If the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team needed a chip on their shoulder, the Football Championship Subdivision playoff selection committee gave them one Sunday morning.
Although feeling they were deserving of one of the top eight seeds in the FCS playoffs - which would have given the team a much-needed bye - the eighth-ranked Mocs (8-3) did not receive one when the 24-team bracket was revealed this morning on ESPNU.
UTC will face Fordham of the Patriot League at 1 on Saturday in a first-round game. The game will be televised on ESPNU.
A win this weekend will set up a rematch with top-seeded Jacksonville State (10-1), who defeated the Mocs 23-20 in Chattanooga on the opening week of the season.
The Rams (9-2) received an at-large bid, based on the strength of a win over Football Bowl Subdivision opponent Army on the opening weekend. The Rams losses were to Villanova and Colgate.
The eighth-ranked Mocs (8-3) shared the Southern Conference championship but won the automatic bid by defeating The Citadel 31-23 on Nov. 14. They were ranked as high as No. 3 before a loss to Mercer on Nov. 14.
The team had quality wins over the Bulldogs and Western Carolina, who finished 7-4 with the Catamounts' other losses to Citadel and Southeastern Conference opponents Tennessee and Texas A&M.
The SoCon received two bids into the playoffs as The Citadel (8-3), who defeated Football Bowl Subdivision opponent South Carolina Saturday, qualified for the playoffs and will face Coastal Carolina. The winner of that game will travel to face eighth-seeded Charleston Southern.
For full story, read Monday's Times Free Press.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.