ATHENS — Isaiah McKenzie scored on big plays the first two times he touched the ball, including a punt return that set a school record, and Georgia beat turnover-prone Louisiana-Lafayette 35-21 on Saturday.
McKenzie scored on a 55-yard run on Georgia's first play and added another touchdown on an 82-yard punt return midway through the first quarter. McKenzie, a junior, set school records with his fifth career punt return for a touchdown and his sixth kick return overall.
Nick Chubb ran for 108 yards and a touchdown and caught a 49-yard touchdown pass from Jacob Eason in the fourth quarter.
Georgia (7-4) has won three straight and avoided a letdown after last week's upset of then-No. 8 Auburn.
Louisiana-Lafayette (4-6) was hurt by four turnovers. After having no more than two interceptions in his first nine games, quarterback Anthony Jennings threw three interceptions, all in the first half.
Jennings ran for 98 yards and three touchdowns.
Georgia led 35-7 after Chubb's scoring catch. The Ragin' Cajuns closed the deficit on Jennings' touchdown runs of 13 and 1 yards late in the game.
Jennings' 64-yard pass to Al Riles set up his 9-yard scoring run late in the first half.
Eason's 9-yard scoring pass to tight end Isaac Nauta gave the Bulldogs a 21-0 lead in the second quarter.
THE TAKEAWAY
Louisiana-Lafayette: The Ragin' Cajuns fell far short of the clean game they needed to beat Georgia. Elijah McGuire's 124 yards rushing helped move the offense, but the turnovers were too much to overcome. The Ragin' Cajuns must win their last two games to become bowl-eligible.
Georgia: The Bulldogs, perhaps motivated by a flat performance in a narrow win over Nicholls early in the season, showed good focus. The defense delivered three fourth-down stops. Chubb has back-to-back 100-yard games for the first time this season.
UP NEXT
Louisiana-Lafayette: The Ragin' Cajuns return to Lafayette to play Arkansas State in a Sun Belt Conference game next Saturday.
Georgia: The Bulldogs will close their regular season against state rival Georgia Tech next week in Athens. The Bulldogs have won six of the last seven in the series.
