2026 Vanderbilt Football Mailbag #3: Answers to Your Questions

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Letters… we get letters… we get stacks and stacks of letters…

*Note: These questions were asked on Sunday after the game, before Lea named Curtis the starter.

Question(s) about the starting QB decision from BCWright54, ask_thedoctor, Vandyfan1996 & shoogymgshoogs:

HCCL has thus far declined to name a starter at QB going forward. Do you find it concerning that his indecision is clearly not helpful in regards to the mindset and performance of either quarterback?

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What would indecision at the QB position indicate to you not about the QBs themselves, but the coaches?

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I was wondering if there was any possible way that Lea was doing this QB Mumbo Jumbo on purpose to get to this point where it was obvious to everyone (team, fans, Blaze) who should be starting and to get everyone on the same page behind the same guy? Naive..probably…but is there a chance that is what was happening here?

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If HCCL announces Blaze as the starter this week, how do we fire him into the sun?

Answers from AoG:

Tom Stephenson: I think it was on purpose; in fact, I said all along that I suspected that Curtis would be starting no later than the Georgia game, and I thought there was a pretty good chance that he’d be starting by the NC State game. So it was that Blaze’s limitations became too obvious to ignore against Delaware and now Curtis is the starter.

To be clear, I think the only difference between now and the time that Matt Stafford technically backed up Joe Tereshinski for a few weeks of the 2006 season is that we live in a very stupid media environment where some writers thought that building hype was more important than winning football games. What this accomplished was giving Curtis room to adjust to the college game and also making certain that nobody will be calling for the backup if and when he has a bad game.

PatrickSawyer: I would like to say the plan was to go to Curtis for this game from the start, but the way it was executed was horrible. All the first two games have done is cast an unnecessarily dark shadow over Vanderbilt having the #1/#2 QB in a recruiting class. They made Blaze Berlowitz look borderline incompetent, too. I put 100% of his hurdling fumble on the coaching staff because they made him feel like he had to be Superman to keep his job after Curtis led drives resulting in 2 TDs, a 3-and-out, and 49 yards ended by a turnover on downs.

Clark Lea was upset with how the first game was called by Tim Beck, too. Overall, it seemed like the “plan” was not followed well. If they had kept to a 2-drive rotation against Delaware, we probably do not see Berlowitz make the hurdle. Once you break the script to play Curtis more, you have to stay with Curtis. Even with Curtis playing well, stick to the script until halftime to give everyone time to reset in the locker room and not have the sideline moment and frustration.

However poorly executed the process was to get here, I think we all fully expected Curtis would be starting by this point with a trip to Auburn looming next weekend. The coaches better hope that settling the QB situation settles some other issues, too.

Cole Sullivan: I heard the coaching staff disagreed on how to handle this whole thing in a lot of ways. I think if Lea had been the man making the calls just himself, we’d have gotten through the first few games with less fuss and bigger margins. Either way, I think we’re in the Curtis Era for good and none of y’all better call for Berlowitz when Curtis errs.

Andrew VU ‘04: Yeah, this all reminded me of when Andy Reid started Doug Pedersen over Donovan McNabb for a few games in the Chunky Soup Man’s rookie year. Absolutely infuriating. Like Blazer vs. The Courtesy Bear, it was never a competition, but rather a “make the kid earn it” gambit, but like this, it was framed as a QB competition in which the clearly inferior QB had won out of camp. Bullshit. I hate being gaslit. Hate it hate it hate it.

Thankfully, Curtis was named the starter before the NC State game, so we do not have to fire NoHo Clark’s Shine-O-Ball-O head into the sun.

Question from Kslaught:

I must admit, my enthusiasm has taken a big hit after yesterday’s game. Defense is not what I expected, O line not what I expected. At least Curtis got the chance to establish himself, at least IMO. What is the outlook for the rest of this season. Can we get things going and at least get 6 wins, or could this be an absolutely abysmal season?

Answers from AoG:

Tom Stephenson: The feeling of having expectations for Vanderbilt football is certainly weird, because for most of my memory as a Vanderbilt football fan I would have looked at games against Austin Peay and Delaware and thought “well, at least we didn’t lose either of those games.”

