As he grew up, McClendon Curtis had a figurative front-row seat to witness the ascension of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football program from Southern Conference doormat to league power.
When the Chattanooga native and former Central High School standout offensive lineman arrived on campus as a UTC signee in 2017, though, Russ Huesman had departed for Richmond after eight seasons leading the Mocs and was replaced by Tom Arth. What followed were a number of lean years, marked by frustrating losses and struggles to get back to the sort of national relevance the program enjoyed from 2013-16.
Could the Mocs be back to that? The jury is still out. But this week, the Mocs have a game that matters nationally.
They’ve had such opportunities before with current coach Rusty Wright, who’s in his fourth season leading his alma mater, but things just haven’t worked out. Wright was an assistant the last time the Mocs played a game matching two teams in the top 10 of the Football Championship Subdivision rankings, with UTC falling 22-14 at The Citadel during the 2016 season.
For the first time since the 2015 opener, the Mocs (5-1, 3-0 SoCon) will likely host another top-10 opponent when Mercer (6-1, 4-0) comes to Finley Stadium for a 1:30 p.m. kickoff Saturday. The latest FCS polls will be released Monday, but the Bears were ranked 11th by coaches and 12th in the Stats Perform Top 25 last week, while UTC was ninth and 10th, and both teams are coming off wins