ATHENS, Ga. – Georgia junior receiver and return specialist Isaiah McKenzie was easily the player of the game during Saturday’s 26-24 escape of Nicholls State.
Then the final five minutes transpired.
With a 66-yard touchdown reception, three rushes for 33 yards and a 55-yard punt return that set up a William Ham field goal, McKenzie had all but put the Bulldogs on his 5-foot-8, 175-pound frame for a multiple-score victory. Then he fumbled a punt with 4:18 remaining, setting up a 9-yard touchdown drive for Nicholls, and fumbled the ensuing kickoff out of bounds at Georgia’s 7-yard line.
“On the punt, I misread it and it bounced off my shoulder pads, and I couldn’t get back to it,” McKenzie said. “On the kickoff return, I misjudged it again and let it roll out of bounds. I definitely could have done better in the kicking game.”
The Bulldogs were able to overcome the poor field position after McKenzie’s botched kickoff return with a pair of third-down conversions.