By MATTHEW BORENSTEIN
mborenste@randb.com

Georgia was down, it seemed like the Bulldogs were almost done.

The Bulldogs were down 11 early in the fourth after losing a 17 point second quarter lead. Thomas Brown returned a kickoff 99 yards after Tennessee recovered a punt block in the end zone for a touchdown.

Georgia’s momentum was short lived. Tennessee drove right through the Georgia defense on the next drive and later forced a Joe Tereshinski fumble. No. 10 Georgia, with the top scoring defense in the nation entering Saturday, lost 51-33 to No. 13 Tennessee.

The Bulldogs are 5-1 and 2-1 in the SEC East, and tied with Tennessee for second place in the division. Florida is undefeated and leads the East.

Tereshinski’s return to the starting lineup brought something the Georgia offense hadn’t had in the past two games — first half points. Georgia was shut out in the first half of its past two games.

But the fifth year senior quarterback turned the ball over three times in the second half (two interceptions deep in Georgia territory and fumbled once). Tennessee converted all three turnovers into touchdowns.

The first half was full of positives for Georgia.

Receivers A.J. Bryant and Mohamed Massaquoi both made tough catches. The Georgia receivers didn’t drop a pass. Mikey Henderson returned a punt 83-yard for a touchdown. Tereshinski was 7-of-9. Thomas Brown and Kregg Lumpkin combined to run for 85 yards.

All that changed in the second half.

Tereshinski finished 12-of-20, Georgia’s tailback rushed for a total of 135 yards and take away Brown’s TD return and he averaged 9.3 on four kickoff returns.