Michael Vick thought Norfolk State had the game won. His players turned it into an embarrassing disaster. Leading by five with just 1:36 remaining, Vick took off his headset, expecting his offense to kneel out the clock. Instead, the Spartans inexplicably ran another play, fumbled, and gifted North Carolina Central a stunning 29-28 comeback victory.

One disastrous mistake snatched victory from Norfolk State’s hands and left Vick still chasing his first MEAC win.

The loss dropped the Spartans to 4-6 and 0-3 in the MEAC, still searching for Vick’s first conference victory after a 1-11 season in 2025. According to ML Football’s X post, Vick called victory formation and took off his headset, believing the game was over. However, his players ignored the call, turning what should have been a routine finish into an all-time disaster.

The broadcast crew walked through the sequence on air, pointing to a miscommunication with offensive coordinator Bria Sheppard, who they said called a play. Deljay Bailey fumbled, North Carolina Central recovered, and Joshua Jones hit Mekhi Wall for a 26-yard go-ahead touchdown. Norfolk State then got into field-goal range, but Marco Peery missed from 37 yards.

What made the collapse even worse was how well the Spartans had played for most of the day. They led 21-7 at halftime and 28-17 early in the fourth, while Bailey finished with 278 yards and three total touchdowns. Central eventually cut the deficit to 28-23, but Norfolk State recovered a fumble with 1:36 remaining, seemingly putting the game away.

Instead, on second-and-5 from the shotgun, Bailey ran to the left, but Khareem Thompson knocked the ball loose, giving Central possession at the Norfolk State 37. Despite two penalties, Central moved into field-goal range with Bailey completions of 18 and 15 yards. However, Peery missed the kick with just four seconds remaining.

According to The Athletic, Vick appeared to point at Sheppard, though he named no one. Video showed the offense meeting with Sheppard, with Vick walking over without a headset.

Vick was the No. 1 pick in the 2001 NFL Draft out of Virginia Tech. He led the Hokies to the 1999 national title game as a redshirt freshman and played for the Falcons, Eagles, Jets, and Steelers. Norfolk State hired him in December 2024, despite having no coaching experience, to replace Dawson Odums, who was fired after a 4-8 season. Vick is now 5-17 in two years.

“I put my headset down, I called victory formation, and all we had to do was take a knee and kneel the clock out,” Vick told reporters after the game, according to Antonio Morales of The Athletic. “That’s just situational football. I don’t know what happened in regard to that. I looked up and we were running the ball, then I saw he fumbled.”

“My final instructions were victory formation. That’s when you kneel it out. That’s when you have zero timeouts left and they had, I think, zero timeouts and the game was over, practically.”

Despite the collapse, Norfolk State’s season has been better than last year. The Spartans went 4-3 in non-conference play before losing their first two MEAC games, including a three-point defeat to DeSean Jackson’s Delaware State. Meanwhile, North Carolina Central is 5-5 and 3-0 in the MEAC after a slow start. It remains in contention for the conference title and a Celebration Bowl spot, with Gino Addison rushing for 174 yards on 18 carries.

Norfolk State faces Morgan State next, another team still winless in the MEAC, before closing its season against Howard. Central takes on South Carolina State. For Vick, however, the biggest problem isn’t the schedule. Two seasons in, he still has to prove his staff and players can execute the same plan when the game is on the line.

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