Vanderbilt wins on wild fumble-recovery TD

You could watch football for the rest of your life and never see a more ridiculous ending than Vanderbilt's improbable win on Saturday.

NC State led by three points with six seconds remaining while facing a fourth-and-5 inside its own 10-yard line. The Wolfpack could have punted and taken their chances on a Vanderbilt return but opted to have quarterback CJ Bailey run around for six seconds to exhaust the clock before taking a safety - a move that would concede two points but still secure a 31-30 win for the Wolfpack.

However, Vanderbilt had other plans on the play. As Bailey tried to go down, the Commodores forced a fumble in the end zone and recovered it for a touchdown, sealing a stunning 35-31 win and sparking raucous celebrations in Nashville.

The chaos started when Vanderbilt nearly scored the go-ahead touchdown, only for NC State to intercept Jared Curtis on the 1-yard line. With the turnover, the Wolfpack seemed poised to ice the game and deliver a big nonconference win - until the football gods intervened.

The win snapped a 66-game losing streak for Vanderbilt when trailing by double digits in the fourth quarter, according to ESPN Insights. Saturday's ending will also sting bettors who took NC State +3, as the touchdown and ensuing extra point made the final winning margin four points for the Commodores.

The loss puts NC State in very rare company; over the last 20 years, teams were 1,046-1 when leading and possessing the ball in the final 10 seconds of a game. The lone loss in that instance actually may have factored into NC State head coach Dave Doeren's decision to give up a safety rather than attempt a punt. The only other team to lose under those circumstances was Michigan in 2015, when the Wolverines infamously botched the snap on a punt in the final seconds, resulting in Michigan State recovering a fumble in the end zone and earning the victory.