Jared Curtis won’t get the chance to face the team he once had penciled in for this weekend.
The Vanderbilt freshman quarterback, dealing with an undisclosed injury, has been ruled out for Saturday’s game at Georgia, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel. Curtis had been viewed as a game-time decision, but that possibility is off the table now.
Curtis’ path makes the update sting a little more. The Nashville native was once committed to Georgia before flipping to his hometown school last year. Now, instead of taking the field in Athens against the Bulldogs, he’ll miss Week 5 entirely.
The true freshman has flashed plenty already, even with the uneven start that comes with being thrown into the fire. Through four appearances, Curtis has completed 63 of 98 passes for 746 yards, with four touchdowns and three interceptions. He entered college as a major prospect, finishing No. 4 overall in the 247Sports Composite rankings and ranking as the second-best quarterback in the 2026 class.
With Curtis sidelined, Vanderbilt will turn to Blaze Berlowitz. The senior, who followed Diego Pavia’s route from New Mexico State to Vanderbilt, gets the start against Georgia. This season, Berlowitz has completed 14 of 25 passes for 178 yards, with no touchdowns and no interceptions.
Georgia comes in at 4-0 overall and 2-0 in SEC play, and the Bulldogs may have one eye on their upcoming showdown with Alabama. Still, Vanderbilt heads into the matchup knowing an upset isn’t out of the question.
Kickoff is set for 12:45 p.m. E.T. on SEC Network.
In Other News...
Kirby Smart Seemed To Send A Message In Georgias Vanderbilt Win
Jared Curtis did not suit up in Vanderbilts recent meeting with Georgia after the quarterback, who had flipped his commitment from the Bulldogs to the Commodores last year, was injured. Georgia handled the game the way a team trying to stay in the thick of the national title race needed to, while Vanderbilt came away with its season outlook looking far less secure than the one in Athens.
Afterward, Curtis made his way toward Kirby Smart, setting up a moment that drew attention for what happened as much as what did not. Smarts body language suggested he was not eager to linger, and the interaction felt like the sort of understated sideline scene that can say plenty without anyone having to say much at all. [Read more 🡒]
Georgia Left Vanderbilt With Two Concerns Alabama Will Test
Georgia left Nashville with a win and a cleaner record, but not a clean bill of health on the details that usually travel with them into bigger games. The Bulldogs beat Vanderbilt 38-14 to move to 5-0, and Carson Beck turned in another efficient day by completing 25 of 32 passes for 295 yards and three touchdowns. Even so, the outing had the kind of uneven stretches Georgia cannot ignore when the schedule sharpens, especially with the ground game not finding much rhythm.
The defense also had its lapses, most notably on third downs, and Alabama is the sort of opponent that tends to expose those cracks quickly. Georgia did settle in after halftime and looked more like itself down the stretch, but next weekend brings a far sterner test of whether those second-half corrections can carry over. For a team that has mostly handled business through September, the trip to face Alabama now feels less like a checkpoint and more like a revealing exam. [Read more 🡒]
Kirby Smart Is Already Pressing Georgia On One Concern Before Alabama
Vanderbilt kept things interesting for a half before Georgia pulled away for a 38-14 win, scoring the final 17 points to close it out. Clark Lea had reasons to point to some progress on the Commodores side, especially in protection and the run game, while Kirby Smart came away talking about the kind of things he likes to see from his own team this time of year: conditioning, execution and the steadier finish that can matter when the schedule tightens.
Smarts focus now turns quickly to Alabama, and it sounds like he is already sharpening one concern before that matchup arrives. Even after a comfortable win, Georgia is still looking to clean up areas that can become costly against a better opponent, and Smart did not hide that there is more work to do before the next test. [Read more 🡒]