BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – After the most significant victory of his first season as the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s football coach – as well as the best road win the program has had in 34 seasons – Tom Arth took a small amount of credit for the play of his defense against Samford.
While playing the role of Samford quarterback Devlin Hodges for the scout team in practice this past week, Arth admitted he threw “about 30 picks” to UTC defensive backs.
“My arm is killing me,” said the 36-year-old former NFL quarterback, who added that he watched video of those interceptions. “They destroyed me, they hurt my confidence. Then they went out there and played a great game.”
In the end, it all seemed worth it as the defense forced seven turnovers – which doubled Samford’s season output – and gave UTC’s offense all the chances it would need to finally pull out a 23-21 upset win over the eighth-ranked Bulldogs at Seibert Stadium. It was the Mocs’ first win over a top-10 team on the road since Oct. 8, 1983, when they defeated 10th-ranked Appalachian State 30-9 in Boone, N.C.
Samford threw 55 times, netting only 367 yards, and quarterback Devlin Hodges, who is on the watch list for the Walter Payton Award – the Football Championship Subdivision’s equivalent of the Heisman Trophy – threw three interceptions. The Bulldogs rushed for only 34 yards on 27 carries and had three offensive fumbles.
Over the past two weeks, UTC’s defense has employed a “bend-don’t-break” mentality.
Saturday’s game was more akin to “bend, don’t break and take” game for the Mocs. The Bulldogs entered the game with five fumbles this season, two of them lost. They had seven and four in those categories Saturday, leading to 17 UTC points.
The turnovers were a good news, bad news situation for UTC defensive coordinator Tom Kaufman, who promised his players early in the season that they could do “whatever they want” with his hair if they forced five turnovers in a game. They came close with four takeaways in their 63-7 win over Virginia Military Institute but accomplished the feat against Samford.
“Stay tuned,” said linebacker Tae Davis, who appeared to have forgotten about the promise. “He’s getting his custom haircut.”
Taylor Reynolds, Lucas Webb and Trevor Wright had interceptions Saturday, with Webb returning his 20 yards for a score. The touchdown was the 6-foot-1, 205-pound senior’s fourth career interception return for a score and 13th career pick, with the former setting a Southern Conference record and the latter tying a school record.
Kareem Orr had a pair of fumble recoveries, with Reynolds and Dale Warren getting the others.
Trotter steps up
With Darrell Bridges slightly banged up, the Mocs turned to junior Alex Trotter, who entered the game with 33 rushing yards this season.
He had 58 against the Bulldogs, including 35 on the game’s final drive. The 5-foot-9, 180-pound former McCallie standout had a 17-yard run on a fourth-and-1 play, taking the ball into Samford territory and leading to the game-winning field goal.
“That was a lot of pressure, but I know that my guys were behind me,” Trotter said. “It’s a team game. The offensive line put the gap in the right spot and I hit it, and the fullback (Chris Jones) came in clutch. I wouldn’t have made the run without the offensive line and the guys up front blocking for me.”
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.