Three Vanderbilt football bold predictions for the 2026 season

Vanderbilt football is getting ready to start its 2026 season, and there figure to be plenty of surprises in store.

The Commodoresstart their season Sept. 5 (6 p.m. CT, SEC Network+) against Austin Peay at FirstBank Stadium.

Vanderbilt is breaking in a new quarterback, which will be Blaze Berlowitz to start the season. While many of the offensive players are gone, Sedrick Alexander and Junior Sherrill are back and much of the defense returns as well.

Here are three bold predictions for the Commodores in 2026:

Brock Taylor makes a 60-yard field goal

Brock Taylor certainly has range. He set a program record for 50-yard field goals in 2024, but in 2025 he didn't have a ton of opportunities with how explosive the offense was.

Diego Pavia is gone now, and that will likely come with more opportunities for Taylor. Vanderbilt's staff seems willing to let him have a go at a 60-yarder, and he has the leg to make it.

Jared Curtis starts at least six games

Blaze Berlowitz might have been named the starter for the season opener, but I'm betting that Jared Curtis will see plenty of time − and will, in fact, start at least half of Vanderbilt's regular-season games.

My biggest concern on Berlowitz remains the same as it has been all preseason. In theory, he is supposed to be proficient at operating Tim Beck's offense, which requires a lot of short passes, handoffs and runs. The problem? He misfires too often on third-and-long that often lead to turnovers. That could become a major issue once SEC play starts.

Vanderbilt has three 500-yard rushers

Vanderbilt won't have a 1,000-yard rusher because it doesn't need to. Instead, in this run-heavy offense, the Commodores will have at least three players run for 500 yards or more.

Sedrick Alexander will likely be one of them after running for 567 yards last season. Makhilyn Young ran for 414 yards.

There are several candidates for the third spot, like freshman Evan Hampton and returner Jamezell Lassiter. It could also be one of the quarterbacks. Diego Pavia had 862 rushing yards in 2025, and neither Curtis nor Berlowitz is likely to match that. Still, it's not hard to see how one of them could get to 500 yards.

Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on X @aria_gerson.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Three Vanderbilt football bold predictions for the 2026 season