A week of rest typically has paid dividends the following week for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team.
The Mocs are 4-2 following off weeks in Russ Huesman's tenure as head coach. They get another opportunity to amend that record Saturday when they host Furman in a Southern Conference battle at Finley Stadium at 1 p.m.
UTC's only two losses under Huesman after off weeks have been at home against 12th-ranked Wofford on Nov. 19, 2011 (28-27) and at No. 12 Georgia Southern on Sept. 28, 2013, when the Eagles won 23-21 on a late field goal. The Mocs had a questionable penalty wipe out a fourth-quarter touchdown pass from quarterback Jacob Huesman to Tommy Hudson.
Defensive lineman Josh Freeman said the players use the time off to rest their bodies to be even more prepared for their next opponent. Quarterback Huesman said it becomes similar to training camp, when it's just "Mocs versus Mocs."
"It's an opportunity for us to get better at what we do and not worry about what the opponents do," he said. "Maybe we can refine some things and work on what we do."
Coach Huesman gave the team two days off last week before light practices Thursday and Friday in shorts. The goal was not to force two weeks of preparation for Furman (3-2, 1-0) on the Mocs (3-1, 1-0).
"I don't think there's a magic formula," Coach Huesman said going into the weekend. "There's no right way or wrong way. It's just a chance to refocus and get your mind back on what's going on. That way on Sunday when we start getting ready for Furman, they know it's Furman week and let's get rolling.
"I don't know what's the right way or wrong way of doing it. We've been fortunate to win some of these games."
Best ranking ever
UTC moved up two spots to No. 6 in the FCS Coaches Poll, which is the highest the program ever has been ranked. The Mocs also are sixth in the STATS FCS poll.
Player of month
Jacob Huesman was named Monday the SoCon's offensive player of the month for September.
The 6-foot-2, 220-pound senior received the monthly honor for the third time in his career. He rushed for 376 yards and three touchdowns while completing 64 percent of his 92 passes for 639 yards and six touchdowns in leading the Mocs to their 3-1 record.
He was named offensive player of the week twice in September, after two games in which he both ran and threw for more than 100 yards, and he exceeded 300 yards of total offense twice. Also during the month, he broke the UTC career records for rushing touchdowns and passing TDs and became the fourth player in league history to account for more than 9,000 yards of total offense in a career.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.