CULLOWHEE, N.C. — In the moments after the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's 32-29 loss at Western Carolina on Saturday afternoon to close the regular season, senior defensive back CaMiron Smith waited in the end zone closest to the visitors' locker room, dapping up every teammate that jogged by.
It also gave Smith a prime view of the Catamounts celebrating on the field — with the song "Celebration" blaring over the speakers as the fitting soundtrack — after their three-point home win.
The fate of the Mocs' season is probably not one they'll like in the end when the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs field is announced Sunday afternoon. Yes, there's a chance UTC is included — having a 7-4 record with a win against a ranked opponent (Mercer) gives coach Rusty Wright's program a shot — but the Mocs could have solidified their spot instead of glancing at the TV screen with praying hands over their nose.
The 24-team field, with UTC hoping for one of the 13 at-large bids, will be revealed in a selection show at 12:30 p.m. on ESPNU. First-round games are next weekend, with the eight seeded teams receiving first-round byes before hosting in the second round.
UTC has not made the postseason since a run of three straight appearances from 2014 to 2016.
One source of hope for the Mocs and their fans is that they weren't alone among playoff bubble teams that lost Saturday. The teams that, in the case of a UTC loss, the Mocs needed to not add another win indeed lost Saturday — teams such as Delaware, Montana, North Dakota and Mercer, which the Mocs beat 41-21 on Oct. 22 at Finley Stadium.
So while it's not likely UTC is included, it's far from impossible. The Mocs have been ranked all season — they were 15th in the Stats Perform Top 25 and No. 17 in the FCS coaches poll to close the regular season — but the upset by Western Carolina (6-5, 4-4 Southern Conference) ensured they would finish with back-to-back losses and a 5-3 record against league foes for the second straight year. UTC lost last weekend at home to Samford, which has the SoCon's automatic bid for the playoffs.
Without thought, senior offensive lineman McClendon Curtis, senior defensive lineman Devonnsha Maxwell and junior running back Ailym Ford bounced back and forth between past tense and present tense when speaking about the season during postgame interviews Saturday, as if hoping, praying, the Mocs get included in the bracket.
"I'm thinking about how much better we could have performed if we had executed throughout the game," Ford said. "It's just the little things. We beat ourselves and that's easy to fix, and I believe we'll get it fixed."
Did the Mocs lose it? Or did the Catamounts win it?
It doesn't matter now. As had been the case for UTC all season, first-half mistakes made a road game more dramatic than it ever should have been. It was 14-all at halftime, but the Catamounts' two touchdowns to that point came after a botched punt and two plays after an interception.
For the game, the Mocs ran 92 plays for 446 yards while holding the SoCon's top offense to 316 yards. Ford ran for 104 yards, and Sam Phillips caught nine passes on 15 targets for 106 yards, each catch seemingly going for a first down in a big spot.
Wright said Preston Hutchinson didn't have his best game, but senior quarterback still threw for 323 yards and four scores, with touchdowns going to Jamoi Mayes, Javin Whatley, Keshawn Toney and Camden Overton.
Overton's grab gave the Mocs a 29-24 lead at the 6:13 mark of the fourth quarter, but the defense was unable to get a stop, with Western Carolina's TJ Jones punching it in from a yard out with 53 seconds to play. UTC's final possession nudged past midfield with back-to-back first downs on the first two plays but ended with four straight incompletions.
"The boys played hard, man. No doubt," Curtis said. "We just have to capitalize and finish drives as an offense. We just have to step up and make plays when it's time to make plays, and that's all it comes down to is making plays. I feel like we fought, and that's all you can ask for from a group; it's been so different than what it was last year.
"But the little things matter. The little things do matter."
And now the Mocs wait. Their resumé has flaws, especially down the stretch, but overall is pretty solid. Could it have been better? Of course. Should it have been better? Maybe. But it is what it is, and all the Mocs can do is wait -- and hope and pray.
"I think this group deserves one more. I really do," Wright said of a 12th game for his fourth UTC team. "We had some things out of our control in the game in the middle of the season, it could have turned out differently, and I'd like to see what it looked like, but you know what? This group gave me all they had.
"I'd love to go play with them again. If not, we don't have anybody to blame but ourselves."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3.