music City Miscue.

N.C. State quarterback CJ Bailey fumbled in the end zone while trying to run out the clock or potentially take a safety in the final seconds and handed Vanderbilt a 35-31 victory no one saw coming in Nashville.

It was as improbable a finish as the Music City Miracle, the famous last-second kickoff return in January 2000 that gave the NFL's Tennessee Titans a 22–16 playoff win over the Buffalo Bills.

Bailey and the Wolfpack (1-2) were attempting to milk the clock on the final snap, a fourth-and-3 play from their 5-yard line with 6 seconds remaining.

Miles Capers knocked the ball out of Bailey's hands, and Cayden Van Daniels recovered it in the end zone for a touchdown. It capped Vanderbilt's rally from a 17-0 deficit in the first half.

The ending was reminiscent of Miami's debacle against Georgia Tech in October 2023, when Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal chose to run the ball instead of taking a knee with 26 seconds left and no timeouts remaining for Georgia Tech. Miami's Donald Chaney Jr. fumbled, Georgia Tech's Kyle Canard recovered and the Yellow Jackets won on a 44-yard touchdown pass from Haynes King to Christian Leary.

N.C. State coach Dave Doeren surely will lament his decision to try to run out the clock. The Wolfpack could have punted or had Bailey run out of the back of the end zone.

N.C. State was looking for its first road win against a Southeastern Conference opponent since 1977. Vanderbilt (3-0) matched its largest comeback victory since beating Ole Miss in 2012. Vandy's fumble recovery in the end zone ended up being the team's only lead of the game.

According to ESPN, college football teams were 1,046-1 over the last 20 seasons when having the ball and the lead with 10 seconds to go in a game. The lone loss: Michigan falling to rival Michigan State in 2015.

Lane Kiffin was wildly booed long before he arrived at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on Saturday for the LSU-Ole Miss game.

Kiffin appeared remotely on ESPN's "College GameDay," and Mississippi fans still angry about how he left the Rebels for LSU late last season greeted him with a chorus of expletive-laced chants. It was a clear sign of what Kiffin and the Tigers should expect when they play at Ole Miss later Saturday.

"I really appreciate you guys gaslighting them with this," Kiffin said from the team hotel.

It was the latest in a growing buildup for the first top-10 matchup between No. 7 LSU and eight-ranked Ole Miss since 1962.

It started when Kiffin left the Rebels to take the LSU job and a $91 million contract just as the team he had coached for six years was days away from its first appearance in the College Football Playoff. Kiffin wanted to stay through the playoff, but Ole Miss moved on to coach Pete Golding and advanced to the CFP semifinals. LSU finished 7-6, capped by a loss in the Texas Bowl.

The off-field storylines haven't stopped since. Kiffin's comments about whether Black players could be recruited to Ole Miss, lawsuits alleging Ole Miss transfers owe big money for reneging on their NIL deals and LSU's now-abandoned defiance of rules against rostering former pro players have only brightened the spotlight for this one.

LSU threw another wrinkle into the mix by saying midweek that quarterback Sam Leavitt was "doubtful" to play, sparking immediate fan accusations of gamesmanship. He's been upgraded since and is expected to start.

Kiffin himself acknowledged there could be "hatred" in the stands Saturday. Security has been dramatically increased as authorities expect 100,000 people in Oxford, a town whose school-year population of about 25,000 is virtually all students.

The winner improves to 3-0 on the season — and gets savory bragging rights.

There is a good one in the ACC: No. 16 SMU at No. 23 Louisville, the league leaders in total offense featuring SMU's Kevin Jennings (402.5 yard per game) and Louisville's Lincoln Kienholz (375.0).

Both are eager to keep pace with No. 5 Miami, which beat Wake Forest 33-20 on Friday night as Darian Mensah completed 30 of 34 passes, including his first 24 attempts, for 220 yards and three touchdowns.

In the Big 12, two of the favorites opened league play with a terrific game Friday night in Lubbock, where No. 13 Texas Tech held on for a 28-26 win over No. 22 Houston. Cougars QB Conner Weigman came up just short of a 2-point conversion in the final minute, a play that went to the Big 12 replay review room — the broadcast audience was able to watch and listen to the analysis — before it was upheld.

There also are several intriguing matchups pitting 2-0 teams that can be best viewed as measuring stick games, including Virginia Tech at Maryland, Mississippi State at South Carolina and these:

— Florida at Auburn. Gators QB Aaron Philo, who will make his first road start, has completed 76% of his passes with five touchdowns. Byrum Brown, who has been new Auburn coach Alex Golesh's starting QB for all or part of four seasons, was a 1,000-yard rusher last year.

— No. 25 Virginia vs. West Virginia in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Mountaineers, 2-0 for the first time since 2018, are playing their border-state rival for the first time since 2002.

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