Wiedmer: Football Mocs reach their moment of truth

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Derrick Lott needed but four words to describe Saturday's Southern Conference showdown between the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and host Western Carolina.

"It's best versus best," said the senior defensive lineman.

The best versus the best. Where else around these parts this weekend can such a statement ring true? The Georgia-Florida game? Puh-leeze. Tennessee at South Carolina? OK, so Auburn at Ole Miss on Saturday night might be must-see TV. And it would be impossible to drive to Cullowhee, N.C., watch the Mocs and Catamounts and get home in time to view that one in its entirety.

But the SEC has one of those Game-of-the-Year pairings every week. For UTC and WCU, this figures to be the biggest game they've played in decades, the winner all but assured of a playoff berth, the loser praying for a miracle from that moment on.

In short, after 29 full seasons outside of the NCAA playoffs, this is UTC's moment of truth.

Or as offensive lineman Chris Mayes noted earlier this week, pointing to both teams' 4-0 league marks: "This basically determines who will be champions."

And, thus, who is all but assured of reaching the postseason.

In past years, when the SoCon was viewed as bigger and better, occupied by at least a team or two capable of winning a national championship, the importance of such a match-up on Nov. 1 would be for playoff seeding purposes only.

But this isn't one of those years. Longtime giants Appalachian State (three FCS national titles) and Georgia Southern (six national crowns) have both abandoned the league for supposedly greener pastures at the FBS level.

In their absence, the Mocs are the league's only ranked team in either the FCS coaches poll, where they stand 12th, or the Sports Network poll, which has them at No. 14. Western is among those receiving votes in both polls. Fellow SoCon members Wofford and Samford also earned votes in the Sports Network poll.

This doesn't necessarily mean that by the end of the November the SoCon won't have two teams worthy of making up the NCAA's 24-team playoff. But whether two teams get in is another matter.

"This year we want to be the outright champs," Mayes said, painfully aware that the selection committee made the Mocs the first team out a year ago. "We don't want to leave it up to the committee again."

Even sixth year UTC coach Russ Huesman, hoping to guide his alma mater to its first postseason berth since 1984, said, "It is an important game, but it might not (keep you out of the playoffs). We'll see how it plays out. An 8-4 team out of our league certainly could get a playoff berth."

Now 5-3 on the year, UTC would have to win out if it lost at WCU, though that would certainly seem possible, despite remaining games with Wofford, Furman and Tennessee Tech. The 6-2 Catamounts would face a similar challenge if they lost to the Mocs, since they seem virtually assured of a loss at Alabama to end the regular-season.

Yet this is also what every UTC fan has long hoped for -- a chance to matter. A chance for the Mocs to control their own destiny late in the year with a team everyone believes capable of reaching the postseason.

"Now we've got a target on our backs," said Lott.

"Now we're the team everybody wants to play," added Mayes.

Actually, they've for too long been the team everybody wants to play. Now they're the team everybody wants to beat. Come Saturday, we'll see how they handle being SoCon Enemy No. 1.

"As a senior, you want to go out undefeated (in SoCon play)," said Lott. "So far, we are. We'll be 5-0 this Saturday ... (long pause) ... hopefully."

If not, Mocs Nation must hope 8-4 is good enough to reach the postseason.

Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com

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