Vanderbilt football defeated Austin Peay 28-9 in a weather-shortened game after it was called with 2:16 remaining in the fourth quarter of the season opener Sept. 5 at FirstBank Stadium.
As promised, the Commodores (1-0) played two quarterbacks, with both five-star freshman Jared Curtis and senior Blaze Berlowitz seeing action.
Vanderbilt's defense clamped down after halftime, allowing the Commodores to increase their lead from 15-9 to 28-9.
Here were five things we noticed:
Berlowitz and Curtis each displayed strengths and weaknesses.

#berlowitz #austin

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Blaze Berlowitz threw for 149 yards and ran for 45 yards and a touchdown as Vanderbilt beat Austin Peay 28-9 in the Commodores' season opener Saturday night that ended with 2:16 left after lightning near the stadium stopped play.
Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea and Austin Peay coach Jeff Faris huddled with the referees and officials on the field. Then the public announcer said the game was over with the stands mostly emptied before fireworks went off.
Berlowitz made the first start of his career with some of the biggest cheers were reserved for freshman quarterback Jared Curtis, who flipped his commitment from Georgia last December. Curtis made his debut just before halftime and finished up in the fourth quarter after Vanderbilt went up 28-9.
Brock Taylor kicked two field goals, his second from 37 yards putting Vanderbilt ahead to stay at 8-6 in the second quarter. Martel Hight returned a blocked extra point for a 2-point conversion, and Sedrick Alexander ran for 60 yards and an 18-yard TD.
Josiah Broxton returned a rushed punt after a high snap 27 yards for a TD to pad Vanderbilt's lead to start the fourth quarter.

#austin #peay #field #went

Jared Curtis has entered Vanderbilt football's season opener against Austin Peay on Sept. 5 at FirstBank Stadium.
He entered with 1:32 to go before halftime with the Commodores leading, 15-9, as a loud cheer went up.
Curtis was a 5-star recruit who was the No. 2 quarterback in the class of 2026 who flipped to Vanderbilt from Georgia. He is an in-state product from Nashville Christian School. He battled with returner Blaze Berlowitz for the starting job throughout the preseason, but Berlowitz was tagged to start the opener.
That doesn't mean the competition is over, though. Coach Clark Lea didn't commit to Berlowitz starting any games beyond Austin Peay, saying instead he would decide the starting quarterback on a week-to-week basis as both quarterbacks would play in the opener.
Berlowitz was 8-for-11 passing for 127 yards. He also rushed seven times for 31 yards and a touchdown.

#vanderbilt #austin #entered #quarterback

Vanderbilt football will kick off Clark Lea's sixth season at FirstBank Stadium against Austin Peay.
The Commodores will face the Governors on Sept. 5 (6 p.m. CT, SEC Network+) in a home matchup.
There is plenty of intrigue surrounding Vanderbilt, as Blaze Berlowitz will take the first snaps at quarterback but 5-star freshman Jared Curtis will also play.
Austin Peay (1-0) has already played its first game, defeating Gardner-Webb, 35-17.
Here is our prediction for the matchup:

#vanderbilt #matchup #clark #commodores

Clark Lea lost his first-ever game at Vanderbilt football to an FCS team, East Tennessee State, five years ago.
Lea hasn't forgotten that. A few players on the team were even still there for that 2021 game.
Since that day, the program has improved a lot. Lea has led the Commodores to two bowl games and has won his season opener in four straight seasons. That includes wins over Virginia Tech to kick off both the 2024 and 2025 season.
Vanderbilt's opening opponent this season, Austin Peay, is an FCS team. Like ETSU, though, the Governors are a well-regarded FCS team that is usually ranked in its division. That game will take place Sept. 5 at 6 p.m. CT at FirstBank Stadium and be televised on SEC Network+.
There's already been a slight concern pop up for Lea. He didn't like the way the team practiced Sept. 1, saying the team lacked attention to detail and let the heat get to it.

