The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team lost 63-17 to Southern Conference champion Mercer on Saturday at Five Star Stadium in Macon, Georgia, with UTC dropping to 5-6 overall this season and 4-3 in conference play.
Mercer, ranked eighth in the Football Championship Subdivision polls from both media and coaches, finished 8-0 against conference competition and has won nine straight games since opening with a loss to Pioneer Football League member Presbyterian. The Bears won the SoCon title outright for the second year in a row and had already locked up the league’s automatic bid for the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs last weekend.
They will finish their regular season with a road game against a Football Bowl Subdivision opponent, visiting Southeastern Conference member Auburn (4-6) next Saturday, a day before the full bracket for the 24-team field in the FCS playoffs is revealed with seeds and pairings.
The Mocs, who had retained some slim hope of an at-large berth heading into the Mercer matchup, will close their 2025 schedule by taking on Wofford (5-6, 4-3) at 1:30 p.m. next Saturday in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
UTC beat writer Gene Henley breaks down the Mocs’ loss.