BATON ROUGE, La. - A point of emphasis in University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football practices the past couple of weeks was improvement in the running game.
The improvement was visible Saturday.
The Mocs finished with 68 yards against a stout LSU defense Saturday, led by 88 yards and a touchdown from senior Darrell Bridges. Backup Alex Trotter and quarterback Nick Tiano lost 20 yards, either by sacks or tackles for loss.
Two weeks ago against Jacksonville State, the Mocs finished with 76 yards rushing, and they entered the fourth quarter of that game with only 13 yards on 19 carries.
Bridges and fellow senior Richardre Bagley, who missed Saturday's game due to injury, combined for 22 yards against JSU.
"I thought Darrell ran really well," UTC coach Tom Arth said. "Offensively, the offensive line, the tight ends and the fullbacks did an outstanding job for the most part. We didn't have many negative runs. We had some 2-yard gains, but they were good runs as long as we stayed in phase.
"I was pleased about the run game."
Bridges broke free for a 22-yard run in the third quarter, the second-longest rush of the season. Tiano had a 28-yard run in the loss to JSU. Bridges' 16-yard touchdown was the 13th of his college career and first as a Moc, after 12 for Presbyterian.
Phillips family reunion
For one weekend, traveling got a lot easier for the Phillips family.
Derrick and Tami Phillips got to be in the same stadium, watching both of their sons play Saturday night. Joshua Phillips is a senior outside linebacker for UTC, while his younger brother Jacob is a true freshman linebacker for LSU.
Joshua is in his second season playing football, after playing three seasons of basketball at Middle Tennessee State. Jacob was the No. 1 linebacker prospect in the country last season, originally committing to Oklahoma before flipping to LSU late in the process.
"We talked about (playing each other) the past couple of days," Joshua said recently. "I told him, 'You can't play nervous, I can't play nervous."
The family moment was even more special for Derrick, whose birthday is Monday.
"It's kind of like a free present for dad," Joshua said, noting that the family planned to take a picture on the field after the game. "We're just going to try to go out and have fun, and not even worry about who outplays who.
"We're just going to go out and have fun."
Leads vs. FBS foes
For the fourth consecutive season, the Mocs were able to grab a lead against a Power Five opponent.
In 2014, they led Central Michigan 16-7 at halftime but gave up a pair of third-quarter scores and fell 20-16. In 2015, Henrique Ribeiro forced a fumble on the game's opening kickoff that was recovered by Dale Warren, and Ribeiro converted a 29-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead. Last season, the Mocs held a 3-0 lead after one quarter on top-ranked Alabama after a Ribeiro field goal on the game's first drive.
Saturday, UTC used a methodical drive to advance deep into LSU territory, and a 22-yard Victor Ulmo field goal provided a 3-0 advantage again.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.