CULLOWHEE, N.C. – It was neither easy nor pretty, but the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team got a Southern Conference win Saturday night at Whitmire Stadium.
The Mocs kept from beating themselves enough to hold on for a 27-21 defeat of Western Carolina. UTC made four turnovers, including three deep in Catamounts territory, and committed seven penalties for 59 yards.
“Offensively, we gave that away,” coach Russ Huesman said. “We tried so hard to hand-deliver that thing to them it’s ridiculous. That’s a bad, bad performance offensively. … I told our guys we can’t play like that or we won’t win another football game.”
The Mocs (2-2, 1-1) forced four turnovers and held Western Carolina (1-3, 0-1) to 249 yards of offense – 80 coming on the Catamounts’ final drive.
Quarterback B.J. Coleman finished 21-for-35 for 259 passing yards with two touchdowns to tight end Garrett Hughes. Coleman had six passes dropped and threw an interception at the goal line.
Running back Erroll Wynn rushed for 80 yards on 16 carries, and backup Keon Williams had 41 yards on 13 attempts, but Williams fumbled twice and Wynn once.
“I told the guys, it’s unacceptable offensively,” Coleman said of the turnovers. “It starts at the top – it starts with me – and we’ve got to take care of the football.”
In the locker room afterward, Huesman expressed his displeasure with what was UTC’s worst overall performance of the season, but then reminded the guys that they won.
“It was a pretty nutty game, but at the very end of [my postgame talk] I said, ‘Guys, smile, laugh, get on the bus, enjoy it – they’re hard to come by.”
Coleman’s 23-yard touchdown pass to Hughes tied the game at 7 in the first quarter, and Coleman’s 1-yard sneak in the second put UTC up 14-7.
The Catamounts got the ball first to start the second half, and noticeably absent from the huddle was starting quarterback Zac Brindise. Out with a nagging foot injury, he was replaced by true freshman Brandon Pechloff.
Mocs cornerback Kadeem Wise picked off Pechloff’s second attempt in his first collegiate appearance, but UTC gave the ball back soon after.
On the second play of the ensuing drive, Wynn fumbled Coleman’s pitch and defensive end C.J. Johnson returned the loose ball 12 yards for a tying score.
“We’ve done it 1,000 times; we’ve done it since Day 1,” Coleman said of practicing the pitch.
UTC drove 83 yards in 11 plays to regain the lead, 21-14, on Coleman’s 3-yard throw to Hughes.
The Mocs were in position to score on their next two drives, both of which ended in turnovers. Wise got UTC the ball back deep in WCU territory early in the fourth quarter with another interception and Wynn scored on a 23-yard run. Jeff Veres’ extra point was not good, so the lead was 27-14 with 13:54 remaining.
Safety Chris Lewis Harris picked off Pechloff on the ensuing drive, but Williams fumbled inside the 5.
WCU scored with 1:24 remaining in the game to make it 27-21, but the Catamounts had an illegal formation on their onside kick, which gave UTC the ball and sealed the win.
“It’s bittersweet because we know we can play a lot better than what we did,” Hughes said. “The main thing is, we persevered and we found a way to win.”
The Mocs are off this week and will resume SoCon play at The Citadel on Oct. 9.
Contact John Frierson at jfrierson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6268. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/mocsbeat.
Online: Video of UTC coach Russ Huesman