GREENVILLE, S.C. – The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga offensive line had to go through a makeover Saturday night.
With an ankle injury sidelining normal starting right tackle Hunter Townson, the fourth-ranked Mocs had to do some reshuffling against Furman. Left guard and two-time Southern Conference Jacobs Blocking Award winner Corey Levin moved to the right tackle position, while true freshman Brian Marshall was inserted at left guard.
“I saw (Marshall) in the locker room after the game, and he said, ‘I think I screwed up a few things, but overall I think I did OK,'” offensive coordinator Jeff Durden said. “I want him to feel good about helping us win a football game.”
It took a while, but the Mocs eventually were able to figure some things out. That included inserting tight end Malcolm Colvin – more of a blocker – into the lineup for additional time as UTC tried to jump-start what had been a stagnant offense early on. Tight end Bailey Lenoir was also used more in blocking situations against a tough Furman defense.
“I may have limited what we did in that situation, and that may have hurt us,” Durden said. “I got way too conservative at the end.”
Two streaks over
The Mocs’ streak of defensive quarters without a score was halted at 11 in the final period of play Saturday on Thomas Gordon’s 10-yard run with 8:09 to play. UTC was shooting for its third consecutive shutout, which would have been a first for the program since 1937, when the Mocs under the leadership of A.C. “Scrappy” Moore posted four consecutive to start the season. In the last two games of that streak, the Mocs’ offensive attack didn’t score, either, leading to a 4-3-2 record.
Defensive end Keionta Davis said he and his fellow defenders were disappointed they weren’t able to continue the streaks.
“We wanted it bad,” said Davis, who got his second sack of the season. “That’s all we talked about at halftime, and we had the opportunity but didn’t. We still came out here, finished the game, got a win. Maybe not the way we wanted it, but a win is a win, especially in a conference game.”
Third-down woes
For the second straight game, the Mocs were inept on third down offensively. They converted only two of nine thirds into firsts, including failing to convert on any of the fourth-quarter attempts as they were trying to burn some clock and put the game away. That allowed the Paladins to hold the ball for nearly eight minutes in the final period and score two touchdowns to draw near.
“If we can get some first downs at the end of the game, we can put the game away,” UTC coach Russ Huesman said.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.