Grading Jared Curtis after Vanderbilt football loss to Auburn

AUBURN, AL ― Jared Curtis made his first SEC start for Vanderbilt football in a 21-15 loss to Auburn at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Sept. 26.

It was the Commodores ' first loss of the season (3-1, 0-1).

Curtis put up a relatively mistake-free performance despite the offense overall being plagued by penalties and struggling to run the ball.

Here's how we graded Curtis' performance:

Jared Curtis, Vanderbilt football QB, one of nation's top 2026 recruits

Curtis was 22-for-33 for 199 yards, no touchdowns and one interception, which came on an attempted Hail Mary at the end of the first half.

He ran 14 times for 69 yards, not including sacks.

He was sacked four times for a total of 23 yards.

Vanderbilt had several offensive issues against Auburn (3-1, 1-1), but those were more about penalties and an inability to get a traditional run game going than it was about Curtis.

He was the Commodores ' most effective rusher of the day, as he was frequently able to find open space via scrambles and he evaded tacklers. He avoided errors, but also didn't have as many explosive downfield throws as he did against NC State, more frequently missing open shots and completing only two passes of more than 15 yards. His efficiency came despite frequently facing heavy pressure.

Curtis might not have been the problem with Vanderbilt's offense, but he also was unable to take over the game once the Commodores got behind.

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