NASHVILLE - For one ugly stretch Saturday at FirstBank Stadium, Vanderbilt looked like it might drown in its own mistakes. A botched exchange.
A delay-of-game penalty on Jared Curtis. Another penalty.
A sack. Two fumbles on a single seven-play, 41-yard march.
And then the drive ended in the end zone anyway.
That sequence said just about everything Vanderbilt learned about Curtis in the win over Delaware. The freshman quarterback can create chaos, sure.
But he can also survive it, clean it up and keep moving the offense forward. By the time the game was over, he had thrown for 210 yards on 14 completions in 22 attempts and added two rushing touchdowns.
More important than the line itself was the way he looked doing it: like the guy Vanderbilt has been waiting to unleash.
“I felt like the way we organized around Jared in the second half was effective,” Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea said Saturday night, while still not definitively naming Curtis the starter. “I could sense that there was a confidence growing on the sideline in him.
I could see confidence growing in him. It was fun to watch.”
That confidence mattered because the afternoon had gone sideways fast. Vanderbilt was boo’d off the field at halftime after trailing Delaware, and the mood around the stadium was bleak. Curtis changed that in a hurry once the second half began, patching over a rough first half and giving the program something to grab onto: the idea that this can look a lot different with him in charge.
This was the full Jared Curtis package. The kind of throws that jump off the screen.
The kind of runs that turn broken plays into touchdowns. The kind of moments where something seems lost, then suddenly isn’t.
There are mistakes coming - and probably plenty of them in 2026 - but Saturday showed a quarterback who looked more ready than he has at any point so far. He also looked more like a gamer than his fall camp practices may have suggested. Curtis still hasn’t been named the starter, but that decision feels close.
“He’s a ball player, man,” Vanderbilt tight end Jayvontay Conner said. “There’s a lot being put on his plate and I’m pretty sure he feels a little bit of pressure sometimes, but I don’t notice that a lot from him.
He’s a baller, man. He’s ready to hoop at all times.”
Conner had reason to be enthusiastic. Five of his six catches and 75 of his 87 receiving yards came from Curtis.
He also saw Curtis fire a touchdown strike to tight end Walt Taylor, delivering the ball across his body into a tight window. Earlier, Curtis made throws to Junior Sherrill on the sideline that Berlowitz couldn’t complete.
That kind of praise from Conner carried a different tone than the usual careful answers players tend to give when asked about two quarterbacks. This time, he sounded like someone who had seen enough to speak plainly.
“Seeing his growth from the time that he’s been here has been crazy and wild to me,” Conner said. “I felt like he did a good job conducting us through that drive.”
And that first touchdown drive mattered because Curtis did not let the mess around him take over. He steadied Vanderbilt when it could have spiraled, then kept the offense on track after halftime. For a freshman who did not start the game, it was about as complete a performance as you can ask for: the big throws, the smart decisions, no turnovers, and enough poise to keep the game from slipping away.
Vanderbilt already knew Curtis had the ceiling. It knew about the NFL throws and the flashes of brilliance.
It knew he had tools the program hadn’t had at quarterback before. What it may not have fully expected was how steady he could be in the moments that usually expose a young quarterback.
Now it does.
Curtis showed he can not only produce highlights, but also run the operation, handle pressure and help win a game when everything around him is messy. That’s why he should be the starter going forward.
That’s why he isn’t just Vanderbilt’s future. He’s the present, too.
In Other News...
Jayvontay Conner Is Giving Vanderbilt A Passing Game Boost
Jayvontay Conner has quietly become one of the more important pieces in Vanderbilts passing game while filling in for the injured Cole Spence. The tight end led the Commodores with six catches for 87 receiving yards against Delaware, a sign that his role is growing at just the right time for an offense looking for reliable options underneath and over the middle.
Clark Lea praised Conner after the game, and its easy to see why: he has built a strong connection with both Jared Curtis and Blaze Berlowitz, giving Vanderbilt a trusted target when the quarterbacks need one. For a team still sorting out its passing rhythm, Conners emergence offers a useful lift and a reminder that production can come from places defenses may not have spent much time planning for. [Read more 🡒]
Vanderbilt Still Sees A Historic Path Despite One Early Concern
There is still a sense around Vanderbilt that this 2026 group can grow into something memorable, even if the early evidence has been mixed. Clark Lea and several players have talked with cautious optimism about the rosters potential, pointing to the recent win over Delaware as a sign that the Commodores are capable of putting good football together, even if they have not yet delivered a full performance from start to finish.
The concern, of course, is that the team is still sorting through an unsettled starting quarterback situation, which makes the next stretch feel especially important. Players have stressed patience and development rather than instant results, but the standard inside the program is not hard to find after last seasons success. Vanderbilt is still chasing a path that could put this team in historic territory, and the next few weeks should reveal whether the promise is real or still ahead of schedule. [Read more 🡒]