When he was hired by Russ Huesman in December 2008, Marcus Satterfield took over a University of Tennessee at Chattanooga offense that averaged 12.8 points and 224.9 yards per game that fall.
Out of 118 FCS teams, the Mocs ranked 114th in scoring and 115th in total offense.
Sitting in his office on Sunday following UTC’s 48-14 rout of Samford on Saturday, after less than two years on the job, Satterfield was now the coordinator of the most productive offense in the Southern Conference.
“We don’t even talk about that stuff,” Satterfield said of the season statistics. “I usually don’t even look at it. My wife [Sarah] looks at it all the time and tells me. I don’t look at it; I can’t do that.”
The Mocs (6-4, 5-2 SoCon) had 550 yards of offense Saturday — their fourth game with at least 500 this season — and are now averaging 440.8 per game, the most in the SoCon.
In scoring, UTC’s 33.3 points per game trails only No. 3 Appalachian State, which average 37.0.
“I’ve been really, really pleased with our offense,” Huesman said before categorizing the offense’s play Saturday as “good,” but not great.
A huge part of the turnaround, obviously, has been the play of quarterback B.J. Coleman. In his 21 games with the Mocs since transferring from Tennessee, Coleman has thrown for 5,134 yards (fifth all-time at UTC) and 43 touchdowns.
This season, Coleman has thrown 26 TD passes, one shy of Chris Sanders’ single-season record. Coleman’s total of 43 is six short of Sanders’ career record of 49.
Against the Bulldogs, Coleman threw for 319 yards, on just 12 completions, and UTC rushed for 231. UTC scored touchdowns on pass plays of 45, 20, 53 and 65 yards.
“We were expecting to score a lot of points and have a lot of big plays,” said wideout Joel Bradford, who had the 53-yard score and leads the SoCon with 116.3 receiving yards a game. “We came out here and just took it to them from the first play, and that was our goal.”
The Mocs were 85th in the FCS in total offense last season when they averaged 301.8 yads, which was a vast improvement from the season before. This fall, they’re gaining another 139 yards a game and have jumped all the way up to seventh in the nation.
That improved offensive production, which was on display in full Saturday, has helped UTC score nearly 12 more points a game more than last season.
Satterfield said the Mocs’ ability to run the ball has played a big part in the improvement. UTC managed just 85.0 yards a game on the ground last season and is rushing for 159.0 in 2010.
“If you can run the football and have a play-action pass game, you’re going to have more yards because you’re going to have bigger plays and deeper shots,” Satterfield said.
One stat that Satterfield said he is quite proud of is UTC’s execution rate on third down. The Mocs have converted 50 percent, 73-of-146, of their third-down plays, the most in the league.
The Mocs will need more production this week at No. 4 Wofford. UTC has to beat the Terriers to be considered for an at-large bid into the FCS playoffs. Despite being thumped 43-13 at Appalachian State on Saturday, Wofford leads the SoCon in total defense.
The Terriers are allowing 282.4 yards per game.