The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga hasn’t locked up anything yet, but with each win the Mocs are creeping closer to earning a spot in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.
Heading into Saturday’s game against Elon, the Mocs are 5-2 overall and 4-1 in the Southern Conference. They’ve won five straight games and are ranked No. 20 in this week’s Sports Network media poll and No. 23 in the FCS coaches’ poll.
Last week’s Gridiron Power Index, which combines human and computer polls, listed UTC at No. 18. The Mocs should be even higher in the new GPI, which comes out today, following last week’s 36-28 win at then-No. 25 Furman.
Mocs coach Russ Huesman said he’s not ignoring the fact that UTC has put itself in a position to reach the playoffs, but with four tough games remaining he’s not thinking beyond the Phoenix (2-5, 1-3), who are much better than their record would indicate.
“We’ve got Elon. That’s what we’ve got right now,” he said. “If we don’t take care of business …”