University of Tennessee at Chattanooga linebacker Ryan Consiglio insists that the No. 23-ranked Mocs aren’t in season-saving mode this week against top-ranked Georgia Southern.
“I don’t want to go as far as that,” said the senior, who leads the Southern Conference with 46 tackles. “We want to win out, and I feel like if we have any legitimate shot down the road in the playoffs and stuff, we’ve got to win out. And that just happens to start with the No. 1 team.”
The Mocs (2-3, 0-2) have lost back-to-back heartbreakers — 14-12 at Appalachian State and 28-27 to The Citadel after taking a 27-0 lead. Wide receiver Joel Bradford said the rough stretch, in which UTC has given up special-teams touchdowns and let third-quarter leads disappear, can’t continue.
“The story’s going to change — the story has to change — for us to have a successful season,” Bradford said.
Before the season started, nothing short of making the playoffs would have been called “successful,” and the Mocs still feel that way. While the SoCon title might now be out of reach, UTC likely would get an at-large bid to the playoffs if it reaches seven wins. That means winning five of its last six games, which include the Eagles (4-0, 3-0) Saturday and No. 4 Wofford in the finale.
The margin for error is almost down to zero.
“There has to be a sense of urgency with the coaching staff, the players,” Mocs coach Russ Huesman said. “Not a sense of panic, but a sense of urgency in everything we do.”
The Mocs led Appalachian State 6-0 in the third quarter when a fluke special-teams play, a ball being snapped off a teammate’s leg, resulted in a 73-yard ASU touchdown. A tipped pass was returned for another Mountaineers score.
Last week, UTC did everything right for about 38 minutes, but then everything went wrong, including a blocked punt that was returned for a touchdown.
“The App State thing was a fluke,” Huesman said. “Getting a punt blocked is hard to handle, but the [deflected] snap, that won’t happen in another 50 years.
“We’ve played one half of [bad] football, as a team, and that was this past week. I think they still have a lot of confidence in their abilities — we’ve just got to play.”
UTC psychology professor and sports psychologist Michael Johnson, who was on the sideline during last week’s meltdown, suggested the same thing when speaking theoretically about handling pressure situations.
“The big advice I usually give there is, in general, just let them play the game,” he said. “What can happen sometimes is you get so worried about losing, and you’re trying to avoid that, your mind gets all wrapped up in that.
“It’s like the yips in golf. If you think about missing, the ball isn’t going to go in the cup.”
Extra Points
Mocs linebacker Wes Dothard was named the SoCon defensive player of the month on Thursday. In September, Dothard was twice named the week’s top defensive player. … UTC will be hosting a watch part for Saturday’s game at Jefferson’s on Georgia Avenue starting at 3 p.m.