Auburn is finding out many of its SEC opponents' starting quarterbacks this week. Well, the Tigers are hearing who the planned starters will be, anyway. While Alabama's Keelon Russell choice over Austin Mack this past Saturday and Tennessee's Faizon Brandon decision over George MacIntyre on Monday are pretty set in stone (barring injury), Vanderbilt's Blaze Berlowitz nod over Jared Curtis is a decision Auburn fans shouldn't expect to stick over the next month before the Commodores visit Jordan-Hare Stadium on September 26.
Berlowitz technically has three straight victories over the Tigers, with two occurring on the Plains. He backed up Diego Pavia all three years in 2023 at New Mexico State and at Vanderbilt in 2024 and 2025.
Smart money is on Berlowtiz backing up the 5-star freshman phenom Curtis in Week 4 in a familiar role. His QB1 designation may not be the most surprising decision after his strong fall camp, which exhibited patience and timing in the pocket. Curtis didn't prove enough in fall camp to get the QB1 job from the jump, clearly.
Very quickly, though, Clark Lea's Commodores may understand that they're playing with house money anyway during a season in which they're expected to take a step back, and should see what they have in Curtis instead of playing it safe. Vanderbilt returns just 44% of its overall production, ranking at No. 106 nationally and dead last in the SEC. Only 39% of the Commodores' offensive production will be back. If most of the offensive talent from last year was coming back, Berlowitz would be the smarter play, since he'd bring valuable continuity to the table. Without them, though, Vanderbilt needs to win games with talent coming together quickly and making big plays.
Curtis is the obviously superior big-play option between the two, having just thrown 36 passing touchdowns, including five in a Division II Class A state championship game win, during his senior year at Nashville Christian.
Jared Curtis should win Vanderbilt's QB1 job by the Auburn game
Looking at the Commodores' schedule, there are two opportunities for him to win the starting job. The first comes in Week 2 against a surging Delaware, which could be a contender in Conference USA this year. The Fightin' Blue Hens may just have enough fight to give Lea and Vanderbilt's lead play-caller, Tim Beck, second thoughts. Delaware will have First Team All-CUSA free safety KT Seay and middle linebacker Gavin Moul, who finished top-20 in the FBS with 111 tackles last year, to give Berlowitz fits.
Meanwhile, NC State could be an issue if second-year defensive coordinator DJ Eliot has helped the Wolfpack establish a defensive identity in fall camp that resembles what it had in 2022 and 2023. There isn't a ton of talent returning, though new faces may be a good thing in Raleigh.
Austin Peay will be a showcase game for the offense in Week 1, but facing two FBS squads before visiting Auburn could expose Berlowitz and prompt the Commodores to throw caution to the wind with Curtis. Neither opponent is a world-beater defensively, not from what we know right now, which could make a poor Berlowitz performance stand out even more.
The ceiling is higher with Curtis, and it's not as though Vanderbilt didn't spend major money to lure him away from Georgia. With that much invested in one player, the Commodores should see what they have instead of hoping Berlowitz is another Pavia.
There's probably only one Pavia, and there's definitely only one Curtis. Vanderbilt has never had a higher-rated recruit than Curtis, and by Week 4, it should be evident that he gives the team an immediately higher ceiling, if potentially a lower floor, as well.
Hopefully, the Curtis hype train rolls into Lee County, Alabama, so the Tigers could get their lick back against the Commodores at their best.
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