Rusty Wright has spent time trying to figure out what works best when the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team travels to Virginia Military Institute, a place where the Mocs haven't won since he took over as head coach, with losses in the 2019 season finale and in overtime in October 2021.
For so many reasons, it's a tough trip to make, a tough place to play.
There's the drive of six-plus hours to Lexington, Virginia, a city with a population of 7,421 — or the size of Dayton, Tennessee. The Mocs travel on Friday, and in the past they've stopped off in Bristol for a walk-through. They've also tried staying an hour or so away on Friday night, but Wright saw that on the trip to the stadium the following day, players would be lethargic and fall asleep, causing a slow start against VMI.
Then there's the game-day environment. Foster Stadium is a fine place to play ... for the Keydets. The cadets — the actual ones, not the team — pack the stands on the home side and create their own energy, something that isn't quite duplicated for the visitors.
The Mocs lead the all-time series with the Keydets 18-9-1, but UTC's advantage is just 8-6 away from home (although the most lopsided result in the series was UTC's most recent win at Foster Stadium, 63-7 in 2017).
So in his fifth season in charge at his alma mater, Wright changed things up as the Mocs (6-2, 5-1 Southern Conference) prepared to face the Keydets (3-4, 2-2) at 1:30 p.m. Saturday. UTC was set to practice Friday at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, some 85 miles southwest of Lexington, and stay considerably closer to VMI than in the past.
There were differences even before the Mocs left town, though.
At UTC's practices in Chattanooga this week, there was no music being played. Players were forced to create their own energy and encourage each other, because on Saturday, that's basically all they're going to have aside from the handful of fans who make the trip.
"This week is about us," sophomore tight end Camden Overton said. "Coach Wright tells us to love on each other, he wants to hear us talking at dinner. We're going to be in Virginia, we don't know anyone, we have each other, so he really wants us to love on each other because that's all we have.
"It's time to bond in a sense; even though it's going to be a long trip, it's a long trip with your boys, so make the best of it."
Of course, the trip could be made a bit easier with the right movie choice. When the Mocs traveled to Mercer a couple of weeks ago, the movie shown on the bus was "Forrest Gump," which was a box-office hit and won multiple Academy Awards, including Best Picture, but it's also a bit dated for UTC players considering none of them were alive when the movie first hit theaters in 1994.
Linebacker Kobe Joseph didn't mind the selection, calling it a "feel-good movie and one that's engaging." Overton said he would prefer something featuring Spider-Man or "The Blind Side," with the latter also dated for UTC players at nearly 15 years old but one the tight end said he could "watch on repeat."
With UTC's regular season rapidly approaching its finish, the Mocs are writing their own story and trying to ensure a happy ending after years of frustration when it comes to reaching the 24-team Football Championship Subdivision playoffs. They're currently ranked in both FCS polls (15th by coaches, 17th by media), and after the trip to VMI, they'll have just one game remaining on their SoCon schedule as third-ranked Furman (6-1, 4-0) visits Finley Stadium next weekend.
Wright has consistently spoken highly of his fifth UTC team. It's probably the most inexperienced one of his tenure, but as time has shown, it's also the one with the most upside.
The season started about as poorly as it could, with the Mocs falling to a North Alabama team that, although competitive this year, is now just 3-5. UTC followed that with a four-game winning streak, then played even with Western Carolina — currently ranked 10th — before falling 52-50 on a last-second field goal at Finley, only to bounce back with a big road victory over Mercer and last week's dominating home win over East Tennessee State.
So Wright wasn't worried about how his team would respond to movie choices, a long road trip or a lack of atmosphere on game day.
"I'm fueled by not wanting anyone to have anything to say about me," Joseph said. "It would be really nice to prove to everyone that we are the team that we think we are."
And it takes wins over teams like VMI to do just that.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com.