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Jenkins leads Bulldogs defenders with 5.5 tackles for loss Georgia overcomes more weirdness in Nashville Georgia shakes off slow start, beats Vanderbilt 31-14
NASHVILLE - Georgia sophomore receiver and return specialist Isaiah McKenzie sat out last week's opening win over Louisiana-Monroe but wasted no time Saturday in making his belated introduction to the 2015 season against Vanderbilt.
Fielding a 50-yard punt with 4:33 remaining in the first quarter, McKenzie made the first defender miss and then bolted up the field for a 77-yard touchdown. McKenzie's heroics opened the scoring and helped the Bulldogs to a 31-14 victory.
"Once I made the first guy miss and saw open field, it was on me after that," McKenzie said.
He had punt returns for touchdowns last season of 52 yards against Troy and 59 yards at Kentucky. His return against the Commodores was the longest by a Georgia player since Brandon Boykin went 92 yards for a score against Michigan State in the Outback Bowl after the 2011 season.
In last year's win in Lexington, McKenzie also returned the opening kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown.
"When he gets the ball in his hands, there is a good shot of him getting a lot of yards, if not a touchdown," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt said. "He was coming off a hamstring injury last week, which is why we didn't use him."
When asked if he was thinking about his hamstring during his touchdown, McKenzie said, "I was just running. When I saw the end zone, I was like, 'If I pull my hamstring, I'm still going to score.'"
Carter ejected
Georgia sophomore outside linebacker Lorenzo Carter was flagged and ejected for targeting Vanderbilt quarterback Johnny McCrary at the 9:56 mark of the opening quarter.
"I didn't think it was targeting," Georgia senior outside linebacker Jordan Jenkins said, "and I hate that, because the same thing happened to us two years ago. You're taking a kid away, and the kid just wants to play football. He wasn't going after anybody's head. He was just trying to make a play."
Said Richt: "I didn't see it, and I didn't see the replay, so I don't know. It happened in the first half, so he's free to play next week."
Former Bulldogs inside linebacker Ramik Wilson was penalized and ejected for targeting early in the fourth quarter of the 2013 game against the Commodores. Officials overturned Wilson's ejection, but the penalty remained, enabling the Commodores to convert a fourth-and-4 as they rallied for a 31-27 upset win.
Morgan's two misses
The Bulldogs were not as dominant on special teams as they were in the opener, with senior kicker Marshall Morgan missing two of his three field-goal attempts Saturday. Morgan missed from 37 yards out in the first quarter and from 43 yards in the fourth, with his lone make coming from just 20 yards in the third quarter.
Morgan set the SEC record for consecutive made field goals at 20 during the 2013-14 seasons.
"I've got a lot of faith in him," Richt said. "He's a very talented kid."
Odds and ends
Georgia has yet to turn the ball over this season. Redshirt sophomore outside linebacker Davin Bellamy and freshman tight end Jackson Harris made their first college starts Harris had his first career catch for a 10-yard gain. Jake Ganus, the transfer from UAB, got his second consecutive start at inside linebacker. Freshman defensive lineman Trent Thompson got in Saturday's game early in the second quarter after appearing late in the third against ULM. The Bulldogs increased their series lead over Vanderbilt to 55-19-2.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.