Greg Pyke's push led to unusual Georgia touchdown

photo Georgia guard Greg Pyke gives freshman tailback Sony Michel (1) a bit of a boost for a touchdown in the first quarter of last Saturday's 66-0 win over Troy.

If only assists could be credited in college football.

Late in the first quarter of Georgia's 66-0 trampling of Troy this past Saturday, the Bulldogs faced a first-and-goal at the 8. Freshman tailback Sony Michel had just ripped off a 75-yard run, but Michel appeared stymied somewhat until right guard Greg Pyke lifted and hurled him into the end zone for a 21-0 lead.

The unique score quickly found its way on ESPN highlights.

"It was a heat-of-the-moment thing, and after the game I had a bunch of texts from buddies," Pyke said Monday night by phone. "Our backs are so good and strong, and I was just trying to help him up a little bit. I just kind of tossed him, and luckily I gave him enough of a push to get to the end zone."

"When we got back to the sidelines, he told me that he thought I was a guy trying to tackle him. We both got a good laugh about it."

At 6-foot-6 and 326 pounds, Pyke is seven inches taller and 120 pounds heavier than Michel.

Vandy time set

Georgia's home game on Oct. 4 against Vanderbilt will be televised by the SEC Network at 4 p.m. The SEC East will have three head-to-head matchups televised by the new network that day, with Florida at Tennessee at noon and South Carolina at Kentucky at 7:30.

The SEC West has three head-to-head matchups next week as well, headlined by Alabama at Ole Miss on CBS at 3:30. Texas A&M at Mississippi State will be on ESPN at noon, and LSU at Auburn will be on ESPN at 7.

Good and bad

Georgia's secondary played without senior cornerback Damian Swann (head injury) last Saturday but managed to limit Troy to 169 passing yards and 116 after the opening possession.

"I would say there were some really good things that happened, but there were also some issues that we had that didn't get exposed because the quarterback may have thrown to the other side of the field," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt said. "We had a couple of mistakes that could have been critical errors that we kind of got away with. We're still not 100 percent in getting lined up right, but we're getting a lot better.

"The communication is getting a lot better, and we're playing a lot of guys, but there is still a big learning curve back there."

Historic attempt

Should Georgia top Tennessee this week, the Bulldogs would have defeated the Volunteers in five consecutive meetings. That would be the first time Georgia won five straight in the series since the formation of the SEC in 1933. The Bulldogs beat Tennessee five straight times in 1909-10 and 1922-24.

Tennessee won nine consecutive meetings in 1989 and 1992-99 to take a 17-10-2 series advantage, but a win Saturday by the Bulldogs would knot it at 21-21-2.

Odds and ends

The Bulldogs worked out for 90 minutes Monday in shoulder pads and shorts. ... Richt said Monday night that tailback Keith Marshall and receivers Malcolm Mitchell, Justin Scott-Wesley and Jonathon Rumph are doubtful for Saturday. ... Vince Dooley's first team in 1964 will be honored at halftime. ... Captains for the Tennessee game are quarterback Hutson Mason and tailback Todd Gurley on offense, outside linebacker Jordan Jenkins on defense and receiver Reggie Davis on special teams.

Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.

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