A great philosopher — or maybe it was the rapper Fat Joe — once coined the phrase “Yesterday’s price is not today’s price.”
Somehow that applies to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team, which seven games into its 2022 schedule is showing that this season’s offense is not the same as last year’s offense. And as that part of the Mocs continues to grow, so do the prospects for the remainder of the 2022 season.
The Mocs improved to 6-1 with Saturday’s 41-21 win against Mercer at Finley Stadium, and with four regular-season games remaining, they’ve already matched their win total from last season, when they finished a disappointing 6-5. (The Mocs also won six games each in the 2018 and 2019 seasons, with three victories in a 2020 season that was delayed by the pandemic and ultimately shortened to five games.)
The success owes plenty to an offense capable of complementing the team’s stifling defense, which again is near or at the top of the Southern Conference statistical rankings. In six games against Football Championship Subdivision competition, UTC’s offense has averaged 451 yards (262.3 passing, 188.7 rushing) and 36 points.
A group of young receivers that includes sophomore Jamoi Mayes has come along quickly enough to keep graduate transfer quarterback Preston Hutchinson stocked in targets.
“We’ve got some talent,” UTC coach Rusty Wright said after Saturday’s win against the Bears moved the Mocs to 4-0 against conference opponents. “It helps when you’ve got some talent out there and they’re just young enough to where I’m not sure the stage affects them, but they work hard at it.
“When you watch Jamoi practice on Tuesday and Wednesday, and you watch those guys try and go and get things right, there’s a reason they are playing like that, because they’re putting it in to go play like that. They’re talented, now, and we’ve got somebody that can deliver the ball to them.”
One thing that hasn’t changed for the offense has been reliable running back Ailym Ford, who again is carrying the ball at a record pace, with a league-leading 117.6 yards per game. He had a touchdown and 123 yards on 22 carries against Mercer, which sported the league’s second-best rushing defense (behind UTC) heading into the game.
It marked the 15th 100-yard rushing game of his career and made him just the fifth Moc to go over 3,000 career yards, but now UTC has a passing game to complement its rushing game and an offense that complements its defense.
Last season, it was evident from the beginning that the Mocs were likely a quarterback away from truly being a contender. Seventh-year senior Drayton Arnold struggled in limited action, and junior Cole Copeland was rusty after having not played football since 2017. The Mocs were 6-3 with Copeland starting and he was serviceable, but more was needed to unlock the talent on the outside.
That’s been Hutchinson, who threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns with zero interceptions against Mercer. Mayes, Sam Phillips and Javin Whatley made plays when given opportunities, with Mayes catching eight passes for 121 yards and a score, and Phillips’ 53-yarder his first touchdown catch of the year. There was a reason that offensive coordinator Joe Pizzo was walking around with a smile during the preseason, and it’s becoming more and more evident as the unit settles into its identity.
In the most recent FCS polls, the Mocs were ranked eighth by coaches and 10th in the Stats Perform Top 25, and the win against the Bears, 11th in both, should only boost their national profile heading into Saturday’s 2 p.m. game against Furman (6-2, 4-1) in Greenville, South Carolina.
“It all starts with Ailym,” said Hutchinson, who has thrown for 1,608 yards and 11 touchdowns this season. “You see the way he runs, it just motivates everybody else to fight for extra yards. You have Sam, (Whatley), Jamoi, all of them just running like running backs to the ball after it’s taken two or three defenders to bring them down, and you love that.
“We’re playing complementary football, and it’s just huge when the defense is clicking and we’re clicking on top of that. It’s huge, it’s extremely beneficial.”
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3.