BOONE, N.C. – Ryan Consiglio and Wes Dothard had blank looks on their faces as they talked about the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s 14-12 loss at Appalachian State on Saturday.
Their expressions were the result of such a disappointing defeat – “I can’t remember a time I felt worse,” Consiglio said – and, no doubt, fatigue after the two linebackers chased Mountaineers all over the field all game long.
Consiglio finished with a game-high 13 tackles and Dothard added 11. The duo, who were sometimes the only linebackers on the field as the Mocs used five defensive backs often, led a defense that didn’t allow a point against a very potent offense that was averaging 26 per game.
“We knew coming into this game that App’s got a pretty prolific offense – they’re known for it – and we did our best this week to prepare for it,” Consiglio said. “The coaches had us in a pretty good position to make plays, and defensively I think we did that.”
The Mountaineers finished with 284 yards of offense, converted only 5 of 14 third-down tries and committed three turnovers. Defensive backs Kadeem Wise and Chris Lewis-Harris had interceptions and defensive tackle Toyvian Brand recovered a fumble that Consiglio forced.