The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga will have two football opponents Saturday at Finley Stadium.
Western Carolina visits for a 4 p.m. kickoff on homecoming as Southern Conference play opens for the Mocs (1-3). The Catamounts (1-2, 0-1 SoCon) have a talented offense led by dual-threat quarterback Tyrie Adams, the league’s preseason offensive player of the year. The last time they visited Chattanooga, the Catamounts left with a 45-7 win.
The Mocs’ toughest foe, however, might just be themselves. Coming off a three-week stretch in which UTC lost to a pair of Football Championship Subdivision powerhouses and a Southeastern Conference program, first-year head coach Rusty Wright is concerned about his players’ physical and mental states.
“That’s my biggest concern moving forward,” Wright said. “I made this analogy the other day: It’s like a pitcher having stressful innings. It’s different if your pitch count gets up and you’re not having stress.
“I’m concerned about our depth, our health and our mentality. That’s the thing when you play the teams we have the last three weeks – you have to play at a high rate of speed. It’s stressful, every snap. We are beat up physically, as most teams are right now, but I also worry about us a little mentally if something goes south early in a game.”
The Mocs never trailed in a season-opening home win against Eastern Illinois, but poor starts have hampered them in all three losses. They were able to rally in defeats at Jacksonville State on Sept. 7 and against James Madison last week – those games sandwiched a 45-0 result at Tennessee – but were rebuked in each case, with momentum lost and the games getting away late.
“When it comes time to go make a play or make a stop, we haven’t done that,” Wright said. “When it gets to that crucial moment, like when James Madison drove down to kick a field goal to make it 23-14, we get the ball back on offense and drive back down the field. We need to find a way to get some points there, somehow, some way, but we don’t make that play.
“We somehow need to keep the momentum when we get it. You saw that sideline Saturday when we scored to tie the game. Those are the things that we can do, but we can’t sit back and wait for them to happen.”
If the Mocs can conquer their physical and mental ailments, they will still need to deal with Adams, the type of player who has given UTC fits this season. The Mocs handled him in last year’s 26-6 win in Cullowhee, North Carolina, limiting Adams to 68 total yards.
They don’t expect it to be that easy this time around.
“I played against him two times, and he’s quite an athlete,” said UTC junior safety Jerrell Lawson, who made six tackles, forced a fumble and sacked Adams for a safety in last year’s game. “He’s a dual threat, very elusive and he can also throw it. It will be a good battle.”
The Mocs would like to see their starting quarterback, Nick Tiano, get off to a good start. Through four games of his senior season, he has completed less than 50% of his passes and has thrown five interceptions against just two touchdowns.
That might be a challenge against a defense that has allowed an average of just 170 yards per game through the air, the best figure this year among SoCon teams and 18th in the FCS.
“We have struggled in the pass game these past few games,” Tiano said. “You can’t force it because that’s when mistakes are going to happen. We have to get comfortable, me included, trust in what we’re doing and trust in each other that we are going to be in the right spots and do the right things.”
Prepare for heat
Due to above-average temperatures being forecasted, each spectator will be allowed to bring in one sealed clear plastic water bottle with its twist-cap seal clearly intact. Reusable bottles or those with broken seals will not be allowed into the stadium.
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6296. Follow him on Twitter @youngsports22.