UTC FOOTBALL 2017 SCHEDULE
Aug. 26 vs. Jacksonville State in Montgomery (Ala.) Kickoff Classic, 7Sept. 9 at LSU, TBASept. 16 UT-Martin, 6Sept. 23 at VMI, TBASept. 30 Western Carolina, 6Oct. 7 Furman, 4Oct. 14 at MercerOct. 21 The Citadel, 2Oct. 28 at Samford, TBANov. 4 at Wofford, TBANov. 18 ETSU, 2
Tom Arth smiled when asked about the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's 2017 football schedule, and the opening three-game stretch in particular.
"We're fired up," the first-year UTC coach said. "Fired up."
The Mocs, coming off a second consecutive 9-4 record, released their schedule Thursday. The season begins Aug. 26 in the Montgomery (Ala.) Kickoff Classic against Jacksonville State, with the 7 p.m. game between the nonconference rivals to be shown on ESPN.
After an open date the following weekend - the Classic is a Week 0 game, giving UTC two open dates during the regular season - the Mocs will travel to Football Bowl Subdivision and Southeastern Conference opponent LSU for new coach Ed Orgeron's home opener on Sept. 9.
UTC's home opener is Sept. 16 against UT-Martin. The Mocs begin Southern Conference play a week later at Virginia Military Institute before hosting Western Carolina on Sept. 30.
The games against UT-Martin and Western Carolina start at 6 p.m. The kickoff time dips to 4 when the Mocs host Furman on Oct. 7, then slides to 2 for home games against The Citadel (Oct. 21) and East Tennessee State (Nov. 18).
"I love our opening game. I love our first three games," Arth said. "I can't think of a better way to start our season.
"We'll be ready. I know a lot of people are out there saying a lot of different things about that, but we're going to be ready to go."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.