#game #sept #like

Many believe they know Boots Donnelly, given the decades he spent in the public spotlight thanks to his success in local sports. But nothing could be further from the truth.
Donnelly's oldest daughter, Bunny, knew her father's story ran deeper than most realized, yet it took several years to persuade the former high school and college football coach to tell it.
In her new book "Boots Donnelly: How He'll Be Remembered," Bunny Donnelly recounts her father's story of a tumultuous childhood growing up in a home connected to a bar in North Nashville, teenage years spent fending off ***** ual advances from Catholic priests, and the perseverance that carried him to a College Football Hall of Fame career.
The book is available on Amazon.
"I never wanted anybody to know any of it," said Boots Donnelly, who coached at Father Ryan before going to Austin Peay and Middle Tennessee State as the head football coach. "I didn't think it was that important. I was raised without a father. That's not important."

#spent

Jordan Hall, a Princeton High School running back committed to the Miami University RedHawks, received an offer August 24 from the Cincinnati Bearcats, per Hall's Twitter/X account.
Hall tweeted that UC was his 11th offer. He's tweeted previously about offers from Wake Forest, UConn, Penn State, Florida Atlantic, Marshall, Austin Peay, Army, Miami, Bowling Green and Toledo, and visits to UC, Ohio and Pitt.
Hall, also a track star for the Vikings, committed via Twitter in June to the RedHawks.
Hall scored three touchdowns and rushed for more than 100 yards in Princeton's season-opening win against Moeller at Paycor Stadium.
The UC offer, according to Hall's Twitter account, is his fourth since the Vikings' win against the Crusaders.

#hall #Vikings #jordan

Jordan Hall, a Princeton High School running back committed to the Miami University RedHawks, received an offer August 24 from the Cincinnati Bearcats, per Hall's Twitter/X account.
Hall tweeted that UC was his 11th offer. He's tweeted previously about offers from Wake Forest, UConn, Penn State, Florida Atlantic, Marshall, Austin Peay, Army, Miami, Bowling Green and Toledo, and visits to UC, Ohio and Pitt.
Hall, also a track star for the Vikings, committed via Twitter in June to the RedHawks.
Hall scored three touchdowns and rushed for more than 100 yards in Princeton's season-opening win against Moeller at Paycor Stadium.
The UC offer, according to Hall's Twitter account, is his fourth since the Vikings' win against the Crusaders.

#Miami #account #tweeted

Vanderbilt football is just two weeks out from real games and the depth chart is starting to take shape.
The Commodores will start their season on Sept. 5 (6 p.m. CT, SEC Network+) against Austin Peay at FirstBank Stadium.
Vanderbilt held two preseason scrimmages open to media on Aug. 15 and 22. Those scrimmages gave an early look at what the Commodores could look like this season.
The quarterback battle between Jared Curtis and Blaze Berlowitz is still ongoing, but there are more questions that still remain.
After viewing the scrimmages, here are three unanswered questions:

#questions #sept

Vanderbilt football coach Clark Lea still has not named a starting quarterback after the Commodores' second scrimmage at FirstBank Stadium on Aug. 22.
Lea said the staff will sit down over the next few days and evaluate where the situation stands. The team will take a day off Aug. 23 before evaluating film the next day. The Commodores are hoping to have a starting quarterback named internally by early next week.
Jared Curtis, the No. 2 quarterback recruit in the 2026 class and the first 5-star to ever commit to the Commodores, is battling with returner Blaze Berlowitz, who was Diego Pavia's backup over the past three years at New Mexico State and then at Vanderbilt.
"I see growth in Jared, I think Blaze continues to do things that he does well," Lea said. "We're going to have to look at the film and we're going to have a lot of conversations. I think in a situation where you're evaluating a freshman, you need to give it time, for his development, for the game to slow down."
Vanderbilt opens its season against Austin Peay on Sept. 5 (6 p.m. CT, SEC Network+) at FirstBank Stadium.

#quarterback #stadium #named

August is here and college football is right around the corner. We can practically feel it in the air. FCS coaches and players gathered to share their thoughts on the upcoming season (amongst other things) over the last few weeks at various media days across the country. Here are some of the things they had to say:
"I never say that I came back, I always say that I never left." – Chris Parson, Austin Peay
When Chris Parson was asked at UAC Media Day why he decided to return with Austin Peay after a breakout year in 2025, the star signal caller was was quick to correct the notion that he came back and cited his teammates at coaches as a major reason why he chose to stay instead of transferring. He is expected to be one of the top FCS quarterbacks this year and the Governors are picked by several to be a playoff team in 2026 largely because of his decision to remain with the team heading into his senior year.
"It's almost like you're recruiting but you're de-recruiting. I may not have all the answers. I'm not Nick Saban or Kirby Smart." – Will Healy, ETSU
During SoCon Media Day, second-year ETSU head coach Will Healy was asked by The Bluebloods how he and his staff approach the challenge of getting the right guys for their culture in Johnson City out of the transfer portal with so little time to actually get to know most of the players. Healy's answer was insightful and candid as he spoke about what he pitches to potential Buccaneers. He talked of the importance of players' willingness to be held to a high standard at his program and the importance of figuring out what a prospect player is looking for when they come to East Tennessee State. Healy's Bucs went 7-5 in his first season.

