When University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football coach Russ Huesman was hired three years ago, he had only one request of athletic director Rick Hart concerning “money” games.
“I didn’t want to play any [BCS] schools that weren’t in our recruiting area,” Huesman said. “I didn’t mind playing Alabama, Georgia, Auburn, Georgia Tech, Tennessee, schools like that. But I didn’t want to play a Missouri or Iowa, someplace we don’t really recruit.”
So how is it that the Mocs are opening at Nebraska on Saturday, given that not one Moc hails from the Cornhuskers’ state?
“It’s Nebraska,” Huesman answered, breaking into a wide smile. “It’s one of the magical names in all of college football. What have they sold out, something like 311 straight games? That’s football heaven.”
Football royalty, actually. Not only will the Mocs be participating in the Big Red’s 312th straight sellout inside Memorial Stadium – a streak dating back to 1962 – but they’ll also be facing the winningest program in the country over the past 50 years in both winning percentage (78 percent) and total victories (471-122-5 since 1962).