The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga will be the answer to a college football trivia question one day: Who was Nebraska’s first opponent as member of the Big Ten?
The Mocs will open their 2011 season on Sept. 3 at Nebraska’s 81,067-seat Memorial Stadium against the Cornhuskers, who moved from the Big 12 to the Big Ten this summer.
“To have the opportunity to play Nebraska is pretty good,” Mocs coach Russ Huesman said. “I think the environment, it’s Nebraska, the name, I think it’s pretty neat.”
The Mocs will receive $475,000 for the game, just as they did when they faced Oklahoma in the 2008 opener. UTC received $425,000 for this season’s guarantee game at Auburn.
Huesman said soon after he was hired in December 2008 that he would prefer for his guarantee games to be against teams in UTC’s recruiting area, such as Alabama last season and Auburn this fall.
UTC had conversations this spring with several schools in the Southeast, Florida State and Mississippi State among them, but ultimately, athletic director Rick Hart said, playing the Cornhuskers was the best scenario for the Mocs.
UTC 2011 scheduleSept. 3 at NebraskaSept. 10 Jacksonville StateSept. 17 at Eastern KentuckySept. 24 at Appalachian StateOct. 1 The CitadelOct. 8 at Georgia SouthernOct. 15 Western CarolinaOct. 22 at ElonOct. 29 FurmanNov. 5 WoffordNov. 19 at Samford(Dates subject to change)
“If we had our choice we would stay closer to home, but at the same time [Nebraska] fits the model that we’ve pursued from a scheduling perspective,” said Hart, who knows Nebraska well from his years working at Oklahoma. “We’ll play one of the top-tier programs in the country, with great tradition. It will be a great experience for our players and any fans that make the trip.”
This will be the first meeting between UTC and the Cornhuskers, who are 10-3 this season and ranked No. 17 in the AP poll. Nebraska will face Washington in the Holiday Bowl on Dec. 30.
The Mocs’ last three “money” game opponents have featured that season’s eventual Heisman Trophy winner: Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford, Alabama’s Mark Ingram and Auburn’s Cam Newton. Could Nebraska quarterback Taylor Martinez be next?
The Nebraska game starts a very challenging opening four games for the Mocs, who went 6-5 this season and finished tied for third in the Southern Conference.
After playing the Huskers, UTC hosts Jacksonville State, followed by road trips to Eastern Kentucky and Appalachian State.
Bradford named All-America
Mocs junior wideout Joel Bradford was named third-team All-America on Wednesday by the Associated Press. Bradford led the SoCon and was second in the FCS with 1,284 regular-season receiving yards. His 81 receptions and eight receiving touchdowns were second in the league.
Bradford was the only UTC player recognized. Among the Georgia Southern players named was kicker Adrian Mora of Dalton, Ga.
Contact John Frierson at jfrierson@timesfreepress.com or (423) 757-6268. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/mocsbeat.