GREENVILLE, S.C. — So many things had gone against the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga throughout the course of Saturday’s Southern Conference football game, yet with 3:13 remaining, the eighth-ranked Mocs had just forced a stop defensively, and 24th-ranked Furman had shanked a punt with UTC taking over at the Paladins’ 40-yard line and trailing 24-20.
The game was right there for the taking.
Yet, four plays later, the Mocs had turned the ball over. Still, there was 2:26 to play and the Mocs had three timeouts and its top-rated defense on the field. They could get the ball back, right?
Wrong.
As it had done all game long, the Paladins were able to make the plays that the Mocs could not, and salted the game away with a pair of first downs to claim the four-point win at Paladin Stadium. Furman improved to 7-2 on the year and 5-1 in the Southern Conference, while the Mocs fell to 6-2 and 4-1.