Jared Curtis’ first start for Vanderbilt football is off to an inauspicious start as the Commodores trail by 10 points at halftime.
His second half, combined with the team’s performance will be talked about for some time. Vanderbilt defeated NC State 35-31 on Sept. 19 at FirstBank Stadium after forcing a fumble and recovering it in the end zone with one second left. The win came four plays after Curtis threw his second interception of the game near the goal line.
Curtis finished the game 20-of-34 passing for 277 yards with three TDs and two interceptions. He also ran for 64 yards on 12 carries and had one fumble.
Curtis, the 5-star freshman, made his first career college start with NC State (1-2) at FirstBank Stadium. In the first half, he already committed two turnovers. One was an interception on a double-covered deep ball, with former Commodores commit and Ensworth grad Jaren Sensabaugh grabbing the interception.
It seemed like the perfect opportunity for Curtis to get Vanderbilt (3-0) back in the game when, down 14-0, a poor punt left the Commodores starting a drive in Wolfpack territory. But it wasn’t to be. After Curtis led Vanderbilt to a first down at NC State’s 34-yard line, Curtis fumbled the ball on a rush play, giving the ball back to the Wolfpack.
Vanderbilt fell behind 17-0 before Curtis put together a scoring drive in the Commodores’ last series before half. He threw a 12-yard TD pass to Junior Sherrill in the corner of the end zone.
Curtis is 9-of-16 passing for 76 yards with a touchdown and an interception in the first half. He has six carries for 40 yards and lost a fumble.
Vanderbilt is facing its final nonconference game before the start of SEC play. The Commodores previously defeated Austin Peay and Delaware and will travel to Auburn for a matchup Sept. 26.
Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on X @aria_gerson.
