Asked Tuesday about the No. 3 national ranking in the FCS coaches’ poll that he and his teammates just earned for the second time in less than 48 weeks, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga senior running back Derrick Craine delivered the kind of answer any coach might hope to hear.
Especially since the Mocs lost the week after reaching No. 3 for the first time in school history last November.
“It’s cool to say we’re No. 3,” Craine said, “but this is just the first step. We have to win our conference championship again. Then we want to do well in the playoffs. We have ‘national championship’ written on our goal board.”
The first game after that ranking this time around comes Saturday at 2 p.m. inside Finley Stadium, UTC facing Samford in the Mocs’ first home Southern Conference game.
In what might be the most entertaining and fascinating game of the entire SoCon schedule, the Mocs will pit their FCS-best scoring defense (4.7 ppg allowed) against the Bulldogs’ FCS-best scoring offense (56 ppg).
Yet if UTC coach Russ Huesman is excited to pit his defensive expertise against Samford offensive guru Chris Hatcher, he’s keeping that enthusiasm well-hidden at the moment.
“I think it’s pretty cool,” Huesman said as he initially echoed Craine’s sentiments. “But to be honest with you, I’d rather be facing the 105th-ranked offense than the No. 1 offense.”
It is a daunting task. For UTC. For every defensive-minded coach in college football these days, regardless of classification.
UTC football coach Russ Huesman, center, says his fourth-ranked Mocs will “get tested against Furman.”After decades of claiming “defense wins championships,” Alabama knocked off Clemson 45-40 in last year’s FBS title game.The top-ranked Tide won a similar game at Ole Miss on Saturday, triumphing 48-43.
“It is a scramble to get ready for them,” Huesman said of the Bulldogs. “You can’t have your defense (starters) out there for 100 plays, and that’s what they want to do. If we can’t rush the passer, it will be a long, long day.”
That passer is Devlin Hodges, who’s already chunked it 84 times in just two games, completing 62 of those for eight touchdowns and just one interception. His passing efficiency to date is an otherworldly 162.36.
All that said, UTC senior linebacker Nakevion Leslie said, “It’s more fun to play a passing team.”
His reasoning is somewhat weighted in the belief that the Mocs’ starting front four on defense – Vantrell McMillan, Taylor Reynolds, Justin King and Keionta Davis – might be the best in all of the FCS.
“I think up front defensively is where we have been really good,” Huesman said. “I think we are better up front than we initially thought. We’re rushing the passer well, and that’s how we’re built.”
Yet how the Mocs are built on offense this season – throwing more than running, few lengthy drives because of quick scores – could pose a problem against Samford. For while UTC has scored just one more touchdown through the air than on the ground, 15 of its 17 TDs have come on drives that last 3.5 minutes or less, with six of those scores coming on drives of under 90 seconds.
“We were built so different last year than we are right now,” Huesman said of a UTC offense that’s already produced six touchdown plays of 30 yards or longer after being a ball-control offense for years.
“The offense helped (the defense) last year because we ran the ball so well. But the big key for us in this game and every game is that we’re able to run the ball when we have to run the football. Whether we throw it 50 times or 10 times, there are always times when you have to run the ball to win.”
The overall stats show a Mocs bunch that’s averaging an impressive 4.7 yards a carry and 204 yards a game on the ground. But those weren’t the averages posted at Furman last week in UTC’s first conference game. UTC rushed 39 times for 142 net yards in that one – an average of 3.64 yards a carry.
And while any math major might rightly say 3.64 yards a carry for three straight carries will always get you slightly more than the 10 yards you need for a first down, it should also be noted that Samford is allowing its opponents to rush for 2.6 yards a carry.
All of which brings us back to Craine, who averaged 5.4 yards a carry and 96.2 rushing yards a game last year and is leading the SoCon in yards per carry this year at 6.5, though his rushing yardage per game is down almost 18 a night from a year ago.
“I’m really not worried about that,” said Craine, who was a preseason All-American in several outlets. “We’re winning. That’s the number-one thing I think about. I just want to get a win.”
Against an offense such as Samford’s, this might be the week that Craine needs to run it more than ever to win, the odd notion that the best defense is a good ball-control offense perhaps never more true.
Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com.