LEXINGTON, Va. – Self-inflicted wounds are the most difficult to understand, even on the football field.
In Saturday’s 31-24 loss at Virginia Military Institute, it was a death-by-a-thousand-cuts scenario for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Two fumbles by the Mocs that led to 14 points for the Keydets and a blocked punt recovered for a VMI touchdown were the headliners in what was a frustrating way for Rusty Wright’s team to end its season.
“Any time you turn it over like that and with the punt block, it’s tough,” said Wright, whose initial UTC team finished 6-6 overall and 5-3 in Southern Conference play. “It’s hard to win football games doing that. We couldn’t make enough plays early, and the turnovers killed us. You just can’t make mistakes like that and win.
“We didn’t deserve to win that football game. Sometimes the football gods know what they are doing.”
Making matters worse, the Mocs held a decisive 451-264 advantage in total yards. The UTC defense held the SoCon’s leading rusher entering the week, Alex Ramsey, to 75 yards on 18 carries while limiting quarterback Reece Udinksi, a 3,000-yard passer, to 214 yards and picking him off twice.