McClendon Curtis, Devonnsha Maxwell and other current upperclassmen and leaders for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football program were there to witness the 2021 team’s downfall late in the season.
The circumstances are eerily similar to where the Mocs are now: Coming off a road loss to a ranked opponent, and with The Citadel looming in a game UTC needs to win to keep its hopes alive of making the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs for the first time since 2016.
But this team also feels that’s where the similarities will end.
All along, the 2022 Mocs have seemed different from the 2021 Mocs, although the outside expectations have remained the same. This year’s team was picked to win the Southern Conference; so was last year’s team. This year’s team has been led by a standout defense; so was last year’s team. Running back Ailym Ford was UTC’s best offensive player last season; that hasn’t changed.
When UTC lost 10-6 at Mercer last November in the next-to-last game of the regular season, a number of seniors — suddenly realizing their football mortality — mentally checked out. While it didn’t become obvious until the Mocs lost to The Citadel at Finley Stadium, the players felt it in the week leading up to it.