Vanderbilt Football Is Still Working To Support Jared Curtis After Auburn Loss

AUBURN, AL—Clark Lea nodded along as a media member led his question by laying out the idea of Jared Curtis’ poise and maturity at this stage of his development. As he takes over the floor and answers, he echoes a sentiment that indicates Curtis showed him something in Vanderbilt’s 21-15 loss to Auburn.

Curtis didn’t turn it over outside of hail-mary induced interception. He led the operation as smoothly as he has since taking the field in Vanderbilt’s opener against Austin Peay. He was sped up and inaccurate at times, but he didn’t make the big mistake that prevented Vanderbilt from winning.

There was plenty to nitpick in Curtis’ Saturday performance–in which he threw for 199 yards on 33 attempts and 22 completions while running for 46 yards–but the most compelling theme in it was that he was tasked with being Vanderbilt’s superhero in his first SEC and road start.

If Vanderbilt won Saturday, it would’ve been the result of a strong defensive performance and Curtis overcoming conventional wisdom to put on a show that Vanderbilt shouldn’t have been relying on him to put on. But, that’s where Vanderbilt is at this point.

Auburn appeared to want to make Vanderbilt’s offense one dimensional and lean entirely on Curtis as a thrower. At that, it was successful.

Vanderbilt Commodores quarterback Jared Curtis (2) is tackled by Auburn Tigers edge Jared Smith (41) as Auburn Tigers take on Vanderbilt Commodores at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala. on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. Auburn Tigers defeated Vanderbilt Commodores 21-15. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Vanderbilt ran for 2.7 yards per carry on Saturday despite its four rushing plays of over 10 yards. When sacks are taken out, that number is 3.6. Sedrick Alexander found the end zone, but only gained 13 yards in his 11 carries. Once again, Curtis was Vanderbilt’s leading rusher–this time in a tie–and had far too much pressure on him throughout the day because of Vanderbilt’s lack of an ability to gain yardage on plays that didn’t involve his heroics.

“It's adversity, and we're figuring things out,” Vanderbilt running back MK Young said. “We're gonna correct it, and we're a good team up front, too. Those guys are gonna continue to be confident. They turned it on in the second half, and I want them to know that they have what it takes, and they are who they are, and that we have everything in front of us. But it just comes with it.”

Young doesn’t admit it, but there’s likely some part of him that’s surprised by Vanderbilt’s outlook as a running attack at this stage. How could there not be?

Vanderbilt has run for under five yards per carry in three of its four games and under three yards per carry in two of the four. Perhaps more significant than anything is the idea that it’s not been able to control the game on the back of its running game in the way that it was in 2024 and 2025. Pair that with Vanderbilt’s six offensive penalties that appeared to come at the worst times and its lack of a true second receiver, and it’s become clear that it’s not doing enough to take the pressure off of Curtis—whether Vanderbilt will admit it or not.

“We’re growing a quarterback up, and we have a lot of excitement about him and a lot of belief in where he's headed and I think there's some real positives in his play,” Lea said. “We have to continue to grow the offensive around him. We have to continue to coach him.”

There it is.

Vanderbilt admits it. It’s got to be better around Curtis. It’s got to ensure that he doesn’t have to be Superman in order for Vanderbilt to find a way to win an SEC game. It’s got to get its identity back, and fast.

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