The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football program picked up its third consecutive win Saturday, outlasting Furman 13-3 at Finley Stadium.
The Mocs (5-3, 4-1 Southern Conference) had a pair of 100-yard rushers for the second time this season, with Tyrell Price (110 yards) and Ailym Ford (108) responsible for the feat again. Each also topped the century mark in an overtime loss at Virginia Military Institute on Oct. 9. Ford went over 100 yards for the 11th time as a Moc and eclipsed the 2,000-yard mark for his career in the win, while it was Price’s sixth such game.
The Mocs are on the road the next two Saturdays, against Wofford (1-7, 0-6) and Mercer (6-2, 5-1), before finishing the regular season at home against The Citadel (2-6, 1-4).
Here are three next-day observations from the win.
What to make of Saturday’s offense: It’s really hard to have more than 400 yards of offense yet score just 13 points, but the Mocs did just that. How? Most of the yardage came early in the game when UTC was moving the ball at will, but after a touchdown on the opening series, Cole Copeland threw an interception in the end zone that cost the Mocs a chance to essentially put the game away early against a pretty inept Furman offense. UTC did come up up with a pair of big drives that led to points in the second half, led by two different quarterbacks: Copeland led a nine-play, 42-yard drive that took nearly five minutes off the clock, while a 16-play, 53-yard drive that included 35 yards worth of penalties was engineered by senior Drayton Arnold, who started in the season opener but not since then. It will be interesting to see if the two-QB system is something that may be employed some going forward.
Staff photo by Troy Stolt / UTC defensive lineman Ben Brewton hits Furman quarterback Jace Wilson as he throws the football away Saturday at Finley Stadium.Defensive dominance: Since surrendering 37 points at VMI, the Mocs have allowed a combined 32 in consecutive wins over East Tennessee State, Samford and Furman. In that same span, the Mocs have 11 sacks and 21 tackles for loss, and they have forced seven turnovers resulting in 31 UTC points. Against the Paladins, the defense took advantage of freshman quarterback Jace Wilson, who was making just his fifth career start and consistently appeared to be confused by some coverages – evidenced by the fact that three of his first five throws should have been intercepted, with CaMiron Smith and Brandon Dowdell dropping the ball while going for picks before Jerrell Lawson got his hands on a pass in the second quarter. Furman totaled 157 yards, with 51 coming at the end with the game already locked up.
Special weapon: The Mocs have not been able to consistently turn to a kicker to get points in quite a while, but Aaron Sears has provided a reliable option. He is 12-of-14 on field-goal attempts in his first season on the field with the Mocs, and he has made four consecutive since a pair of misses at VMI. Victor Ulmo, whose time with the Mocs wrapped up last season, made only two kicks of 40 yards or longer in his UTC career; Sears is 4-for-4 from that distance, including a 40-yarder against the Paladins.
“You have to be able to execute like that, because you’re going to be in games like this,” Wright said Saturday. “For the next however long, we’re going to be in games like this, and we have to have guys that can go do that.”
Coaches would obviously rather their kickers be attempting (and making) extra points, but going forward, having the Sears option doesn’t seem like a bad one.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3.