Russ Huesman plans to treat this coming Saturday morning like every other Saturday morning that his University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team has hosted a game at Finley Stadium this season.
"My eyes are always wide open when I wake up on game day," the seventh-year head coach said as he described his routine leading up to the Mocs' regular-season home finale against The Citadel.
"As soon as you get up on game day, you know what's about to happen. I'll get dressed, give (wife) Amy a kiss as I head out the door, then head out the door about 8 o'clock since we play at 2."
UTC quarterback Jacob Huesman warms up before the Mocs' season-opener football game against Jacksonville State at Finley Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2015, in Chattanooga, Tenn.
UTC running back Derrick Craine, left, breaks around teammate Synjen Herren during the Mocs' football game against the Mars Hill Lions at Finley Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2015, in Chattanooga, Tenn. UTC won 44-34.
UTC linebacker A.J. Hampton deflects an offensive lineman during the Mocs' football practice Friday, Aug. 1, 2014, at Scrappy Moore Field in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Defensive lineman Josh Freeman (95) looks to the sidelines. The UTC Mocs visited the Austin Peay State University Governors in the inaugural game of their new Governors Stadium.At some point he'll also read the morning paper, especially any stories pertaining to the previous evening's high school playoff games.
"And I'll make a cup of coffee," he added, "once I get to the office."
Soon enough the meetings will commence - one organized by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, then a team meeting about the Bulldogs. The pregame meal is scheduled for 10 a.m.
Then comes the bus ride to Finley for the Mocs Walk, last-minute game prep and warmups before UTC faces The Citadel with nothing less on the line than the Southern Conference championship and the automatic FCS playoff berth that goes with it.
"Biggest game we've played since I've been here," he said more than once during the team's weekly media luncheon Tuesday. "And not just because what's at stake for us, but because of what's on the line for both teams."
It would have been a big game for the Mocs if there was nothing on the line but honoring the team's departing senior and redshirt senior class, which has delivered Huesman's alma mater back-to-back SoCon crowns, just as he promised the redshirt seniors they would do if they'd sign at the close of the 6-5 2010 season.
"They were redshirted the year we went 5-6," he said of son Jacob Huesman, Synjen Herren, A.J. Hampton, Josh Freeman and the rest of what may go down as the mightiest Mocs senior class ever.
"They were here before we turned it around. They brought us to where we are now."
Where they are now is on the cusp of a historic run, one that could reach three straight SoCon championships or co-championships with a win Saturday.
"We know what's at stake," Herren said. "Winner takes all."
It sounds simple, focusing on a narrow goal. But it's also senior day. The Mocs should probably expect to play at least one playoff game at Finley if they win the league, but nothing is guaranteed. And the emotions of senior day could hinder that goal.
"I'd rather have a team coming in here we could beat 100 to nothing," Coach Huesman said. "That's not happening, however. We're about to face a team that's playing with a big chip on its shoulders. They kind of remind me of our team last year."
Until last Saturday's turnover-plagued loss at Mercer, the Mocs appeared to be playing with that same chip, seemingly on a path not only to return to the playoffs but to surpass last season's run to the NCAA quarterfinals.
Yet UTC's coach cautions against blaming such a defeat on complacency.
"We played with emotion; we played hard," he said. "We just can't turn it over four times."
It's all the kind of talk you expect you hear before a game such as this, a championship tussle of epic proportions at the FCS level. But this week possibly has changed the landscape of college athletics as we've long known it, after what happened due to the threatened boycott of Missouri football players over racial unrest on their campus. Most believe that threat led to the surprising Monday resignation of Mizzou system president Tim Wolfe.
Many believe that result could encourage athletes at all colleges to exercise that believed clout whenever they're unhappy with events on their campuses.
"It's a tough situation," said UTC senior Sema'je Kendall. "As a (coaching) staff or administration, you should want the best for your students. When that doesn't happen, it puts other people in tough situation. (What happened at Mizzou) shows how much power you have as a student-athlete. It also shows what that school stands for."
To that end, Coach Huesman was asked his view on the Missouri situation, including Tigers coach Gary Pinkel's support of his players' boycott.
"I have no idea what I'd do," the coach said. "I hope I'm never in that situation. But the bottom line is this: (Pinkel's) supporting his players. As a coach, you always want to support your football team when it believes in something."
Said Kendall when told of Huesman's remarks: "I believe him. He never lies to us."
And that's why, whatever the result on the scoreboard Saturday afternoon, this UTC coach and this senior class have turned around this program both on and off the field.
Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com.