JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Raise your hands if you thought the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team would be 4-1 right now.
Keep your hand raised if you thought the Mocs would enter the national conversation in the first month of the season for their play.
Now put your hands down. Because you know you’re lying.
Saturday’s loss at East Tennessee State University only proved the Mocs aren’t going undefeated this year. They started the game flat – possibly rattled by a sellout William B. Greene Stadium crowd – and fell behind 17-0. Those warts they had on offense? Those weren’t new. The offensive line has struggled for two weeks, failing to give Tyrell Price and Alex Trotter the types of holes necessary to really put fear in defenses.
The downfield passing game the team had relied on? Just a step off, in part due to the relentless ETSU pressure throughout the game. Yet some of that was it not being UTC’s night, evidenced by the Southern Conference’s leading receiver, Bryce Nunnelly, dropping a pass downfield or, on another attempted connection between him and quarterback Nick Tiano, ETSU defensive back Tyree Robinson covering what seemed to be 30 yards to swat the ball away.
If Nunnelly catches that, it’s a score.
But those warts were there. You knew that, but you also knew that first month was exciting. You loved the way winning tasted, and you didn’t care about what was being poured down your lungs. You just wanted to digest more of it – or in this case, let it cloud your thinking.
When the schedule came out, you likely believed the team would beat up on Tennessee Tech, split on the road with The Citadel and UT-Martin, likely drop a game against preseason favorite Samford and beat ETSU.
I know because that was the scenario I envisioned.
But I get it. You were excited after the Mocs beat up on the still-winless Golden Eagles. You celebrated when they went on the road and beat the Bulldogs in dramatic overtime fashion, and you pumped your fist when they exorcised demons in holding off the Skyhawks.
But if you watched those games, you knew. You also knew this was the second year of a rebuild. A look at the roster and primary players shows the starting quarterback, starting running back and leading receiver are all underclassmen. Every offensive lineman with the exception of one is an underclassman, with the current group only working together for five games. While the defense will suffer some losses this offseason, those spots will be replaced either by players in the program or in recruiting, setting up for what could be a really good 2019 season.
But as for this season’s team, they now have a loss. And they’re not happy about it because, despite everything happening, it feels as though if the offense gets the ball back with five minutes to go and not 1:27, there’s a chance they steal a win Saturday – or at least get a field goal to send the game into overtime. And if they’d stolen a win against the Bucs, some problem areas may not have been properly addressed, because it’s a lot easier for coaches to get a message across to players after a loss in a game they could have won, as opposed to after a win in a game they should have lost.
So enjoy the next six games. Hope for more via a potential playoff appearance, and remain in the moment.
Because you know it’s just the next step in the process.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3.