The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team pulled off a couple of improbable rallies last season. On Saturday, in the Mocs’ 2010 season opener, they were on the receiving end of one.
Second-year coach Russ Huesman was in his office late Sunday afternoon, the Mocs’ 42-41 loss to No. 3 Appalachian State still very much on his mind.
“I woke up probably about 4 or 4:30 in the morning, thinking about the game,” he said.
In front an announced crowd of 15,235 at Finley Stadium, with a full “whiteout” in effect, UTC jumped on the Mountaineers early and led 28-7 at the half.
Appalachian State, winners of five straight Southern Conference titles, played better in the third quarter, but the Mocs were up 35-14 six seconds into the fourth.
Less than nine minutes later, following three fumbles and four quick ASU scores, the Mountaineers were in the lead.
“It was a well-rounded effort to give that thing away,” Huesman said.
Despite UTC’s mistakes that helped the Mountaineers rally, including the three missed extra points earlier in the game, Huesman was quick to give Appalachian State credit for coming from behind.
“I don’t want it to sound like sour grapes because I think for them to come back and to have that much guts about themselves to say ‘we’re never out of it,’ says a lot about their program and their players,” he said. “They took it from us, no question.”
The result wasn’t what UTC wanted, but the Mocs did a lot of things right offensively while racking up 492 yards of offense and scoring six touchdowns.
“We’ve got a lot to build on and a lot to work on,” offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield said, adding that UTC scored so fast – it’s longest scoring drive was 2 minutes, 20 seconds – that “we couldn’t get the run game established like we wanted.”
The UTC defense was lights-out in the first half, holding ASU to 165 yards of offense, but fatigue clearly began to set in late in the third quarter. In situations where players were in position to make stops in the first half, they were a step or two behind late in the game.
“Probably toward the end you could see that it was starting to wear on us a little bit,” Huesman said.
The Mocs let an opportunity for a statement win slip through their fingers Saturday, but they will get another chance this week.
Up next is a trip to No. 17 Jacksonville State, which is sure to shoot up near the top of the polls following its stunning 49-48 double-overtime win at Ole Miss.
Extra points
Huesman said defensive tackle La’Nard Carr (concussion) should be available against Jacksonville State, but cornerback Buster Skrine (elbow) and kicker Nick Pollard (hip) will be out. … Running back Erroll Wynn and wideout Jeff Veres, suspended for the opener, will be back this week.