First Half Turnovers Too Much For Cajuns In 35-21 Loss At Georgia

ATHENS, Ga. – Isaiah McKenzie scored on a pair of first-quarter touchdowns and Georgia used four turnovers in the first half by the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns to take a 21-7 lead and earn a 35-21 victory before an announced crowd of 92,746 on Saturday at Sanford Stadium.

Nick Chubb rushed for 108 yards and scored on a 1-yard TD run before catching a 49-yard TD pass in the fourth quarter as Georgia (7-4) held off a late rally by Louisiana (4-6). Anthony Jennings, who threw three first-half interceptions for the Ragin' Cajuns, finished 14-for-24 in the air for 189 yards while rushing for 98 yards and a career-high three TDs.

"Our kids battled until the end and I was really proud of their effort," head coach Mark Hudspeth said. "We did some good things on both sides of the ball. Defensively, we did pretty good for the most part. Seven of those (UGA's) points were on the punt return team and offensively, we moved the ball well … we just didn't get it in the end zone until late."

McKenzie scored on the game's first play for the Bulldogs when he took a handoff and raced 55 yards for an early 7-0 lead. The junior gave Georgia a quick 14-0 lead when he took a Steven Coutts punt at the UGA 18, broke a couple of tackles and raced 82 yards for a TD with 8:30 remaining in the first quarter.

Jacob Eason, who completed 13 of 19 passes for 165 yards, connected with Isaac Nauta on a 9-yard TD pass that gave the Bulldogs a 21-0 lead. Louisiana settled down after that to cut the deficit to 21-7 as Jennings connected with Al Riles on a 64-yard pass to the UGA 9 before scoring on a quarterback draw on the next play.

Chubb capped an 11-play, 93-yard drive for Georgia when scored on a 1-yard TD run in the third quarter for a 28-7 lead before he slipped behind the UL defense, caught a pass from Eason and raced 49 yards for his second TD of the day.

Louisiana added a pair of TDs in the fourth quarter as Jennings scored on a 13-yard run with 4:50 remaining before his 1-yard scamper along the left side with 1:34 remaining.

"We had some chances and made some plays, and sometimes we didn't," Hudspeth said. "I wish we could have gotten into the end zone early. They got on us early and we had to weather the storm. We dug ourselves a hole early and couldn't really get back out of it."

Elijah McGuire rushed for 129 yards to record his 16th career 100-yard rushing game for Louisiana, which finished with a season-high 276 yards on the ground against the No. 13-ranked defense in the country. McGuire also became the second Ragin' Cajuns player to eclipse 4,000 yards on the ground in the contest. Riles caught six passes for 100 yards for the Ragin' Cajuns with Travis Crawford recorded a game-high nine tackles.

Louisiana will wrap up its home schedule on Saturday, Nov. 26, when it plays host to Arkansas State in an 11 a.m. contest at Cajun Field. The Ragin' Cajuns senior class will be honored prior to the game.

NOTES FROM THE GEORGIA GAME
• Captains were QB Anthony Jennings (Marietta), RB Elijah McGuire, LB Tre'maine Lightfoot, LB Otha Peters.
• Jennings' father, Willie Jennings, was a defensive lineman at Georgia from 1990-92.
• The announced attendance of 92,746 was tied for the third-largest game Louisiana has participated in school history (equaling the 92,746 at Georgia on Sept. 4, 2010).
• Louisiana's 276 rushing yards in the game marked a season-high (previous high 256 vs. South Alabama, 10/17).
• Louisiana won the coin toss (now 5-5 on the season) and elected to defer to the second half.
• Ishiah McKenzie's 82-yard punt return for Georgia in the first quarter was the first allowed by the Ragin' Cajuns since Bobo Beathard (33 yards) of Appalachian State in 2014. The return was also the tied for the second-longest against the Cajuns in school history.
• Jennings scored on a 9-yard TD in the second quarter for his fifth rushing TD of the season. He added two TD runs in the fourth quarter - a 13-yard score and a 1-yard rush for his first three-TD game of his career.
• Louisiana's four turnovers tied a season-high (also at Tulane).
• Tracy Walker' interception in the second quarter was his second of the season. The 39-yard return was the longest of his career (previous 14).
• Denarius Howard forced and recovered a Sony Michel fumble in the fourth quarter.
• Al Riles caught six passes for 105 yards – his third 100-yard receiving game of the season and fourth of his career.
• Elijah McGuire's 124 yards marked the 16th 100-yard rushing game of his career. McGuire increased his season total to 886 yards on 177 yards.

First Half Turnovers Too Much For Cajuns In 35-21 Loss At Georgia

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Team Stats

Lorenzo Cryer

Players Mentioned

Steven Coutts

Travis Crawford

Denarius Howard

Anthony Jennings

Tre'maine Lightfoot

Elijah McGuire

Otha Peters

Al Riles

Tracy Walker