Samford quarterback Devlin Hodges (8) passes under pressure from UTC defensive lineman Tyler Cross during Saturday night’s SoCon matchup at Finley Stadium.The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga defense was more than content to let Samford quarterback Devlin Hodges get all the completions he wanted Saturday night.
It was the yards the Mocs were more concerned with.
UTC had focused all week on limiting the extra yards for the explosive Bulldogs, who entered the game averaging 501.3 yards of total offense per game. They did just that, with Hodges – who is second in Southern Conference history in career passing yards – needing 44 completions to total 366 yards in the Mocs’ 27-20 victory over the Football Championship Subdivision 17th-ranked Bulldogs.
Samford finished with 437 yards of total offense but needed 89 plays to get there. The Bulldogs’ longest completion was for 22 yards as the Mocs did what they wanted to do, which was keep Samford’s skill-position players in front of them.
“One thing we talked about playing against this group, is they are a high-octane offense,” UTC coach Tom Arth said. “Their quarterback is one of the best players in the country, and if you let him, he can slice you up. We had to do a good job of keeping them in the pocket, making him throw checkdowns.
“We knew he’d give us some. He’s a really confident guy and he’s going to try to make every play – I would, too, if I could throw like him. We knew we had to play with great fundamentals, great technique and take advantage of opportunities when they presented themselves.”
The defense also forced four turnovers in the win, with defensive back D.J. Jackson and linebacker Marshall Cooper intercepting passes. Cooper also forced a fumble at the UTC goal line that was recovered by Hawk Schrider as the Bulldogs were going in for a score that would have cut the Mocs’ early lead to 10-6.
Kareem Orr put the game away with an interception with 2:10 to play, jumping the route and nabbing his third pickoff of the season.
The Mocs did all of that while having to adjust their personnel. Injuries already had caused some changes in the lineup. Linebacker Tavon Lawson and defensive lineman Devonnsha Maxwell each missed his second consecutive game with a lower-body injury, which caused outside linebacker Khayyan Edwards to move to defensive line and strong safety Jerrell Lawson to move up to inside linebacker.
Starting free safety Brandon Dowdell was ejected from the game in the first half due to targeting, which led to more adjusting.
Lawson and Orr finished with nine tackles each to lead the Mocs. Jordan Jones and Cooper had eight.
The Mocs continually pressured with three players so more defenders could drop back in coverage. The defensive line was credited with eight hurries, while the only sack was awarded to Schrider.
“That’s exactly what (Mocs defensive coordinator Matt) Feeney wanted,” said UTC defensive lineman Derek Mahaffey, who had six tackles. “We had to get pressure with three and make him check down. If he checked the ball down, that’s a win for us.”
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3.