I don’t think it’s going to be an abysmal season, but I also thought 4-8 or 5-7 would be in play anyway, so what do I know?

PatrickSawyer: I would not be so negative about the defense. They gave up 22 yards in the first quarter and 13 yards in the third quarter. Overall, the 338 yards allowed is not great, but it was essentially 4 iffy drives where Delaware gained 269 of their total yardage. The defense gave up 20 points (would have been 21 if they took a late PAT instead of going for 2) from 13 drives. They also forced 2 INTs and held Minicucci to a 21.6 QBR, which would have been his second worst performance last season. He only had 2 games under 40 and was at 55.7 QBR for the season.

No, I do not think the defense is going to be elite. I do think they will get better as the season goes. They were very good against Austin Peay, too, after the opening couple of drives. They are inconsistent right now. There is a chance they gel into a decently effective group, especially if Curtis gets the offense rolling enough to take some pressure off them.

A bowl game still seems feasible. Arkansas looks horrible. Mississippi State and Kentucky both still look very beatable. Auburn could be more problematic than anticipated. Florida has looked good playing nobody. Georgia, Ole Miss, and Alabama do look like they are out of reach, but none of those is really surprising. The battle with the Chuggers could be explosive. I think a bowl is still well within play. Struggling against NC State would change that though.

Cole Sullivan: I mean, the d-line is pretty good and we are going to have a solid offense. We continue to give up massive yardage to anyone who can get to the secondary because we don’t have speed back there. With one gameplan, centered around Curtis, we can definitely make a bowl game: NC State, Hated Rival Auburn, Arkansas, and Clanga are all beatable, and who’s to say we can’t cobble something together against a more premier opponent?

I will be happy with 6-6 and a trend upwards in performance throughout the year, but I think a lot more than that is possible.

Andrew VU ‘04: You see, my enthusiasm is higher, as Curtis clearly won the jerb, so much so that if Lea decided to continue his “we honestly don’t know which QB is better” and/or “Blaze puts us in position to win (i.e. punt)” interpretive jiggery pokery/pure applesauce, you would be right to want to shake him until his head reverts back to logical reasoning and/or the ability to grow hair.

As for the “bowl game or nah?” part of the question, I’m going to go back to what I’ve said all year. I legitimately don’t care if we go to the Shreveport Beef O’Brady’s Oil Spill Bowl or whatever this year, provided I see real growth from Curtis (and Curtis gets all the snaps). This needs to be a “learn on the jerb” year where he takes his lumps (figuratively, please and thank you), so as to emerge from the chrysalis as a beautiful Josh Allen butterfly who leads us to untold glory. If we win this weekend, then there is at least a chance at 6 wins, but I still wouldn’t be shocked with 5, or even 4. View this more as a “proof of concept” year, with next year being when the stud O-linemen and WRs join forces/acquire generational wealth and the team is ready to start winning big.

Question from Tinioril:

How do we keep Curtis alive against Georgia?

Answers from AoG:

Tom Stephenson: Remind Kirby before the game of what he did the last time a Vanderbilt player lit up his defense.

PatrickSawyer: Ball. Out. Quick.

Cole Sullivan:Look man, he’s gonna get hit. He’s just gotta be smart about how he takes his hits, and get the ball out when he can.

Andrew VU ‘04: Flubber, bubble wrap, and sacrificing a goat to Vocockyteps.

Question from Ofermod:

Why.

Alright, that’s not a great question. So, once we’ve settled on Curtis as QB, where do we need to improve most during the course of the year to be a contender? OL seems like the obvious take, and not just to protect our shiney recruit (and no, I’m not counting “remember you can catch the ball” as a ‘needed improvement’ so much as a ‘just don’t have too awful an off game’)

Answers from AoG:

Tom Stephenson: Yeah, it’s the offensive line and it’s really not close — that’s been the most glaring problem the first couple of games.

