Three times Georgia took the ball inside the Vanderbilt 5-yard line. Three times, Georgia ended red zone drives with a field goal. A fourth drive to the Vandy 20 ended with a missed field goal.

Georgia failed to convert its red zone chances and lost its homecoming game to the Commodores Saturday 24-22. It was Georgia first loss to Vanderbilt since 1994.

No. 16 Georgia, now 5-2, has two SEC losses and the chance the Bulldogs win the east and play for the SEC title appears slim. Georgia will fall in the rankings after losing only its second game to an unranked opponent under head coach Mark Richt.

With Georgia holding a one point lead with 5:02 to go, Vanderbilt put together a 15 play, 65 yard game-winning drive that culminated with a Bryant Handfeldt 33-yard field goal with two seconds remaining.

On that drive, the Commodores converted once on a third down and again on a fourth down.

Senior Joe Tereshinski started the game and played most of the first three quarters. He had a good first half, going 10-of-13 for 148 yards, but was just 1-of-4 for three yards in the second half. He didn’t have as many chances in the second half though.

A Kregg Lumpkin fumble on the second play of the opening drive of the second half (very reminiscent of the start of the second half last week against Tennessee), ended that drive, and the Georgia offense went three-and-out on the next two drives.

Matthew Stafford replaced Tereshinski for the final drive of the quarter and played the entire fourth quarter. He finished 9-of-13 for 86 yards, but was hampered by dropped passes.

Richt wouldn’t name next week’s starter after the game.

Linebacker Tony Taylor intercepted a pass and returned it 24 yards for a touchdown to give Georgia the lead a one point lead midway through the fourth quarter.

Brown, who started at tailback and ran for 75 yards in the first half, left the game after returning the opening kick of the second half with a knee injury. After the game, Richt was unsure the complete details of the injury, but said it appeared to be bad and did not expect him to return soon.

Also, offensive lineman Chester Adams left the game with an ankle injury and tight end Martrez Milner left with a toe injury. Neither returned and Richt was unsure of their status.

Fullback Des Williams did not dress and will likely need surgery on his shoulder. Richt said surgery would end his regular season. Freshman Ricardo Crawford, a likely redshirt, also underwent surgery and will not play this year, Richt said after the game.