Vanderbilt is making a change at quarterback, and the timing gives Saturday’s meeting with North Carolina State in Nashville a little extra shine.
Freshman Jared Curtis will get the start for the Commodores, coach Clark Lea announced Tuesday. Curtis, ranked by 247Sports as the No. 2 overall recruit in the 2026 high school class, has already seen the field in relief during Vanderbilt’s first two games, but now the job is his from the opening snap.
The local connection is part of the story, too. Curtis played high school football just 10 miles from FirstBank Stadium, and his rise has been fast. He made the most of his chance last week in Vanderbilt’s 35-26 win over Delaware, going 14 of 22 for 210 yards and a touchdown while also scoring twice on the ground.
That performance came after senior Blaze Berlowitz, the starter to open the season, was pulled after only two drives. Berlowitz finished 3 of 9 for 29 yards, and the Commodores have now decided to turn the offense over to Curtis.
Lea said the move is about giving Vanderbilt its best shot right now.
"I think what we have clarity on now is this gives us the best chance to win," Lea said. "And I think with Jared, it's understanding the potential and the positive long-term outlook. But what he showed on Saturday was that he's ready for this now."
NC State arrives in Nashville at 1-1, carrying a very different kind of momentum. After a 34-8 loss to Virginia on Aug. 29, the Wolfpack answered in a big way last week, rolling Richmond 73-0 at home.
That win set a program record for points at Carter-Finley Stadium. NC State piled up 734 yards of offense, including 428 on the ground, and both figures were program records as well.
Jayden Scott led the rushing attack with 128 yards on just nine carries and scored two of NC State’s eight rushing touchdowns. Quarterback CJ Bailey was sharp, completing 13 of 17 passes for 281 yards and adding two touchdowns, one rushing and one passing.
Coach Dave Doeren said Monday the challenge now is carrying that momentum forward.
"It's building on what we just did and learning from what happened in the first game, seeing the improvement in the second, and then continuing to be able to go out and play well and put ourselves in position to win this next football game," Doeren said Monday.
In Other News...
Vanderbilt Just Created A Frustrating Future Problem For NC State
NC State heads to Vanderbilt on Saturday, but the bigger issue for the Wolfpack may already be sitting three years down the road. Vanderbilt has canceled its scheduled return trip to Raleigh in 2028, according to the contract, and will owe NC State $1 million for breaching the agreement. The Commodores have already filled that opening by adding Virginia to their 2028 non-conference schedule, leaving the Wolfpack with an unexpected hole to patch.
For NC State, the timing is the frustration. The ACC requires a Power Four opponent on the non-conference slate, so the Wolfpack now have to replace a lost home game with another major-conference matchup for 2028. That is not just a scheduling inconvenience, either. It changes the shape of the future non-conference calendar and puts pressure on NC State to find a quality opponent willing to come to Raleigh. [Read more 🡒]
Dave Doeren Raised 2 Big NC State Questions Before Vanderbilt
Dave Doeren had plenty to unpack before NC State heads to Vanderbilt, and the conversation quickly moved beyond the usual game-week talk. The Wolfpack coach touched on a range of issues, including KaTron Evans eligibility ruling, how the staff is evaluating quarterback Jared Curtis, and how the team is preparing for the kind of heat that can change the feel of a road trip before the first snap. He also pointed to NC States previous experience in tough away environments as part of the buildup to this one.
The bigger questions around the Vanderbilt matchup were less about the opponent itself than the conditions surrounding it. Doeren said he was pleased with the NCAAs decision on Evans and outlined the teams hydration plan as part of the preparation, while also addressing how conference realignment has affected scheduling. The result is a fairly familiar August storyline for a program trying to balance roster availability, quarterback development, and the practical realities of playing on the road. [Read more 🡒]
NC States ACC Spending Picture Just Got More Interesting
A new Athletic report on college football roster budgets has added a fresh layer to the discussion around how ACC schools are spending, and NC State landed right in the middle of the conversation. The Wolfpacks football budget is estimated to be in the mid-range among Power 4 programs, reportedly somewhere between $22 million and $26 million, a figure that sits noticeably above a previous 247Sports estimate of under $20 million.
What makes the ACC picture even more intriguing is how wide the spending gap appears to be from school to school. Boston College was cited as the lowest-budget program among the power conferences, with its football spending potentially as low as $8 million, a number that naturally raises questions about how differently schools are allocating resources in the same league. For NC State, the new estimate only sharpens the sense that the Wolfpack are operating with a more competitive financial setup than some might have assumed. [Read more 🡒]