​Vanderbilt football faces its first true test of the 2026 college season with a contest against NC State.The Commodores (2-0) are coming off wins over Delaware and Austin Peay and now face an ACC opponent in their final tune-up before conference play begins in the matchup at FirstBank Stadium on Sept. 19 (11:45 a.m. CT, SEC Network).Jared Curtis, a 5-star freshman quarterback, will make his first career start. Curtis appeared in both the first two games of the season while Blaze Berlowitz got the start, but the Commodores no longer plan to play two quarterbacks.NC State (1-1) is coming off a win over Richmond by a score of 73-0, but the Wolfpack lost to Virginia in their opening game of the season. The Wolfpack have gone to bowl games in six straight seasons.Vanderbilt vs NC State score updates