Blaze Berlowitz led Vanderbilt to two field goals and two touchdowns against Austin Peay. Among Jared Curtis’ possessions were a series ending in a punt and another ending on downs. The Commodores won 28-9, but Berlowitz’s command of the scoring possessions did not persuade Clark Lea to end the quarterback competition.
The play-by-play credits Berlowitz with all four offensive scoring possessions and shows Curtis taking snaps on two scoreless series. That separation matters more than their tidy individual lines. Berlowitz completed 11 of 16 passes for 149 yards and ran for 45 yards and a touchdown, while Curtis went 7 of 9 for 60 yards and added 22 rushing yards. Neither threw an interception or took a sack.
Lea nevertheless kept the competition open after explaining that Vanderbilt changes offenses with the quarterback. Curtis ran the faster, spread-out package; Berlowitz ran the version closer to what the Commodores used in 2024 and early 2025. Delaware therefore offers another set of possessions in which one quarterback can make his version function more convincingly.
Follow drives, not the final margin
Vanderbilt hosts Delaware at 3:15 p.m. Central on Saturday, Sept. 12, on SEC Network. The model gives the Commodores a 91.6% chance to win, so a close scoreboard would be alarming rather than entertaining. A win corresponds to a 12.5% playoff chance in the simulation; a loss corresponds to 7%. Those are alternative outcomes from the same Week 2 starting point.
The useful drama is whether Berlowitz turns his early advantage into clean touchdowns and whether Curtis converts tempo into points. Vanderbilt left openings for both men to improve last week. A holding penalty erased Sedrick Alexander’s touchdown on the first possession and forced a field goal; Curtis’ fourth-quarter drive absorbed a false start and a delay-of-game penalty before dying on fourth down. Against Delaware, fans should want each quarterback judged on possessions that are not sabotaged before the decisive snap.
The supporting cast already gave the transition something solid. Alexander carried 10 times for 60 yards and an 18-yard touchdown, while Junior Sherrill caught four passes for 70 yards, including gains of 31 and 27. Their production means the quarterback competition does not need to be settled by forced heroics. The quarterback who consistently gets those established playmakers into the end zone should begin to separate from the other.
That is a demanding standard because Tim Beck’s 2025 offense led the country in yards per play and passing efficiency while averaging 39.4 points and 468.5 yards in the regular season. Vanderbilt does not need to match those numbers immediately against Delaware. It does need one of its quarterback packages to produce touchdowns consistently before SEC play.
The defense has earned a little trust
Vanderbilt’s defense made the opener manageable while the offense sorted itself out. Austin Peay converted only 1 of 10 third downs, and Vanderbilt’s five sacks came from Issa Ouattara, Brian Allen, Nick Rinaldi, Edwin Kolenge, Glenn Seabrooks III and Hayden Bray. That pressure is the clearest reason fans can spend Saturday studying quarterback drives without treating every imperfect offensive series as a crisis.
Ouattara’s return was especially consequential. After a shoulder injury limited him to one game in 2025, he produced two sacks and blocked an extra point that Martel Hight returned 88 yards for two points. Josiah Broxton also returned a short punt 27 yards for a touchdown, giving Vanderbilt another score outside the offense. Those plays showed how the defense and special teams can protect the post-star transition; repeating that support would be reassuring, but the offense should not need it to disguise another week of unfinished drives.
Delaware also gives that defense a different assignment. This is the first football meeting between the schools, so there is no rivalry history doing artificial work for the matchup. Vanderbilt’s pass rush and third-down defense can establish control, then hand the quarterbacks enough possessions to make the afternoon informative.
There is no outside game worth splitting attention over this week. The full interactive Vanderbilt guide and methodology supply the broader numbers, but Saturday belongs to the rotation. Berlowitz needs to keep producing points, and Curtis needs to show that his change of pace can finish a drive before Vanderbilt carries this unresolved choice toward SEC play.