PatrickSawyer: Contender for…? I don’t think there is any world where Vanderbilt is contending for Atlanta or the CFP this season unless Jared Curtis goes from baby Josh Allen to peak Josh Allen sometime between now and Auburn. At best, Curtis makes the offense explosive and can make the Commodores an upset threat for the teams contending for the CFP while winning 7 or 8 games.

Cole Sullivan: Yeah o-line, but we also need to build on our 5-star quarterback with other 5-star offensive talent. We need to make Curtis look like someone you want to play with before we can win any championships.

Andrew VU ‘04: We are not going to be a contender this year. Improve the O-line and WRs next year and ask again then.

Question from Dore fan in Dallas:

We all owe HCCL a debt of gratitude for the last two years of great VU football. However, do you think he can continue to be successful going forward? After all, maybe HCCL “caught lightning in a bottle” with Diego Pavia. Yesterday, I saw poor game management and decision making, QB chaos, etc. Frankly the sideline yesterday reminded me of the Derek Mason days. I am not hopeful for many more wins at all this year based on what I saw, what do you think about HCCL and more wins this year?

Answers from AoG:

Tom Stephenson:The year is 2030. After winning 60 games over the previous six years, Vanderbilt fans respond to a two-touchdown win over UTEP after freshman quarterback and five-star recruit Tungsten Arm O’Doyle bailed out career backup Whit Muschamp by wondering if Clark Lea is actually a good coach or if he just caught lightning in a bottle with Diego Pavia and Jared Curtis.

PatrickSawyer: Clark Lea is at his worst when he can be too philosophical and complicated. Give him a settled QB and straightforward path ahead, and he can handle it. The philospher in him makes him do weird things when given too many options. The QB is settled, and Curtis is going to be as or more dangerous than Pavia by the time the 2027 season kicks off.

Cole Sullivan: Lea gets in that big bald head of his a lot, and the other coaches have big opinions, too. He needs to refocus on winning, like he did before bringing Pavia in, which I think is a rejection, in part, of the type of coach he wanted to be while coming up. I believe he can continue to be successful but that it will mean embracing some weirdness from time to time. He”s proven he can catch lightning in a bottle and I’d stick with him over someone who has never proven that.

Andrew VU ‘04: We do, because Curtis is even more of a generational talent than Diego and money printer go brrrrrr. Not this year, though. At the very least, we need to find Curtis two party-boi older brothers and a saucy mom to cut to in the stands eleventy billion times per game.

Question from WestEndMayhem:

I really don’t want to ask another Curtis / Blaze question, but hopefully the TV captured how loud the cheering was when Curtis finally went in.

Warm up games out of the way (why we’re scheduling the better teams from FCS, I don’t know. Why we’re struggling against them, I really don’t know). How confident are you about a trip to Shreveport this year?

Answers from AoG:

Tom Stephenson: Did you know that Delaware is an FBS team now? Yeah, fooled me, too. Anyway I am confident that we will not be going to Shreveport this year in that the Independence Bowl is no longer on the SEC’s list of bowl tie-ins.

PatrickSawyer: Respectfully, I am going to avoid addressing the fan reaction to the battle beyond saying that I understand fans wanting to see Curtis, but I heard a lot of really dumb things said about Berlowitz in the stands.

Cole Sullivan: You know, I’ve actually been to Shreveport and uhhhh yeah I hope we don’t actually end up there.

Andrew VU ‘04: Not. Not at all, and not just because I refuse to travel to Shreveport.

Question from Jeturn:

Just how concerned should we be Vandy had 339 total yards in the game versus 338 total yards by the fightin’ Joe Bidens and Vandy only 100 yards rushing?

Answers from AoG:

Tom Stephenson: Yeah, the inability to just run the damn ball against Austin Peay and Delaware is very concerning, though I wonder how much that changes when defenses have to concern themselves with the downfield passing game — which probably will improve with Curtis under center.

