If they’ve heard any negativity and frustration over this 1-4 start to their football season, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Mocs – all the Mocs, coaches on down – aren’t letting on.
“I don’t get on social media,” first-year head coach Tom Arth said Tuesday, four days before Saturday’s visit from Furman and three days after a 45-7 home loss to Western Carolina.
Added senior wideout Alphonso Stewart: “I post (on Twitter), then get off. If (other responses) aren’t positive, I don’t see it. And I’m not on campus as much this season. We’re just focused on the next game. I’m only worried about the vibe from my team, and it’s good.”
The best news is that, for at least one more week, the Mocs probably still control their own destiny. Let them win out against a remaining Southern Conference schedule that includes home games against Furman, The Citadel (Oct. 21) and East Tennessee State (Nov. 18), as well as rigorous road tests at Mercer (Oct. 14), Samford (Oct. 28) and Wofford (Nov. 4) and it would be difficult to see UTC left out of the NCAA’s FCS playoffs.
UTC head coach Tom Arth adjusts his headset during the Mocs game against Western Carolina at Finley Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 30, in Chattanooga.
Not that they’re looking ahead to any of those games, including Saturday’s homecoming against the dangerous Paladins.