#Media #healy

Georgia has become what all the College Football Playoff expansion naysayers feared could happen.

This is the best program in the SEC. It won two straight conference ***** les, three in the last four years, came achingly close to making it four in a row, and ...

Notre Dame 23, Georgia 10.

Ole Miss 39, Georgia 34.

Two appearances in the 12-team College Football Playoff, two instant outs.

The regular season still matters, but who wants to put on a 2025 SEC Championship t-shirt when the team left the playoff building in a hurry?

And that's not fair.
Ayrton Breckenridge/Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Last year's Georgia team was brutally flawed in several key ways.

It was too inexperienced, the defense couldn't rush the passer, there weren't enough downfield shots, and to be totally honest, it's not like it dealt with a tough Big Ten-level schedule.

Including the playoff, it played all SEC teams, Marshall, and Austin Peay. The only Power Four non-conference game was Georgia Tech, and that was a 16-9 fight of a victory.
And even with all of the problems, and all the inconsistencies, that team not only gut-checked its way to thrilling wins over Tennessee, Ole Miss, Florida, and Georgia Tech.

It totally dominated Bama in the SEC Championship, rolled at will over Texas, and it got a prime spot in the playoff - it came super-close to being 14-0 and on the way to deal with Miami.

And that was in a relatively just-okay season under Smart.
The defense is about to be a destructive force, the offense will pound away like it did last year, and there should be more consistency to it all.

There will be plenty of preseason hype around Texas - and rightly so. Alabama is good, LSU is a burgeoning monster, Oklahoma is great, and it's still the SEC. (These things go in cycles.)

Georgia is the SEC standard-bearer, but it has to be even better.

- 2026 Georgia Schedule ***** ysis

#playoff #four #Football #Tech

When college athletes suffer fatalities due to activities conducted during practice—and often pre-existing conditions—coaches are almost never criminally charged. But thanks to a new lawsuit brought by Pennsylvania’s attorney general, that could change.
On Monday, Pennsylvania AG Dave Sunday charged former Bucknell football strength and conditioning coach Mark Kulbis following the death of Bucknell football player CJ ******* ey Jr. in 2024 following a summer workout where he collapsed. Kulbis, who maintains his innocence, faces felony aggravated hazing, as well as misdemeanor counts of involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment, and hazing.
The fact that the charges are criminal makes the case rare, multiple industry experts and attorneys tell Front Office Sports. Regardless of its outcome, the case could have wide-ranging effects on the college coaching landscape, forcing more scrutiny of practice activities and coaching conduct.
“We’re seeing the tide shift in terms of general public awareness about hazing,” Elizabeth Allan, principal of StopHazing and director of the Hazing Prevention Research Lab at the University of Maine, told FOS. “I feel this is potentially an indication of some larger shifts in the culture.”
On July 10, 2024, ******* ey, along with other Bucknell freshmen football players, suited up for their first practice led by Kublis, who had previously spent time on the coaching staffs at Dartmouth, Ohio State, and Austin Peay.

Unattached. A man without a team.
In track season.
In his upcoming college football season? Former three-star prospect and ex-UCLA signee Karson Gordon is preparing to play for FCS program Austin Peay.
“He’s a unicorn,” Austin Peay’s third-year coach Jeff Faris said.
On the heels of the NCAA’s first modern-era foray into a single transfer portal window for college football players, which ran from Jan. 2-16, 2026, Gordon is enrolling at Austin Peay following his late-spring departure from UCLA because of his savvy in examining the system.

It's just not happening today

Due to inclement weather, Game 2 at Austin Peay is being postponed until tomorrow, when we'll play a doubleheader.

The start time is TBD right now. We'll let you know when it's firmed up.