University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football coach Russ Huesman knows a good win when he sees it.
And Saturday’s 31-3 victory by his sixth-ranked Mocs over Furman was a good win.
The Mocs had a solid performance in all three phases of the game in improving to 4-1 overall and 2-0 in the Southern Conference. It was their ninth consecutive win in conference play.
Derrick Craine had 138 yards rushing and three touchdowns for his second 100-yard rushing performance of the season, while quarterback Jacob Huesman had 172 yards of total offense and became the third player in SoCon history to top 10,000 yards for his career.
The defense limited Furman (3-3, 1-1) to 235 yards of total offense. The run-oriented Paladins had 35 yards rushing on the game’s first drive, which ended in a John Croft Hollingsworth 25-yard field goal, but totaled only 59 yards on 31 carries for the game.
They had 24 yards on their last 27 carries, which included four sacks by the Mocs. UTC also made two interceptions, including a 35-yard return by Lucas Webb for a touchdown late in the first half.
“We really executed today,” linebacker Nakevion Leslie said. “They’ve had a bunch of success running, so we emphasized attention to detail in practice and made sure we were where we were supposed to be every time.”
The Mocs were fortunate on Furman’s last drive of the first quarter, as a pass by Reese Hannon was dropped by Andy Schumpert on a pump-and-go route down the right sideline.
“Any time you beat a Furman team, you know you’ve prepared well,” Coach Huesman said. “Furman will win a bunch of football games this year. They’re well-coached and did some things early that had us scrambling.
“I’m not sure we can play much better than this. We could watch film and see some area of concern, but other than the double move, we were in good shape. I’m proud of the guys: They keep playing well.”
Offensively, the Mocs weren’t great statistically, but they didn’t have to be. Jacob Huesman completed 9 of 15 passes for 104 yards and rushed for 68, but with a large lead he didn’t have to do much. James Stovall was the team’s leading receiver with 42 yards on three catches.
Craine scored on a trio of 4-yard runs – two in the second quarter and his final with 1:16 to play in the game.
“One thing we worked on this week was our zone running, getting behind the front five,” Craine said. “We really wanted to create seams and get on the edge; the receivers were blocking well and making my job easier.”
It was his first 100-yard performance since facing NCAA Division II member Mars Hill the second game of the season.
“It was a real confidence booster for me,” Craine said. “I was a little banged-up with my knee, but I was finally out of the brace and I was able to run like I can run. The front five was incredible, and things really played out well for me today.”
The Mocs’ 94-yard drive in the fourth quarter is tied for the team’s second-longest in the Russ Huesman era, matching a 13-play, 94-yard drive against Central Michigan in the 2014 season opener. Only a 98-yard drive against Western Carolina in 2012 was longer.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.