UTC's Derrick Craine (34) cuts behind his blocking. The University of Tennessee/Chattanooga Mocs hosted the Shorter University Hawks in NCAA football action on Sept. 1, 2016. Making big plays hasn't been a problem for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team.
Converting small ones has been a bigger issue this season.
Entering Saturday's Southern Conference home game against Samford, the third-ranked Mocs are 2-for-18 on third-down conversions in their past two games. They were 0-for-3 in the fourth quarter of last week's win over Furman, which allowed the Paladins to rally from 21-0 down to score 14 points and have a chance to recover an onside kick in the final minute.
The Mocs currently ranked 88th in the country, converting nine of 30 third downs into firsts. That is a far cry from the team's 2015 average of 51 percent.
"We were built so different last year," coach Russ Huesman said. "We probably need to throw the ball a little bit more, throw some route combinations to get 5, 6, 7 yards, and that'll help. We've got to take the shots when they come, obviously, but I think the throw game, we've got to do it more, and that'll help us, too."
UTC had two third-down conversions last week, both in short-yardage situations. One was a third-and-1 in the first quarter, the other a third-and-3 in the third. In addition, Furman jumped offside on a third-and-2 that didn't officially count as a conversion but gave the Mocs a first down.
The Mocs were penalized for a false start on a third-and-2 in the second quarter and failed to convert from 7 yards away. There was also a fumbled snap that led to a failed conversion.
"We have to have a good plan," offensive coordinator Jeff Durden said. "We have to avoid long yardage, and we did that last week, but we jumped offside and had a fumbled snap.
"We had a chance to pick up some third downs and we picked up two of four. We'll have to have a better plan for long yardage, but hopefully we'll stay out of it."
Whatever the plan is will ultimately come down to execution. The Mocs' inability to convert didn't hurt them against Furman until it was too late for the Paladins to make a full comeback, but against an offense as potent as Samford, that won't be the case.
If the Mocs can create and convert in short-yardage situations, that could open up opportunities in the big-play game, which is where they have thrived so far in 2016 with eight touchdowns of at least 20 yards. Running back Derrick Craine, who has 235 yards and a pair of touchdowns, hasn't had a long touchdown run, but he has had a number of 20-yard runs and is prepared for whatever amount of work he gets Saturday.
"When a play is called, we have to do our job individually," Craine said. "When everybody does their job, it gives more success in the plan and makes it more effective. Any time my number is called, I know Coach has put a lot of trust in me, whether it's third-and-2 or third-and-7. Those opportunities can either come a lot, or slim to none, depending on what the defense is.
"When Coach puts that trust in me, I know I have to go out there and get a first and get either 2 yards or 7."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.