It was one loss, but the ripple effect of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's 17-14 loss at Mercer last Nov. 7 was long-lasting.
The Mocs were ranked third in the country at the time, riding a 12-game Southern Conference win streak. The Bears, who had given UTC its toughest game during an undefeated 2014 conference run, came in with four losses in SoCon play by a combined 13 points.
"We still have that bitter taste in our mouth," UTC running back Derrick Craine said Monday. "We went out and made some mistakes and they capitalized on it. For us, this week we have to go out, execute, practice as hard as we can, prepare mentally and physically and do what we do best: execute."
The 2015 loss - a game in which the Mocs turned the ball over four times, missed a field-goal try and failed to score from the 1-yard line - dropped them in the national standings and cost them a national seed, which led to a second-round matchup against top-seeded Jacksonville State.
The Mocs would lose in overtime to the Gamecocks, who went on to the national final. A win against Mercer would have helped UTC claim a national seed and a bye, effectively bypassing the Gamecocks until later in the playoffs.
"The Mercer loss hit us for a while," cornerback Trevor Wright recalled after Saturday's win over East Tennessee State. "That loss hung with us after the JSU game, because if we didn't lose to Mercer, we wouldn't even be in that situation. It bugged us, but now we're moving on and we can get them this year."
The Bears (2-2, 1-1) are in their fourth season since bringing their program back, but under the direction of coach Bobby Lamb they have been teetering on the brink of erupting. The UTC win did a little bit to help them gain respectability, and UTC coach Russ Huesman expects the Bears to come into Chattanooga expecting to win.
The last time the Bears were in town, in 2014, they had two passes into the end zone that, if completed, would have potentially tied the game.
"Last year they beat the No. 3 team in the country, so they know they can do it," Huesman said. "I don't think they're one bit intimidated by us by any stretch of the imagination, and I truly believe they're going to come in ready to play.
"We've got to have a great week of preparation, and we're going to have to play really well."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.