EARLY STUMBLES
UTC’s past 12 season openers haven’t yielded much success for the Mocs (opponents are fellow FCS members unless noted):› 2017 — L, 27-13 vs. No. 5 Jacksonville State in Montgomery, Ala.› 2016 — W, 66-0 vs. D-II Shorter› 2015 — L, 23-20 vs. No. 7 Jacksonville State› 2014 — L, 20-16 at FBS Central Michigan› 2013 — L, 31-21 vs. Tennessee-Martin› 2012 — L, 34-13 at FBS South Florida› 2011 — L, 40-7 at FBS No. 10 Nebraska› 2010 — L, 42-41 vs. No. 3 Appalachian State› 2009 — W, 30-13 vs. D-II Glenville State› 2008 — L, 57-2 at FBS No. 4 Oklahoma› 2007 — L, 29-17 vs. D-II Carson-Newman› 2006 — W, 31-7 at Tennessee Tech
With 56 wins, three Southern Conference titles and three Football Championship Subdivision playoff appearances this decade, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga has shown it does not need first-game success to define its season.
An opening win could serve as a nice springboard, though.
The Mocs are 4-11 against NCAA Division I competition since 2000, including 4-5 against fellow FCS members. The program hasn’t started 1-0 when opening against a Division I opponent since beating Tennessee Tech 31-7 on Aug. 31, 2006.
Since then, UTC has lost season openers to three top-10 FCS teams (No. 3 Appalachian State in 2010 and Jacksonville State twice, with the Gamecocks ranked seventh in 2015 and fifth last year) and to four teams from the Football Bowl Subdivision (No. 4 Oklahoma in 2008, No. 10 Nebraska in 2011, South Florida in 2012 and Central Michigan in 2014), so the caliber of opponents has been high.
As for first-game success at home in recent years, the Mocs beat visiting Division II member Glenville State in 2009 – it was former UTC head coach Russ Huesman’s first game in charge of his alma mater – but are 1-3 in openers at Finley Stadium since then.
A chance to improve many of those stats is coming soon, with the Mocs hosting Tennessee Tech at 7 p.m. Thursday at Finley to kick off their 2018 schedule. That’s not a motivating factor for Tom Arth entering his second season as UTC’s coach.
“Not worried about that at all,” Arth said, noting he wasn’t even aware of such stats. “The only thing we’re concerned about is August 30 and going out there and playing as well as we possibly can to put ourselves in position to win the football game.
“What’s happened in the past is not in the minds of our team.”
The only player on the current roster who appeared in UTC’s 20-16 loss at Central Michigan in the 2014 opener, a game the Mocs led early, is linebacker Tavon Lawson. A number of current Mocs played in the opener against Jacksonville State three years ago, a game that pitted top-10 teams against each other and ended with UTC disappointed to lose 23-20. However, that UTC team put together seven consecutive wins, clinched a share of the SoCon title for the program’s third straight league crown and finished 9-4.
The current fifth-year seniors do have one season-opening victory, a 66-0 win against Division II member Shorter at Finley in 2016. They’d like to have two.
“It matters kind of, sort of,” said Bingo Morton, who redshirted in 2014 and is the Mocs’ most experienced returning receiver. “It’s like a statement for the rest of the season, but we’re not looking into the past. It’s a new year and we feel really confident, but I do feel we can play our best game this week.”
Arth has started practice near the end of July in his two seasons at UTC. That’s in part due to new NCAA rules that prohibit two-a-days, but last year the Mocs played earlier than most teams, kicking off Aug. 26 at the Montgomery Kickoff Classic in Alabama.
One of the benefits the Mocs felt this preseason is that they have had extra time to prepare for their first opponent.
“Going into this week, we’re a lot more confident than we have been the past couple of years,” cornerback C.J. Fritz said. “Having a year of experience in the new system is going to help carry over into the new year.”
The approach Lawson wants to take to Thursday’s game is not uncommon, but his experience as a fifth-year senior might help his teammates more seriously consider what he says.
“We’re not thinking about the past,” he said. “We’re not going to prepare any different.
“We just want to come out and dominate in all phases.”
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3.