UTC players, and coach Russ Huesman, center, with son Levi Huesman, sing the alma mater after defeating Indiana State Saturday at Finley Stadium.The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga defense kept Indiana State quarterback Mike Perish on the sideline much longer than he wanted to be there.
The Mocs (10-3) limited the Sycamores to a total of 178 yards and foiled their plans on nine of 10 third-down attempts. UTC had possession of the ball for 42 minutes, 57 seconds.
“We weren’t able to get them off the field,” ISU coach Mike Sanford said. “It didn’t seem like we got the ball very much, and we didn’t sustain drives or convert third downs.”
The Sycamores (8-6) accumulated 75 yards on one play in the first quarter and 62 yards in the final two minutes.
“We missed on five or six plays that could have been touchdowns or deep plays,” ISU quarterback Mike Perish said. “We got behind the chains a little bit, we didn’t do very well on third down, and that makes it hard to keep drives alive.”
Ribeiro has tough day
UTC kicker Henrique Ribeiro left nine points on the field instead of the Mocs’ side of the scoreboard.
“He’s been money all year,” UTC coach Russ Huesman said. “He’ll come back and kick well next week.”
Ribeiro, who prepped at Baylor, had two 3-point kicks blocked and missed a short one after having made 15 of his first 17 field-goal attempts this season.
He could have put UTC ahead 17-7 in the second quarter, but the middle of ISU’s line swatted it down. He could have put UTC ahead 24-7 at halftime, but his 21-yard attempt missed to the right.
The Mocs were leading 28-14 in the third quarter when Robert Tonyan tipped another attempt and forced it to fall short of the crossbar.
“The field-goal deal we have to fix,” Huesman said. “I think he kicked the ball too low today. The last one, he started too fast and couldn’t swing through it.”
Fortunate bounce
The Mocs destroyed LeMonte Booker when he returned a kickoff to the 36-yard line. Zack Rayl earned credit for forcing a fumble. The ball took a most awkward bounce — straight down the field — where linebacker Jordan Wallace picked it up and rumbled for a 64-yard touchdown that cut a three-touchdown UTC lead to 28-14.
“That’s how you cover a kickoff right there,” Huesman said. “It was a mass of humanity. That’s about as freakish a play as I’ve ever seen. We drilled him.
“I’ll probably never see that again in my life.”
Glanville attends game
It was hard to miss former NFL coach Jerry Glanville on the Finley Stadium sideline before the game. Dressed in his trademark black trench coat, black cowboy hat and sunglasses, Glanville was at the game in support of Indiana State defensive coordinator Brian Cabral, whom Glanville coached for two years when he was the defensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons.
Cabral was a fourth-round draft pick who played linebacker for the Falcons, and Glanville said he promised he would come support his former player in the playoffs and also complimented Chattanooga.
“I love to go watch my guys,” Glanville said. “I have a lot of great relationships from my days as a coach, and I love to go see some of those guys doing well.”
Glanville said he’s impressed with several aspects of UTC football.
“UTC has a lot of great-looking athletes, and from what I’ve seen of their defense, I like those guys,” he said. “Coach Huesman is doing such a nice job that he’s going to get offers from bigger schools, so maybe if there’s an opening they’ll let me come back to coach here. I love Chattanooga, man.”
Replay an addition
It took a second to remember, but there’s a replay booth in use for the FCS playoffs — unlike the regular season in the Southern Conference.
The booth overturned two calls that initially went against UTC and upheld another when Jacob Huesman was stuffed on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line.
Facing third-and-18 in the second quarter, Huesman launched a sideline pass to Alphonso Stewart. Officials ruled him out of bounds. Replays showed he caught the ball with one foot in the field of play.
In the third quarter, officials ruled that C.J. Board landed out of bounds on a catch when indeed he made the grab for a 17-yard gain. UTC went ahead 28-14 just four plays later.
Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6484. Follow him at twitter.com/UchiyamaCTFP.