PatrickSawyer: Allowing 2.7 yards per carry and 7.5 yards per passing attempt, especially on 15/32 passing with 6 sacks (which feed over to the yards per carry, statistically), is fine. The offensive production was the problem. The Commodores only averaged 2.6 yards per carry and 7.7 yards per passing attempt. The glimmer of hope is that Sedrick Alexander and MK Young averaged 4.3 YPC and 4.8 YPC, respectively. Curtis was also at 9.5 yards per attempt. There is good reason to believe the offense gets a lot better with the settled QB.

Andrew VU ‘04: Pretty concerned. It’s not a good look. Does this mean we’ll be a “play up to/play down to our level of competition” team this year, or just a “have fun, expect to win” team this year, I honestly don’t know (though I lean towards the latter outcome, as you can tell from my previous answers).

Question from VU1970:

Two unnecessary if not pointless attempts to leap over tacklers have been unsuccessful in our first two games. Neither appeared to take the opposing defender by surprise. One of them could have led to serious injury (Alexander); the other brought disaster, with a Berlowitz fumble ending a promising drive. Have defenses adjusted to hurdling well enough that we should consider it a fad that ran its course and coach our players to stop doing it? And should Blaze’s blunder not be remembered as his last play as a starting QB?

Answers from AoG:

Tom Stephenson: I… have no idea what this question is about?

PatrickSawyer: Alexander has hurdled 2 or 3 defenders each year that he has been at Vanderbilt. Unless I am forgetting one, I don’t think his hurdle was unsuccessful even if it did not end up in a big gain off the move. He cleared the defender then was tackled quickly after. Blaze’s was dumb, but I would attribute it influences other than some “hurdle culture” phenomenon. Young and Alexander both had successful hurdles against Austin Peay, if memory serves. Overall, I don’t see an issue with how Vanderbilt players are using it.

No. It should be, and was, his last play as starting QB. There is no reason to remember it though. It was a player pressing too hard in a last ditch effort to hang onto his starting QB job at an SEC school. Move on.

Cole Sullivan: Hurdling is cool. The Dude abides.

Andrew VU ‘04: Last question first: yes. The rest of the question is super interesting, though. Athletes are inherently copycats, especially young ones, and the Saquon Barkley hurdle still looms large over the entire RB cabal (no, I have no idea why I chose the word cabal, either, but imagining all RBs as Stonecutters made me giggle, so I’m keeping it in, as they made Steve Guttenberg a star). I do agree that someone’s going to get hurt eventually (and probably already has… just not to the teams I follow). Just as it’s on the minds of RBs, so as to get on SportsCenter, it’s on the mind of defenders, so as not to get posterized.

Question from Dore31:

How are we possibly opening as a favorite against NC State?

Answers from AoG:

Tom Stephenson: I do not actually know. Maybe the oddsmakers knew Curtis would start even if Lea didn’t

PatrickSawyer: NC State is also bad, and we are at home.

Cole Sullivan: Vaccination is worth 3 points on top of home field advantage.

Andrew VU ‘04: Have we looked bad? Yes. Did you see QAnoNC State play Virginia???

Question from JesseCuster44:

what the biggest challenge for the Dores as they start to play football teams named after male animals?

Answers from AoG:

Tom Stephenson: I mean, in spite of the name blue hen, the blue hen is actually male, or at least it can be. No, I don’t get it either. But hopefully that at least carries over to games against chicken-themed mascots.

PatrickSawyer: A Wolfpack is composed of both genders. None of the opponent mascots are gender-specific. They do typically use male specimens to represent the teams, but none of the nicknames are explicitly male. This was a weird question that was misleadingly inaccurate…

Andrew VU ‘04: I still stand by my contention that Austin Peay is a male animal, though I will grant that “Governors” is gender inclusive (cut to me now being stalked by a roving pitchfork and torch-bearing culture warrior militia from now until the heat death of the sun). However, a “Wolfpack” is similarly gender inclusive, so we won’t know until we play Auburn (wait, couldn’t a War Tiger be a woman?), or Ugga (though, again, “Bulldog” is the entire breed, which includes all genders), and when you think of it that way, wouldn’t the only team named after male animals be The Knoxville Buttchuggers? Could a woman funnel Franzia rectally? Surely it’s possible… but would a woman do that? Much less likely.

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