Deep down, within those private thoughts that college football coaches almost never share with the public, Russ Huesman knows the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's No. 6 ranking is more than a little special.
This is his school, after all. He played on some pretty fair Mocs squads at the dawn of the 1980s that never rose to No. 6 in the country in their NCAA division. When he took over the program seven years ago, he almost certainly was aware that UTC had won as many as six games in a single season only twice in the 17 years before he arrived.
To rise to No. 6 in the land in both the FCS Coaches poll and STATS.com FCS poll when you've never previously achieved so lofty a perch is fairly heady stuff.
But Huesman also knows the fragility of such rankings, of how quickly they can disappear.
So when asked his feelings on the achievement during Tuesday's weekly news conference, Huesman was quick to say of Saturday's Southern Conference showdown with Furman and beyond, "If we don't play well, if we don't win games, we won't be ranked long."
UTC head football coach Russ Huesman shouts to players after a Mars Hill touchdown during the Mocs' football game against the Lions at Finley Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2015, in Chattanooga. UTC won 44-34.Despite a season-opening home loss to powerful Jacksonville State, the Mocs have not fallen out of the rankings while improving to 3-1 overall and 1-0 in league play. Beginning the year ranked eighth in both polls, they've never dropped lower than 12th (coaches poll). If UTC, now sixth, can again run the table in the SoCon as it did last season, it's conceivable it could make its way into the top four by season's end, which might help it host national playoff games until at least the semifinals.
Not that either Huesman or athletic director David Blackburn want to think that far ahead at the moment.
"It's just a number," said the cautious Blackburn. "But if we continue to play well, if it will draw people to watch a highly ranked team play on its home field for the first time since September 12th this weekend, then it could mean a lot to our program growing forward."
Part of Blackburn's enormous job is to manage the business side of UTC athletics. Through two home games this season at Finley Stadium, business has been fairly good. Nearly 16,000 showed up for current No. 3 Jax State. A crowd of 9,491 returned for the Mars Hill game.
"Obviously, I hope the public sees (the ranking) and wants to check us out," he said. "It's supposed to be a beautiful weekend, and with a 1 p.m. kickoff, if people want to, they'll still have time to get home to watch most of the Tennessee-Georgia game."
What Blackburn doesn't want is for the ranking to impact adversely the rest of the season by distracting the Mocs from reaching the playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first time in school history.
"This is a very good Furman team that's already beaten Central Florida and barely lost to (No. 1) Coastal Carolina," he noted. "That ranking is not going to guarantee us a single win. We still have to have the mindset that we have to take it if we want it. Nothing is going to be given to us."
That said, the recruiting model Huesman first embraced seven years ago has given the program the kind of class, balance and stability to keep this upward trend alive for years to come.
"When we first got here we made the decision to sign as many high school kids as we could and redshirt as many as possible," he said. "And every year since, I think our coaches have recruited good players and great kids. I think that's the biggest reason we've had the success we've had."
Redshirt junior offensive lineman Corey Levin is one of those former redshirted freshmen who used that first year in college without Saturday afternoon football to make the dean's list.
Similar to both Huesman and Blackburn, he doesn't think the No. 6 ranking will help the Mocs win a single game. But he does see big benefits elsewhere.
"When it comes to recruiting, I think being a top 10 program is the second most important thing you look for next to playing time," Levin said. "You want to go somewhere you can play, but you also want to have a chance to win championships. That ranking tells recruits you're a championship-caliber program."
A loss to Furman or anyone else before a playoff bid is secured is all but certain to wipe out the Mocs' current top 10 ranking. Everyone knows that. Everyone involved in the program seems supremely motivated not to let that happen.
But that doesn't mean Huesman wishes to avoid all talk of the ranking.
Asked if recruiting coordinator Will Healy might mention UTC's No. 6 rank to potential Mocs, Huesman smiled slightly and said, "I would guess he probably will."
Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com.