All NC State quarterback CJ Bailey had to do was take a knee or throw the football away with a three-point lead in the final seconds Saturday afternoon at Vanderbilt. Instead, Bailey was sacked-and-stripped in the end zone with one second to play, lifting the Commodores to an improbable 35-31 victory over the Wolfpack. For a team hoping to post its first win over an SEC opponent in the regular season since 1999, the result was a gut punch for NC State and a jubilant locker room for unbeaten Vanderbilt.
"It's just a play where you roll out and you don't get tackled, you try to burn as much time as you can and then fall to the ground and protect the football," NC State coach Dave Doeren said in defeat. "He got hit and he didn't protect the football." Going back to 2000, this was the craziest ending we can recall, and it highlights our list of the wildest endings this century. In the end, a late interception from freshman quarterback Jared Curtis was not the nail in the coffin for the Commodores.
Bailey's failure to burn the final seconds backfired on the Wolfpack and left NC State coach Dave Doeren nearly speechless after his team led for 59 minutes and 59 seconds in Nashville, only to lose. The Commodores trailed 24-7 in the third quarter and were down 10 points midway through the fourth before managing to pull off the unthinkable. THIS PLAY ⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️ pic.twitter.com/WQOzTIBwq9 This special teams touchdown to win the Iron Bowl remains one of college football's most unforgettable finishes.
With one second remaining, Alabama's Adam Griffith attempted a 57-yard field goal that fell short of the uprights, shortly after Nick Saban had pleaded for another tick on the clock. Auburn's Chris "There Goes" Davis caught it 9 yards deep in the end zone and raced 109 yards down the sideline, sending Jordan-Hare Stadium into a frenzy and stunning the defending national champions. The victory clinched the SEC West for Auburn and continued a magical season under first-year coach Gus Malzahn.
It became the defining moment in rivalry history for the Tigers. I think we all know what it is pic.twitter.com/4mI5idiblI https://t.co/6oVNYN5VBW Fortunate for him, Nick Saban was on the winning end of one of these wild finishes after the Tigers' game-winning Hail Mary as time expired in Lexington. With thousands of Kentucky fans lining the entirety of the sidelines, LSU quarterback Marcus Randall launched a desperation heave from his own 26-yard line downfield that somehow landed in the hands of Devery Henderson beyond the secondary.
Seconds away from beating the Hurricanes after a late fourth-quarter touchdown, Duke kicked off nursing a 27-24 lead. What ensued was a jaw-dropper -- eight successful laterals and a Miami pileup in the end zone for an improbable walkout victory for the Hurricanes. Corn Elder was on the receiving end of the final pitch and catch and sprinted 91 yards down the sideline, making a move at Duke's 45-yard line to finish it off. 24 days until College Football returns. 🍿Featuring one of the craziest finishes in CFB history - the 8 lateral miracle by the Miami Hurricanes over Duke. pic.twitter.com/dN3qI0PlHD One of college football's all-time greatest upsets, considering the national stage, the underdog came through in dramatic fashion after Broncos quarterback Jared Zabransky faked a throw and slipped the ball behind his back to Ian Johnson.
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