Wiedmer: Huesman more worried about Fordham than no bye

Coach Russ Huesman watches his team during the first day of football practice for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga on Monday, Aug. 3, 2015, in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Coach Russ Huesman watches his team during the first day of football practice for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga on Monday, Aug. 3, 2015, in Chattanooga, Tenn.

No one should count University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football coach Russ Huesman among those shocked by his team not getting a bye in the opening round of the FCS playoffs.

But hosting Fordham on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Finley Stadium?

"Who we're playing did shock me," Huesman said Monday morning as the UTC staff studied video and began forming a game plan. "We thought we'd play somebody from our part of the country. All I know about Fordham is that we're playing a really good team that has a rich football tradition, both in its distant past and over the last few years."

No mention of Fordham football is complete without returning to 1936 - to the Rams' offensive line, which answered to the "Seven Blocks of Granite," including offensive guard Vincent Thomas Lombardi, for whom the Super Bowl trophy is named.

A 7-6 loss to New York University in the final game of the regular season cost Lombardi's bunch a Rose Bowl berth. It also may have paved the way for his dominating ways as coach of the Green Bay Packers, since he reportedly vowed that day to never lose again because his team took an opponent lightly.

Beyond that, NBC made the Rams' 34-7 victory over Waynesburg in 1939 the nation's first televised college football game.

Now fast-forward to this season, where Huesman believes current Rams coach Joe Moorhead deserves national recognition for guiding Fordham to a 9-2 overall record (5-1 in the Patriot League) a season after losing 19 starters.

"That might be the best coaching job in the whole country," Huesman said. "Just phenomenal. And they're no stranger to the playoffs. I think this is their third straight playoff berth."

photo Fordham running back Chase Edmonds (22) scores a touchdown during the first half against Army on Sept. 4. He's run for 1,643 yards and scored 20 TDs this season.

Not only is it the Rams' third straight, but they've won their playoff opener each of the past two seasons, though they did host Sacred Heart both of those years instead of traveling.

So does unfamiliarity concern Huesman as he prepares for the Mocs' second straight playoff run?

"No, I think almost everybody runs pretty much the same offense now," he said. "Everybody's gone to the read option in one form or another. Spread you out. Some no-huddle. The only two teams I see in the playoffs that are really different from that are The Citadel and North Dakota State, which is really an old-fashioned I-formation team."

Yet while he was more than a little surprised to face Fordham, he had almost no qualms with the Selection Committee's 24 choices.

"I'd say the top 30 teams are always deserving," said Huesman, who was the defensive coordinator on Richmond's 2008 FCS champs. "There are always two or three you wonder about, and I know a lot of people have brought up Western Illinois. I actually think Western Illinois deserves to be in, but I think Western Carolina does, too."

Western Carolina, of course, went 7-4, losing to both The Citadel and UTC, as well as Southeastern Conference schools Tennessee and Texas A&M.

"I still think our league is underrated," he said. "I think ever since Appalachian State and Georgia Southern left the league we haven't gotten the credit we deserve. I promise you this: If The Citadel's in my bracket, I'm scared to death."

Down the road, of course, The Citadel is in his bracket as a potential quarterfinal foe.

Yet Huesman also knows the committee doesn't closely seed the teams past those eight byes, which is why his only serious complaint involves his former employer.

"Richmond gets a No. 6 seed, and if they lose to William and Mary, they probably don't get in," he said. "I'm not saying they didn't deserve a bid. But I do question the No. 6 seed."

As for everyone else, he said, "It's all about money. They want to do everything they can to avoid putting teams on planes in those early rounds. They're trying to keep teams as close to home as possible."

It isn't perfect. The Mocs' half of the playoff certainly seems stronger than the other half. For proof, merely total up the ranking points of the 10 teams ranked in UTC's half (1 for Jax State, 7 for UTC, for instance) versus the nine teams ranked in the other half. UTC's half totals 93 points for 10 schools. The other half totals 101 for nine.

"It is what it is," Huesman said. "We couldn't care less who's in our bracket. I just hope that both The Citadel and us do well enough to make people think, 'Maybe Western Carolina should have gotten in, too.'"

Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com.

Upcoming Events