Just when you think you've seen it all, college football finds a way to leave you slack-jawed. NC State was one second from picking up a big road win over Vanderbilt when C.J. Bailey fumbled an intentional safety to complete a nuclear meltdown.

After intercepting Vanderbilt quarterback Jared Curtis at their own 2-yard line, all the Wolfpack had to do was run the clock down to seal a 31-28 win. On fourth down, Dave Doeren didn't want to risk any mistakes while punting, so he let Bailey run around in the end zone and kneel the ball for an intentional safety.

As the Commodores closed in on Bailey, he tried to buy more time instead of hitting the turf. That proved to be a disastrous mistake as Vanderbilt EDGE Miles Capers dove in to force a fumble, and cornerback Cayden Daniels jumped on the loose ball in the end zone.

NC State was left with one second to attempt a miracle of its own, but it was unable to come up with any magic as Vanderbilt held on for a shocking 35-31 victory.

After the game, Wolfpack coach Dave Doeren explained that Bailey was supposed to roll out, avoid contact and protect the football before getting down.

"It was supposed to be a play where you roll out and not get hit," Doeren said, per 247Sports. "Plan was just to take a safety and protect the football. We made enough plays for 59:59 of this game."

Doeren was pleased with his team's effort for most of the game, and that only made the ending even more gut-wrenching.

"That's a heartbreaking ending," Doeren said. "Should've never came down to that. It hurts when you lose a game like that when we did a bunch of good things in it."

That touchdown gave Vanderbilt its first lead of the day as it trailed by as many as 17 points in the second half. Just when it looked like the Commodores' comeback effort would fall a few points short, they fought for the full 60 minutes and got rewarded for it.

Vanderbilt now improves to 3-0 play with SEC play on deck, and NC State drops to 1-2 after taking a gut punch in Nashville.

Nuclear meltdown by NC State

With 8:52 remaining in the third quarter, NC State scored a touchdown to take a 17-point lead. With 9:35 left in the fourth quarter, the Wolfpack found the end zone yet again to take a 10-point lead.

Despite those relatively comfortable leads, NC State found a way to implode after controlling much of the game in Nashville.

After taking that 24-7 lead in the third quarter, NC State's next three drives went for 10 plays, nine plays and nine plays, respectively. Despite those lengthy possessions, the Wolfpack didn't drain enough time off the clock. The slowest of those possession took lasted just 5:55, and only one of them resulted in points.

Even more concerning than that was the ease with which Vanderbilt moved the ball after the Wolfpack went up by three scores. The Commodores scored touchdowns on three straight possessions, and the longest of those drives was 3:17. The other two used less than two minutes off the clock.

In the first half, NC State held five-star freshman quarterback Jared Curtis in check for 72 passing yards, one interception and one fumble. In the second half, the Wolfpack got carved through the air as they surrendered 202 passing yards and two touchdowns to Curtis.

The Wolfpack did get a big interception late, but that was immediately followed by the botched safety.

After getting blown out by Virginia in the season-opener, Doeren needed a big win, and he missed a golden opportunity to get one against an SEC opponent. Now the temperature of Doeren's seat will rise in Raleigh as NC State turns its attention to Appalachian State.

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