Vanderbilt’s 2026 football season opens Saturday at 6 p.m., and the first opponent on the board is Austin Peay - a matchup the Commodores haven’t had since 2015.
The biggest wrinkle isn’t the opponent. It’s the quarterback situation.
Diego Pavia is gone, Jared Curtis is in, and Clark Lea still managed to surprise people by naming veteran Blaze Berlowitz the starter for Saturday. That said, Curtis is expected to play, and Lea has already said publicly that he will get on the field.
Against an FCS team like Austin Peay, that part was always likely anyway.
So what should be expected when the Commodores kick off after last year’s 10-3 finish? The Anchor of Gold staff weighed in with a pretty clear theme: Vanderbilt should handle this one comfortably.
Andrew VU ‘04 didn’t waste time with nuance.
“I predict if we don’t win by at least 4 TDs, this is going to be a rough year. Come on. It’s Austin Peay.”
His pick: Vanderbilt 48, Let’s Go Peay 10.
Patrick Sawyer also sees a one-sided night, though he thinks the quarterback rotation could help push the margin even higher. He pointed out that Austin Peay should be better than the group Vanderbilt beat 47-7 in 2015, but also noted that the Commodores are expected to be stronger than the team that was beaten 59-0 by Alabama. With the QB battle still active, he expects the coaching staff to give both passers plenty of chances to show what they can do.
Sawyer also said one reason the game could turn lopsided is the explosiveness of Jamezell Lassiter, who is third on the depth chart, and Evan Hampton, who is unlisted, at running back. He added that even trying to grind the game out could lead to long runs, especially with some offensive line jobs still unsettled.
His pick: Vanderbilt 52, Austin Peay 10.
Tom Stephenson kept it simple. Vanderbilt should win, and win easily.
He said the game is mostly about figuring out what the quarterback picture actually looks like. Berlowitz, he noted, supposedly makes fewer mistakes in practice than Curtis, which is why he got the nod despite the talent gap.
Even so, Stephenson expects Curtis to see action.
He also said he’s especially excited about Curtis, calling him the most pumped he’s been about a Vanderbilt freshman since maybe Darius Garland.
Cole Sullivan’s take was even shorter: the real winner is everyone getting football back, and the real loser is still Austin Peay.
In Other News...
Vanderbilt Opens With An Early Tight End Problem To Watch
Vanderbilt is already facing an early wrinkle at tight end before the season even gets rolling. Cole Spence will miss the opener against Austin Peay after getting hurt earlier in the week, and Clark Lea said the sophomore was questionable but unlikely to play as the staff takes a careful approach to his recovery.
Jayvontay Conner, the transfer, is now positioned to carry the load in Spences absence, giving the Commodores an immediate test at a spot that can matter in both the passing game and the run game. It is an early-season adjustment, but one Vanderbilt will have to sort through quickly as it prepares for the opener. [Read more 🡒]
Kirby Smart Is Back In A Conversation Georgia Fans Know Well
Clark Leas name is back in a national coaching conversation after ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit grouped him with three of the sports most closely watched sideline leaders as a top candidate for the 2026 Coach of the Year award. For Vanderbilt fans, it is another sign that Leas work has moved beyond simply stabilizing the program and into a broader discussion about what sustained success can look like in Nashville.
Herbstreits list also included Marcus Freeman at Notre Dame, Kirby Smart at Georgia and Curt Cignetti at Indiana, a reminder of how crowded the race already looks before the season gets going. Vanderbilt will have its own chance to keep building momentum when the Commodores open the upcoming year, and Leas place on that early national watch list gives the season a little more weight before the first snap is even played. [Read more 🡒]
Vanderbilt Won But One Big Concern Showed Up Immediately
Vanderbilt got the result it needed in the opener, handling Austin Peay 28-9 and moving to 1-0, but the larger question coming out of the game was less about the final score than how the offense arrived there. The Commodores were deliberate from the start, leaning on possession, field position and a low-risk approach as they prepared to turn the page toward Delaware, and that style left observers watching closely to see what it might mean once the schedule stiffens.
Blaze Berlowitz was steady in his first start, but the passing game did not exactly announce itself as a source of big-play threat. The concern now is whether Vanderbilt can pair that kind of control with enough explosiveness to keep opponents from crowding the box and forcing longer drives, because the opener suggested the Commodores may need more from the quarterback spot if they want this season to feel different from the last few. [Read more 🡒]