Vanderbilt quarterback Jared Curtis, a true freshman who at one time was a Georgia commit, was ruled out of Saturday's game against the No. 2 Bulldogs, with veteran Blaze Berlowitz getting his third start of the season in the 38-14 loss.
Bulldogs star running back Nate Frazier, who was listed as a game-time decision, returned for the second half of Saturday's game after Chauncey Bowens got the start in the Georgia backfield.
The Commodores' coaching staff made a final decision on Curtis' playing status following pregame warmups, where he was seen running and stretching alongside a trainer.
"He's not ready to play physically," Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea told the SEC Network. "We wanted to give him every chance to have a chance to be ready. Listen, the kid is crushed. Obviously, this was an important game to him. It's time to be a great teammate today and rally around the guys that will be on the field."
Berlowitz finished Saturday's game with 190 yards on 12-of-23 passing with a touchdown and an interception.
Curtis, who has thrown for 746 yards and four touchdowns on 64.3% passing while rushing for 133 yards and another two scores, made it through Friday's walk-through practice after being limited all week with an undisclosed injury suffered against Auburn.
He was 22-for-33 for 199 yards in the loss to the Tigers, with his only turnover coming off a Hail Mary pass to end the first half. Curtis also led the team in rushing, picking up 46 yards on 18 carries.
Frazier, who sat out last week's victory against Oklahoma with a rib injury, did not start after he was evaluated during pregame warmups. He is the Bulldogs' leading rusher with 202 yards and five touchdowns.
He only got two carries for 9 yards on Saturday.
Bowens, meanwhile, rushed for 31 yards and a touchdown on 10 attempts. In all, eight players had rushing attempts for the Bulldogs, with sophomore Bo Walker leading the way with 71 yards on five carries.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.