UTC head football coach Russ Huesman works on the sidelines during the Mocs’ home football game against the Wofford Terriers at Finely Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2016, in Chattanooga, Tenn.HUNTSVILLE, Texas – New year, same challenge.
For the third consecutive season, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team’s path through the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision playoffs will go through a team that is ranked first in the country.
In 2014 the Mocs, who were seeded eighth that season, traveled to face New Hampshire and lost 35-31. Last season it was regional rival Jacksonville State, where the Mocs forced overtime before falling 41-35.
Their hope is that the third time is the charm today when they face Sam Houston State at 3 p.m. EST at Bowers Stadium.
“I hadn’t even thought of that,” UTC coach Russ Huesman said Friday afternoon after the team’s walk-through. “They’re all good right now. If you don’t come to play, don’t hang on to the football, you’re going to get beat in these playoffs. We understand they’re all good; you just play them how they show up.”
Due to the Mocs losing three of their last five regular-season games, the road in front of them is no surprise. Yet the hope around the program is that the team that takes the field today is more similar to the one that started 6-0 than the one that limped through a four-game stretch with two losses and a pair of lackluster wins over inferior competition.
“This gives us a challenge,” said linebacker Nakevion Leslie, one of the leaders of the defense that must try to slow the Bearkats’ high-powered offense. “This gives us a good challenge on a big stage to show what we can do.”
The Alabama game helped in the righting of the ship, and the Mocs looked sharp in defeating Weber State 45-14 last week to advance to face the Bearkats, who despite being ranked first in the country for most of the season were seeded fifth due to a subpar nonconference schedule and playing in the Southland Conference, which was strong at the top with them and Central Arkansas but fell off in quality competition after that.
“They’re probably not too happy about that,” offensive lineman Corey Levin said of the Bearkats’ seed. “It’s a game. We can only control what we can, so we’re going to come in with a focus, a lot of effort and see what happens.”
Another challenge could be the weather. There is a 100 percent chance of rain this afternoon in Huntsville, so the game could come down to whoever can maintain the football rather than who can move it.
Huesman’s message to the team was to be ready for anything.
“No matter what the conditions are – rain, wind, sun – it doesn’t make any difference,” he said. “We’ve got to focus. It could wake up raining. You never know what the conditions are like. We have to be prepared for anything. I know our guys will.”
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.