Yards haven’t been hard to accumulate against the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s defense this season.
Coaches put some of the blame on execution of a complicated system. Players point to a lack of focus – not just from game to game, but from play to play.
Either way, both coaches and players know they have to fix the situation. Quickly.
The Mocs (1-1), ranked 10th in the FCS STATS poll and 12th in the coaches poll, will open their Southern Conference schedule against the high-octane offense of Samford (2-0) at 3:30 Saturday afternoon in Birmingham, Ala. The Bulldogs lead the conference and are second in the nation in total offense, averaging 644 yards per game; they’re coming off a 752-yard performance against Florida A&M last week.
UTC’s defense – traditionally a strong point – has allowed more than 400 yards per game in 2015. Jacksonville State, currently ranked No. 1 in one FCS poll, followed up its 411-yard offensive effort in a season-opening win against the Mocs with 438 yards against then-No. 6 FBS foe Auburn this past Saturday, taking the Tigers to overtime before losing.
The same day, NCAA Division II member Mars Hill had 428 yards and 34 points against the Mocs, who have allowed a number of big plays that have led to scores, making for a rough couple of weeks.
Moments after Saturday’s win, Mocs head coach Russ Huesman put every defensive job up for grabs, and watching game footage the past couple of weeks has been difficult due to the number of mistakes players are seeing. Practices this week have been focused on having a positive attitude while maintaining intensity from play to play.
Defensive coordinator Adam Braithwaite said that while the defensive results have been frustrating, there’s no need for “panic mode.”
“It’s a game, and as complicated as we try to make it, there’s some simple things that go into winning a football game, and the bottom line is how hard you play and how well you execute,” he said. “It sounds cliché, but you get opportunities to make a play, you make a play. You get an opportunity to execute the call, you execute it – and you’ve got to do those things as hard as you can do.
“We can’t take anything for granted. It doesn’t matter who you play. Everybody you play gives scholarships, and they can make you pay for mistakes.”
The Mocs have allowed seven plays of 30 or more yards. Samford’s offense has nine such plays, including seven in its season-opening win over Central Arkansas.
UTC coaches believe they have playmakers in all three defensive groups. They’re trying to determine quickly who the best ones are.
“We’re all not happy with what we’re doing so far. We know we need to step it up,” senior linebacker A.J. Hampton said. “We all feel confident still. It’s just little slip-ups here and there we have to account for. We’re trying to work hard to make sure that doesn’t happen anymore. We have to play with more intensity.”
Defensive tackle Josh Freeman mentioned the problem could be focus. “Doing your job” is always a statement the coaches have stressed, and at times, that might not have been the case, he said.
“That’s been the biggest issue, but it’s an issue we have to fix,” Freeman said. “We have to prepare to execute, prepare to play hard, and take the same focus into every game. I don’t think we’ve come out in either of the first two games with the focus I know we can play with, but we’ve been working on that this week.
“We just have to come out and work every day. We have to do what we do best, and that’s work. The only way to fix mistakes is to come out, have a positive attitude and focus and get to work every day.”
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at Twitter.com/genehenleytfp.