Takeaways From Vanderbilt Football's Miraculous Win Over NC State
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NASHVILLE—Vanderbilt was heading for an all but inevitable loss and a potential statement loss to NC State after a last-second interception by Jared Curtis, but six seconds, a blunder from NC State and a heroic moment, it's 3-0 and appears to be on track for bowl eligibility.
For that, it has Miles Capers, CJ Bailey and Cayden Daniels to thank for a wild last-second play in the end zone that gave it an unlikely 35-31 win.
What does the win say about Vanderbilt and what can be interepreted from Saturday, though? Here's our takeaways from Vanderbilt's showing.
That truly was a miracle finish
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.
Turns out, Daniels was. As a result, Vanderbilt goes home a winner and Capers is immortalized around these parts.
“When you play Vanderbilt, you’re gonna have to play four quarters–and that’s till the end,” Daniels said. “Through all four quarters, we play.”
What does this say about Vanderbilt?
Vanderbilt can’t claim that it all of a sudden knows how to win and has turned the corner, but it does have something going for it.
It easily could’ve quit and let its relatively poor performance against NC State define the day. Yet, it didn’t. It never quit. It looked like a team that believed it could win up until the final horn sounded.
As a result, it’s 3-0 heading into SEC play.
“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.”
With Jared Curtis, Vanderbilt always has a chance to win
Curtis turned it over three times–including an interception that should’ve ended the game–but it felt as if he willed Vanderbilt to be in the game late.
It’s not as if Vanderbilt won the game because of Curtis, but he was 20-for-34 as a passer, threw for a career-high 277 yards, rushed for 64 yards and accounted for three total touchdowns. Vanderbilt trailed until its last-second winning play, but Curtis never appeared to flinch and got it back within striking distance late.
There were a fair amount of freshman mistakes that Curtis accounted for on Saturday, but he also made a number of NFL throws and herculean efforts with his legs. Vanderbilt doesn’t quite have an elite quarterback right now, but it clearly has its quarterback of the future and the present.
Who knows what lies next for this Vanderbilt team, but it has a chance with Curtis.
So, about Vanderbilt’s defense
There appear to be some real issues here. Like, real issues. But, it’s hard to rip it heavily considering that it showed up when it mattered the most.
Vanderbilt is as good as it’s been on paper in the Lea era on defense, but it certainly doesn’t look that way. It hasn’t since the first four or five drives of the Delaware game. There’s been some injuries that have impacted that group, but not nearly enough to lead to performance like this.
NC State generated 446 yards of total offense on Saturday, including 166 on the ground and 10 “Big” plays of a total of 213 yards.
Vanderbilt won, though, which makes its woes all that much easier to stomach.
Say what you will about Curtis, but the rest of Vanderbilt’s offense has to help him
The rest of Vanderbilt’s roster did enough to where a good bit of Curtis’ shortcomings can’t solely be blamed on him.
Curtis was playing from behind quickly. Vanderbilt’s offensive finished the game with seven penalties that cost it 90 yards. Vanderbilt’s receivers didn’t reel in balls that they had two hands on. Its running game didn’t get established consistently. Vanderbilt’s defense often put pressure on him by not making crucial stops, as well.
Who knows how good Curtis is right now, but Vanderbilt has to do a better job supporting him.
Nick Rinaldi could be Vanderbilt’s best defensive player
Even when Vanderbilt’s defense struggled, Rinaldi was all over the field and demonstrated why there’s been consistent private buzz surrounding his name within NFL circles.
Rinaldi is seemingly always around the ball, has a case to be considered Vanderbilt’s best all-around linebacker and appears to be Steve Gregory’s best defensive chess piece because of his versatility.
He finished Saturday with five tackles, one sack, one pass breakup and one tackle for loss. Rinaldi looks like a potential all-league player right now.
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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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