The foundation for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team’s success on Saturdays so far this season has been laid much earlier in the week.
It has started on “Take the Respect Tuesdays.”
The first actual day of practice on game weeks has become the most important one for the 20th-ranked Mocs during their 4-0 start. The players get introduced to the next opponent on Sunday and Monday, but Tuesday involves on-field game-plan installations for that opponent. It has become not only the team’s most important practice but also its most intense one.
“There’s never a situation we’ve come across in a game we haven’t been across in practice before,” receiver Bingo Morton said. “The coaches do a good job of putting us in situations in practice, so in the game it’s familiar for us.”
That’s been because the UTC coaching staff has preached that “Practice execution equals game reality.” With that has come a far higher attention to detail that’s helped the Mocs to their hot start.
“Coach (Tom) Arth preaches it every single week,” defensive coordinator Matt Feeney said. “We really do believe that when you go out there and you execute at practice, and execute the game plan at a high level, you’ll go out there in a game and produce the same result. When you’re out here and you have a casual practice, or you’re not accomplishing what you set out to do, you’re going to be sloppy in the game.”
Last week, the coaches spent some extra time going through two-minute defensive situations in preparation for Samford. When faced with a similar situation Saturday evening – leading 27-20 when the Bulldogs offense took over with 1:39 remaining – the Mocs were prepared and kept the visitors out of the end zone in preserving the seven-point win.
The improved execution has led to UTC ranking fourth in scoring offense, fourth in total offense and second in passing offense in the Southern Conference and second also in scoring defense and pass-efficiency defense. The defense has 11 takeaways in four games after forcing 12 all of last season, and the offense has turned the ball over four times after 25 turnovers last year.
“Every day is important, but Tuesdays are critical,” Arth said. “It’s the introduction to the week, an introduction to what’s most important. It’s where we understand what we have to do to be successful each game, but I think our guys have done a great job of that. They understand how important practice is as well; it’s not just meetings, not just preparation, but it’s giving great effort in practice and executing at a high level in practice.
“Those results in practice are what will show up in the game.”
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3.