It wasn’t long after Nick Tiano’s final pass hit the Gibbs Stadium turf, sealing the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s 35-34 overtime loss at Wofford last Saturday, that small packs of players started talking outside the visiting locker room.
There were few smiles to be seen on the faces of the Mocs or the families, friends and fans who tried to console them, but this wasn’t the same UTC team that left the field after losses to Tennessee or James Madison. The Mocs believed they should have defeated Wofford, and they weren’t happy about it.
As 13th-ranked Furman visits Finley Stadium on Saturday for a 2 p.m. kickoff to what will essentially serve as an elimination game in the Southern Conference championship hunt, expectations have most definitely changed for head coach Rusty Wright’s team.
The Mocs (4-4, 3-1), though, believe they still have a lot to prove to change everyone else’s expectations, with the game against the Paladins (5-3, 4-1) providing another opportunity to do so.
“It doesn’t tell them much,” responded freshman running back Ailym Ford when asked if the narrow loss to Wofford would send a message to other SoCon teams. “Teams in this conference haven’t had much respect for us, but when we play them they find out we’ll hit them in the mouth. It’s the only way to earn it.”