CJ Bailey is speaking out for the first time about his howler against Vanderbilt.
The North Carolina State quarterback Bailey spoke with reporters on Wednesday for the first time since his game-losing fumble over the weekend against Vanderbilt. Bailey offered an explanation for his mistake, saying that he was trying simply trying to run out the clock at the time.
“I was trying to get all the clock out,” said Bailey, per Andrea Adelson of ESPN. “That was my thought. The biggest thing was just hold the ball. I was just trying to run around, make a play. Being competitive, that’s who I am. I’m a competitive guy. I was just competing until the final second. It happens. I fumbled the ball. I’m going to pick myself up and keep going.
“That was my first time ever in that situation and it didn’t go the right way I wanted to,” Bailey continued. “I fumbled the ball. It is what it is. We’ve got to move forward.”
NC State was leading Vanderbilt 31-28 and had possession with just six seconds left in the fourth quarter at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville, Tenn. Facing a 4th-and-3 from inside their own five-yard line, Bailey attempted to take an intentional safety but fumbled the ball as he was being tackled in the end zone. The fumble was recovered by Vanderbilt for an unthinkable game-winning touchdown to give them the 35-31 victory (see the video here).
That will ultimately go down as an enormous learning moment for the junior Bailey, who could have taken a knee, run out of the back of the end zone, or done a whole host of other things in that situation to secure the victory. With Dave Doeren’s NC State team now sitting at 1-2 on the season, they will look to dust themselves off in Saturday’s Week 4 game against Appalachian State.
