After a slow start, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team struck quickly.
And often.
The sixth-ranked Mocs scored five touchdowns in a 29-minute span Saturday, each covering more than 60 yards and each drive lasting less than two minutes. They would finish with 496 yards of total offense in defeating Presbyterian 34-0 in front of 8,370 at Finley Stadium.
It marked the first time since 1964 that the Mocs posted back-to-back shutout victories. The wins that year were over Tennessee Tech and East Tennessee State, and that team posted four shutouts on its way to a 7-3 record.
The Mocs, 2-0 for the first time since 2005, will travel to Furman for their Southern Conference opener this coming Saturday.
“Excellent win today,” UTC coach Russ Huesman said. “We’ll find out how good a win this was as Presbyterian goes on. I thought we had a really good defensive effort, and for us to go out there and put up almost 500 yards of total offense, 34 points, I’m proud of the offense.
“Any time you shut people out, it doesn’t make any difference. It was a great day, but it’s going to get harder and harder every day, every week, so we’ve got to be ready to go this week.”
The offense finished with 496 yards on 52 plays, with all but 17 of those yards coming in the first three quarters. Alejandro Bennifield threw for 279 yards and four touchdowns, completing 11 of his 15 passes. He also ran for a score to lead.
The average time of possession on UTC’s five touchdowns was 60.6 seconds, or just over a minute. The average length of the scoring drive was 76.8 yards.
“(It’s our) execution,” Bennifield said. “We can score from any angle, any way, it doesn’t matter. Through the air, on the ground, me running, (Derrick) Craine, Richardre (Bagley), to any receiver.
“Our offense is just explosive, and it’s clicking right now.”
Bennifield had touchdown passes of 65, 35 and 68 yards to Xavier Borishade – the latter’s only three catches of the day – along with a 46-yarder to James Stovall. Craine added 118 yards on only nine carries.
Stovall caught a pass for the 14th straight game, and a touchdown for the fourth consecutive.
UTC held Presbyterian (0-2) to 196 yards of total offense, with 87 of those coming in the final quarter against the Mocs’ backups. The Mocs had four sacks – two by Vantrel McMillan – and nine tackles for loss, led by McMillan’s four. Taylor Reynolds had seven tackles and 1.5 for loss, and Khayyan Edwards recovered a fumble inside the UTC 5-yard line late in the game.
Reynolds’ tackles total was a career high for the junior defensive tackle.
“Just seeing their formation,” he explained. “I had a good week of practice and preparation, so I knew what they were going to come out and do, so as far as being in the backfield, we just played hard, got off and did what the coaches told us to do.”
Former Ridgeland standout Darrell Bridges had 89 yards rushing for the Blue Hose.
Mocs notes
UTC kicker Henrique Ribeiro’s streak of 101 consecutive extra points ended Saturday after the Mocs’ third score. He also had a field goal blocked. Borishade’s three touchdowns were a first for the Mocs since Nov. 13, 2010, when Brian Sutherland had three against Samford. Right tackle Hunter Townson and defensive back Tavon Lawson suffered injuries during Saturday’s game. Bennifield has eight touchdown passes this season, the most by a Moc in consecutive games since Cedric Stevens had five against Appalachian State and three against The Citadel.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.