At some point in his football career, the stakes may finally be lower for Luke Schomburg.
So far, it seems like every time the redshirt sophomore has started at quarterback for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, there’s been so much on the line for the team.
In that regard, Schomburg’s least important start for the Mocs was probably his first, though it was certainly no less challenging. It came against Alabama in the regular-season finale last year, with Schomburg needed after Chase Artopoeus was unavailable due to a shoulder injury sustained two weeks earlier against Furman. The stakes were low in the sense that the Mocs’ result against a Football Bowl Subdivision opponent (particularly a national power like the Southeastern Conference’s Crimson Tide) were unlikely to hurt them in the eyes of the selection committee for the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.
It didn’t, and after the 66-10 loss in Tuscaloosa, the Mocs — whose seven wins to that point included six against Southern Conference competition as they contended for the league championship — were on to the playoffs, though without Artopoeus, whose season was over. Schomburg started in the first-round matchup at Austin Peay, throwing for 259 yards and a touchdown in a 24-21 victory as the Mocs returned to the postseason for the first time since also reaching the second round in 2016, and he was behind center again a week later at SoCon champ Furman, which won 26-7 to beat the Mocs for the second time in 2023 and end their season.
Artopoeus, now a sixth-year senior, was a late scratch for last week’s game at Western Carolina, which was a big matchup for the Mocs in their bid to live up to their preseason status as SoCon title favorites. Schomburg was solid in his fourth career start, throwing for 314 yards and a pair of touchdowns, but he completed less than half of his 31 passes and threw three interceptions as UTC lost 38-34.
Now the 6-foot-3, 194-pounder from Huntsville, Alabama, is about to get another opportunity — this time with a full week of preparation as the expected starter.
The Mocs (5-4, 4-2), who are ranked 23rd in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25, will try to keep their playoff hopes alive with a win against The Citadel (4-5, 2-3) at 2 p.m. Saturday at Johnson-Hagood Stadium in Charleston, South Carolina. While, in contrast to last week’s opponent, the Bulldogs may not be in the SoCon title race, they could certainly spoil UTC’s push to extend its season beyond the 12th game.
And this game certainly matters to Schomburg.
“I try not to change my preparation,” he said of his approach. “I try to keep it the same no matter who we’re playing, because I think whether it’s Alabama or it’s The Citadel, if you have the same preparation each game and that preparation is high-level preparation, the ending product will be good regardless of who you’re playing.
“To me, this game, even though it might be considered the lowest-stakes game so far, for me it’s a high-stakes game just because of how I played the last game. I wasn’t very happy with just my preparation in general, so for me personally, this is a big game for me and also for our guys. We had a tough loss, but getting over this hump and continuing to win out will be huge, and it starts with this game.”
Schomburg and the Mocs realize the challenge and opportunity in front of them.
Win out (they host Samford next week to close SoCon play, then visit Austin Peay to close the regular season), and they’ll probably make the FCS playoffs. Win two out of three, and they’ll sweat out Selection Sunday on Nov. 24 with a playoff shot unlikely. Win less than that and, well, the Mocs will get to enjoy Thanksgiving weekend with their families.
“I think we stayed locked in by staying focused on the end goal, which is hopefully getting a shot at the SoCon, but if that’s by the wayside, then getting to the playoffs and chasing the national championship,” Schomburg said. “I think that’s the end goal since we wrote down our team goals at the beginning of the year, so if that’s the end goal, then we have to win out for that to probably happen, so that makes every game important.”
There is no question that he’s the starter. When questioned this week about UTC’s quarterback situation against The Citadel, coach Rusty Wright’s response was a quick “He’s our guy” regarding Schomburg, followed by a curt “He’s injured; that’s about all I know” when asked about Artopoeus. Wright also said Schomburg has the backing of his teammates, especially his receivers.
“I wish he’d had a full week to prepare like I needed him to prepare last week, but I don’t think there’s any doubt,” Wright said. “I think the best thing about Luke is, he’s a little more talkative, a little more outgoing than Chase is, and I think those guys kind of rally around that and they trust him. They know he can go win a football game when it matters, and I think they’re fine with that.”
To Wright’s point, redshirt junior receiver Sam Phillips said the Mocs believe in Schomburg “without a doubt.”
“We give him a game plan, and we know that he can stick to it,” said Phillips, who leads the Mocs in receiving yards with 665 despite missing two games due to injury. “He has a great arm, he makes great reads, and we believe in him no doubt. He did it last year at Austin Peay, and he did a great job last week in my opinion, so we definitely believe in him. He’s responded well in those moments, definitely Bama for sure. That’s a big start to make your first career start at, but this week is a true test.
“We’ve seen him play in some major games; now let’s see how he handles a game that’s maybe not so big. He’s been preparing well, he studies his butt off and he watches a lot of film, so it’ll be good.”
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com.