Preseason Game Prediction: Vanderbilt Football vs. Austin Peay – Sports Illustrated

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The 2026 college football season is under two months away from now and teams around the country will report for fall camp in just a few weeks. For Vanderbilt football, it is looking to continue the momentum it has built over the past two years.
The Commodores begin the season with a home game against Austin Peay the night of Sept. 5 in FirstBank Stadium. Last season, Vanderbilt beat Charleston Southern 45-3 to kickoff 2025.
This year, Vanderbilt takes on Austin Peay for the first time since the 2015 season, where the Commodores beat the Governors 47-7. Vanderbilt leads the all-time series between the two schools 2-0.
Of course, this year things are much different for Vanderbilt football since the last time it faced the in-state opponent from Clarksville. The Commodores have gotten themselves back into the conversation of college football relevancy around the country. And who knows, maybe they will be starting five-star quarterback Jared Curtis when the season begins.
That answer will not come for a while, however. This should be a game Vanderbilt should not have a problem winning regardless of who starts at quarterback. While Vanderbilt has to respect its opponent, Austin Peay is not the type of competition the Commodores will see on a weekly basis.
Austin Peay is the only FCS opponent on Vanderbilt’s schedule this season. Austin Peay went 7-5 in the FCS in 2025 and was 76th in scoring defense. But Austin Peay somewhat held its own defensively against Georgia last season, losing 28-6 to the Bulldogs.
The key when Vanderbilt will be on offense is just getting its running game going early and provide comfortability for whoever starts at quarterback. The Commodores’ offense runs to win. Getting Sedrick Alexander, MK Young and others going early will create separation. The quarterback completing easy throws early on will be important as well.
Defensively, Vanderbilt will need to pay attention to Austin Peay quarterback Chris Parson. Parson threw for over 3,000 yards and ran for 743 yards as a dual-threat quarterback in 2025 with 37 combined touchdowns.
If Vanderbilt is able to contain Parson, it should not have a problem and it should not allow too many points to Austin Peay.
This is going to be a game where Vanderbilt should be giving its depth guys reps come at some point in the second half. Whether Curtis, Blaze Berlowitz or somebody else wins the starting job for the first game, the Commodores should win this game by a wide margin. It may not be the most points Vanderbilt has scored against a FCS opponent, but it will be a lot of points.
Score prediction: Vanderbilt 48, Austin Peay 6
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Graham Baakko is a writer for Vanderbilt Commodores On SI, primarily covering football, basketball and baseball. Graham is a recent graduate from the University of Alabama, where he wrote for The Crimson White, WVUA-FM, WVUA 23 as he covered a variety of Crimson Tide sports. He also covered South Carolina athletics as a sportswriting intern for GamecockCentral.
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