CHARLESTON, S.C. - Isaiah Mack took a long look, almost of disbelief, at the scoreboard - the one that read: University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) 29, The Citadel 28.
The 6-foot-3, 305-pound senior defensive end couldn't stop shaking his head after his Mocs won their Southern Conference opener in overtime Saturday night to improve to 2-0 overall.
"Gosh, we won this game," he said, a grin on his face, before reading off the score. " If that's not a picture of adversity, I don't know what is. Tonight shows we can fight through anything. We're not afraid to play for four quarters. We're going to see if you're better than us."
The Mocs won despite not scoring in the second half as they lost their 14-point lead. They won despite their defense giving up 290 rushing yards to the option-heavy Bulldogs (0-2, 0-2). They won despite sophomore kicker Victor Ulmo, who was 9-for-12 on field-goal attempts as a freshman, missing two kicks, including a game-winning try on the final play of regulation.
They won despite playing the game without preseason all-league receiver Bingo Morton and losing two of their top four defensive linemen (freshman defensive end Devonnsha Maxwell and junior defensive tackle Telvin Jones) and starting inside linebacker Tavon Lawson during the game.
When Bulldogs quarterback Jordan Black scored his second rushing touchdown of the game to give his team a 28-21 lead in overtime, the Mocs didn't flinch. UTC quarterback Nick Tiano completed a 21-yard pass on second down to Joseph Parker, which set up Tyrell Price's 4-yard scoring run.
Then came the 2-point conversion try, in which Tiano faked a pitch to Price before flipping the ball to Bryce Nunnelly, who threw to a wide-open Jordan Giberti in the end zone for the game-winning score.
Giberti is a sophomore tight end who spent last season on the practice squad after transferring from Tennessee Tech, and official statistics list him with one catch this year - against his former school. While the catch he made Saturday does not count toward his receptions total because it was on a conversion, it was far more important.
"This was a huge win for us, a huge win for the program and for the city of Chattanooga," he said. "After the season we had last year, to come out as a team and battle four quarters into overtime, it was a great win for us. It shows a lot about the guys.
"Last season was in the past. We're here to prove to people it's a whole new year, a new team, and we're looking to make a run."
UTC's offense piled up more than 450 yards for the second straight week, and its defense had a first-quarter takeaway.
The Mocs had a punt blocked in addition to Ulmo's two missed field-goal attempts, but it was on special teams they forced a fumble on a fake punt, with UTC's Demarcus Williams recovering the ball.
In the end - despite everything else - the Mocs are 2-0 for only the second time this decade.
"You've got to play until the game's over," UTC coach Tom Arth said. "You have to play every play like it's the one that's going to determine the outcome of the game. You don't know when those big moments are going to show up, so you've got to play every play with that mindset, and our guys did that.
"They fought hard all night long, believed in each other, overcame some tough moments, and we finished it out."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3.