It probably was a reluctant watch, but University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football coaches really had no choice.
Coming off last Saturday's lackluster 24-23 win at Virginia Military Institute, they had to force themselves to sit back and review video of another rough performance by the Mocs, the 24-20 loss to Furman that started a 1-3 finish to their 2022 season.
In that footage, the UTC staff saw a myriad of mistakes and things that went against the Mocs in the four-point setback against the Paladins, who are also this week's opponent: missed blocking assignments, missed defensive assignments, a field-goal attempt that was blocked, just to name a few.
"The focus this week is paying attention to the details and making sure that we are honed in and focused on the little things that we didn't get right last year," senior edge rusher Ben Brewton said.
In short, the Mocs feels like little things cost them last year. Those same little things nearly cost them last Saturday against the Keydets.
So as the Mocs (7-2, 6-1 Southern Conference) play for the 10th consecutive week, with Saturday's 1:30 p.m. matchup against Furman (7-1, 5-0) at Finley Stadium also UTC's eighth consecutive (and final) league game — and with both teams chasing the title and a spot in the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs — the focus is clear.
Take care of the little things.
Staff photo by Matt Hamilton / With East Tennessee State defensive back Mike Jenkins (10) trailing, UTC receiver Jamoi Mayes runs for a touchdown after making a catch over the middle during a SoCon game on Oct. 21 at Finley Stadium."Last week, we just felt fuzzy, nothing was sharp. I thought last week was the first time we looked tired, but when your body is tired, the first thing that goes is your mind because your mind is telling it, 'I don't want to do it. I don't want to focus, I don't want to concentrate, don't want to do those things,'" UTC coach Rusty Wright said. "But that's where all the time in the weight room, all the time in the summer, all those things, it comes down to this. You've got to make your own luck. Last year against those guys, we didn't catch a break, and they played like it was their last game.
"Our kids, for whatever reason, they show up and play in these games. We can't make those kinds of mistakes when you're playing a team that's quite good in all three phases."
The latter portion of Wright's comment is notable because if there has been a concern about this season's team, that's it. The Mocs have tended to only show up at home, or against teams deemed playoff-worthy.
Samford and Mercer, two teams still in the playoff hunt? UTC went on the road and beat both. It took a last-second field goal for Western Carolina, nationally ranked in the top 10 before falling to Mercer last week, to defeat the Mocs at Finley Stadium.
The Citadel, which remains winless this season, and East Tennessee State, which has two victories (and just one against an FCS opponent) were each dispatched pretty quickly at Finley. Meanwhile, UTC struggled on the road against North Alabama (which beat the Mocs), Wofford and VMI, teams with a combined 6-19 record.
Well, the Mocs are at home this week, and the Paladins, ranked second in both FCS polls, are a playoff-worthy opponent.
The situation is pretty clear for the Mocs, who are tied for 13th in the coaches poll and ranked 14th by media.
Win, and they will clinch at least a share of the SoCon title, which would be their first since 2015, and will also secure the league's automatic bid to the FCS playoffs, which they haven't reached since 2016.
Lose, and the state of their season gets a bit dicey and the Mocs will spend the ensuing 14 days dwelling on what cost them — potentially little things — against the Paladins.
"Our philosophy right now is no do-overs," UTC senior running back Gino Appleberry said. "We can't get anything back, so we just take every day, every play as our best rep, we just want to win a rep, and that's what (strength coach Gerry) Pacitti says in the weight room: Win your rep. Compared to last year, we just want to flush that out, and we've just tried to focus on this year and how we can improve. We want to go 1-0 every single play, every single game, going 1-0."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com.