Mocs rally, assure six wins

Perhaps the only thing more improbable than the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team going from 1-11 in 2008 to a winning season this fall is how the Mocs earned win No. 6 on Saturday.

Down 21-0 to The Citadel late in the second quarter at Finley Stadium, UTC rallied and pulled out a memorable 31-28 Southern Conference win.

"It's overwhelming," said senior linebacker Doug Faatiliga, who made two late tackles to help preserve the victory. "I can't even describe how I feel right now. Coming from last year and 1-11, to being 6-4, that's a big change."

The Mocs (6-4, 4-4), who wrap up their season at Alabama next week, haven't had a winning season since 2005 and haven't finished .500 in SoCon play since 1998.

Many of the coaches and players, as well as athletic director Rick Hart, had tears in their eyes during the postgame celebration.

"This is special," said Hart, who hired coach Russ Huesman last December. "I really wanted us to win this game today, with everything I had."

Senior wideout Blue Cooper caught the winning touchdown pass with 4:36 left in the fourth quarter, and the defense stopped the Bulldogs (4-6, 2-5) twice in the closing minutes.

Cooper finished with 14 catches for 139 yards and two touchdowns and got engaged to Maci Gault, the sister of teammate Jare Gault, after the game.

"Days don't get much better than this," Cooper said, smiling. "It was a great day."