Vanderbilt football saw the best and worst of its five-star freshman quarterback in a 31-21 loss to Arkansas on Oct. 17 at FirstBank Stadium.
Jared Curtis made some of the best throws the Commodores have seen from him, fitting downfield passes into tight windows through defenders. But he also made one of the worst decisions of the season, one that thwarted their comeback attempt.
Vanderbilt (3-4, 0-4 SEC) is now the only team winless in conference play; Arkansas (3-4, 1-3) had been the other one.
Here's how we graded Curtis' performance:
Jared Curtis stats vs Arkansas
Curtis was 19-for-31 for 274 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. He ran seven times for 20 yards, not including sacks, and took one sack for 7 yards. He did not have any fumbles.
Jared Curtis performance vs Arkansas
Curtis may have had his highest volume of "wow" throws of the season against Arkansas. His throws to the sideline downfield were on point, and several resulted in big gains. He completed six passes to four receivers that gained at least 15 yards.
The problem was that Curtis also made two backbreaking plays. He threw an interception returned for a touchdown, and he also threw a decisive interception in the fourth quarter while trying to escape a sack. Vanderbilt had been driving to potentially tie the game when Curtis threw his final interception, but when the Commodores got the ball back, Arkansas was up 10 with less than a minute left in the game.
The game showed all that Curtis can be, but also that he is a freshman and still has things to learn to adjust to the SEC. The final interception was a throw he shouldn't have made; taking the sack would've been the better outcome in that situation.
Jared Curtis grade vs Arkansas
C-
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: Grading quarterback Jared Curtis in Vanderbilt football's loss to Arkansas