After three consecutive months of practices and games, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football Mocs are more than ready to be off next week.
But first they must take care of today.
The eighth-ranked Mocs play at Western Carolina this afternoon in the last of nine consecutive weeks of games to start the season. They’re beaten, they’re battered, but they’re also 7-1 and with a win can tie the 1977 team for the best start in the program’s Division I era.
In 24 hours, they can slowly start to rest their bodies and get ready for their final Southern Conference test against Wofford on Nov. 12, but first they must take care of a Catamounts team that has better talent than its 1-6 record would suggest.
“We have to make sure we click on all cylinders on Saturday,” cornerback Trevor Wright said early in the week. “We have to make sure we just get everything down pat, study the film. This team is 1-6, but the film does not say they’re 1-6. They’ve got skill guys all over the place, so it’s going to be huge for the defense, huge for the offense to come out there and do what we’ve got to do.”
Coach Russ Huesman said he implored the Mocs to “grind it out” this week before getting a lighter work week and a much-needed rest in the upcoming days. With UTC’s playoff chances still in plain sight, a win today helps keep those postseason goals squarely in focus.
“Our guys understand this is a conference game,” Huesman said. “It’s a big game for us whether there’s a bye week or not. They understand how important this game is to the grand scheme of things.”
But there’s also another reason for the focus. Some of the Catamounts in 2014 made comments about UTC prior to their last meeting in Cullowhee, N.C., saying they were going to put the “overrated” Mocs “in their place.” But UTC won 51-0 and followed that with a 41-13 victory last season in Chattanooga.
UTC players said after last season’s game that those comments still “fuel their fire.” And it didn’t sound as though much has changed.
“I don’t think you can forgive somebody for that,” running back Richardre Bagley said. “I feel like it was disrespect, but you’ve got to stay focused and play your game, and our game is to dominate a lot of teams in this country, and that’s what we’re looking forward to doing Saturday.”
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.