Mocs fall to Tennessee Tech for second straight season

Rusty Wright wanted a possession. With his team trailing 7-6 at halftime and his offense unable to move the football, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s eighth-year head coach called for an onside kick to open the third quarter Saturday night at Finley Stadium.

The kick went 4 yards.

Tennessee Tech took over at the UTC 39, and one snap later, Kristian Ozane intercepted Jax Leatherwood at the 28. The UTC defense had covered for a mistake in another phase of the game for the Mocs, which was the pattern all night — and never once mattered.

UTC held the Golden Eagles to 237 yards, forced the visitors into six three-and-out possessions, and still lost 24-9, never reaching the end zone against Tennessee Tech, who are ranked 13th nationally by Football Championship Subdivision coaches and 12th in the Stats Perform Top 25.

UTC vs. Tennessee Tech football on Sept. 5, 2026

The Golden Eagles improved to 2-0 and won their second straight meeting in a series UTC leads 30-12 overall, with Tennessee Tech’s 45-17 victory a year ago coming in Cookeville.

The Mocs, who fell to 1-1, will visit Eastern Kentucky next Saturday, then be back at home on Sept. 19 to open Southern Conference play against Wofford.

“That’s why I called for the onside kick coming out of the half, trying to steal the possession and try to get something going, and we don’t kick it well enough,” Wright said. “They’re giving it to us and we can’t take it. … It’s embarrassing. That was embarrassing, honestly, because schematically they’re wrong and we couldn’t take advantage of it.”

The defense gave him almost everything else.

“It was fine. I mean, it was fine,” Wright said. “We put them in some bad spots all night … (holding an opponent to) 237 yards, you’ve got to win a college football game. You’ve got to figure out a way to win a college football game.”

Mocs kicker Jude Kelley made all three of his field-goal attempts, from 22, 33 and 39 yards, which made UTC 3-for-3 in the red zone — but not with the desired outcome of such trips. The Mocs finished with 227 total yards, 190 of them on the ground, in front of an announced crowd of 6,869 on a 92-degree evening.

UTC did not have a single passing first down. Quarterback Battle Alberson 6-of-16 passing for 37 yards with two interceptions and was sacked three times for 19 yards, and the Mocs did not produce a pass play of 15 yards or longer.

The Mocs remain limited at receiver, with Taylor Crumedy, Jaden George and Josh Williams still out with injuries. Will Jackson-Linkhart, an NCAA Division II transfer who could be used at tight end or receiver, is still awaiting word on a recent eligibility hearing that comes after he spent the offseason practicing with the Mocs.

(READ MORE: UTC’s receiver shortage opens door for Erik Bussmann)

Both of Alberson’s interceptions handed Tennessee Tech the ball inside the UTC 45, and both became touchdowns. The Golden Eagles scored 14 points off turnovers. UTC scored none.

“When we call a pass play, we have to go execute it,” Wright said. “We can’t always take a sack. Sometimes we have to throw the ball away. Sometimes he can’t sit there and think he’s going to run every time.”

Tennessee Tech followed the failed onside kick with a 13-play, 48-yard drive that ended in Carter Brown’s 50-yard field goal, then scored on a 16-yard pass from Leatherwood to Maury Sullivan with 1:01 left in the third quarter for a 17-6 lead. Leatherwood finished 19-of-32 passing for 161 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.

The Golden Eagles converted seven of 16 third downs and held the ball for 35:35 of game clock to UTC’s 24:25, while the Mocs went 3-for-13 and were flagged six times for 56 yards.

The good news for UTC arrived in the backfield. Journey Wyche, available after missing the opener, carried 12 times for 113 yards, including a 43-yard run that set up Kelley’s 39-yarder and cut the deficit to 17-9 with 8:32 remaining.

Kevin Lalin added 64 yards on 13 carries. UTC averaged 5.4 yards per rush and had seven runs of 10 yards or more.

Tennessee Tech answered with a 10-play, 75-yard drive capped by Leatherwood’s 11-yard touchdown pass to Gabe Nunez with 2:44 to play.

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Ozane led UTC with eight tackles and the interception. Keyshawn Jackson added seven stops, and linebacker Zion Rutledge had five tackles and the Mocs’ only sack.

“The defense, we definitely caught our stride tonight,” Rutledge said. “Offensively, we saw some things open up and we saw some opportunities. We let some opportunities go offensively and defensively.”

Davon Kiser gave UTC field position when he could, returning four kickoffs for 105 yards with a long of 49.

Wright, asked what the offense can become beyond getting bodies back, offered no shortcut.

“We’ve got to keep finding them. We’ve got to just keep trying to find them,” he said. “Nobody’s going to magically show up and it get better.”

Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com.