UTC quarterback Jacob Huesman runs against Appalachian State on Saturday on the way to an important victory and his selection as Southern Conference offensive player of the week.The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga is back where it started the season, ranked in both major Football Championship Subdivision polls.
After five straight wins, including Saturday's 35-28 victory at Appalachian State, the Southern Conference-leading Mocs are ranked No. 23 in the FCS coaches' poll and No. 24 in the Sports Network poll, released Monday.
"I saw that," Mocs coach Russ Huesman said Monday with very little enthusiasm. That's because he's far more concerned with beating Wofford this week and Samford next week to win a SoCon championship.
UTC (7-2, 5-1) began the season No. 24 in the Sports Network poll and No. 25 in the coaches' listing but fell out after the opening loss to UT-Martin. The Mocs have been in and out of the polls the past few seasons, seldom staying in the Top 25 for more than a week or two.
Wofford (5-3, 4-1), UTC's opponent at Finley Stadium on Saturday, is the highest-ranked SoCon team at No. 15 in the coaches' poll and No. 17 in the Sports Network's. Samford (6-2, 4-1), which hosts UTC next week, is No. 20 in the Sports Network poll and No. 22 in the coaches'.
The last time Finley Stadium hosted a game between two ranked teams was on Sept. 10, 2011, when the No. 23 Mocs routed No. 10 Jacksonville State 38-17.
Player of the week
Mocs quarterback Jacob Huesman was named the SoCon offensive player of the week Monday. The redshirt sophomore had 259 yards of total offense against App State.
"Congratulations to him," said his father and coach, who added that Jacob has had a more consistent sophomore season than his freshman year in 2012.
He led UTC in rushing with 132 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries and completed 13 of 19 passes for 127 yards, with two touchdowns and an interception. In the fourth quarter he was 6-for-6 for 90 yards and threw touchdown passes covering 31 and 29 yards.
Jacob is the fourth UTC player in as many weeks to be named player of the week. Davis Tull, Wes Dothard and Muhasibi Wakeel were the defensive players of the week the final three weeks of October.
For the season, Jacob is fifth in the SoCon in rushing with 86.7 yards per game and fourth with eight rushing touchdowns. He's also throwing for 135.7 yards per game, with 15 touchdowns and five interceptions. His total offense average of 222.3 yards per game is fifth in the league.
Extra points
It will be Military Appreciation Day at Finley on Saturday, with UTC's coaches wearing fatigue pants and free admission for all active military, veterans and their families. ... The game is the SoCon game of the week and can be seen online at ESPN3.com. ... UTC has the longest streaks in the SoCon in wins (5), league wins (5), home wins (4) and home SoCon wins (4).
Contact John Frierson at jfrierson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6268. Follow him at twitter.com/MocsBeat.