From giving up more than 400 yards rushing against Western Carolina to limiting their next two opponents to under 3 yards a carry, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga defense has been a major reason for a midseason turnaround that has the Mocs sitting in first place in the Southern Conference.
That defensive renaissance will get a severe test Saturday with a visit to defending SoCon champ Wofford. The Terriers, winners of four straight after an 0-2 start, lead all FCS teams in rushing with 369 yards per game.
They are coming off a 59-7 win over Western Carolina in which three players, including starting quarterback Joe Newman, rushed for better than 100 yards. Newman leads the league with 115.7 yards a game and is getting them at nearly 10 yards a carry.
"We're going to have our hands full," UTC coach Rusty Wright said at Tuesday's media luncheon. "That's a good football team playing at a high level offensively and defensively. They were picked to win the league, and there's a reason they are playing well.
"Those backs run hard, and (Newman) makes things happen when stuff breaks down. He knows what he's getting, and he understands there are only so many ways you can line up and try to stop them."
Staff Photo by Robin Rudd/ UTC's Khayyan Edwards (44) celebrates a sack of Western Carolina quarterback Will Jones (15). The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga hosted the Western Carolina in a Southern Conference football game on September 28, 2019. Today was homecoming for UTC. To do that, Wright says the Mocs will have to continue to tackle well and line up correctly, two problem areas over the first four games that have suddenly turned around. Defending the Wofford option attack is quite different from stopping the more balanced offenses of the last two UTC opponents, Mercer and East Tennessee State.
It doesn't mean, Wright insists, stacking the defensive box and trying to force the Terriers to throw the ball. Having too many defenders close to the line cuts down on possible tackling angles and allows linemen and receivers to make quicker blocks.
"It doesn't work out too well for them," Wright said of stacked defenses. "You can put as many players up there as you want, but they've seen it all and they know how to block it. The ball gets on the corner in a hurry, and then they don't even have to throw it because they're off to the races.
"That's the thing with option football. Your leverage has to be in one place and your numbers in the other to give yourself a chance. Somebody is going to have to beat a block and make a tackle eventually."
One of those guys is defensive end Khayyan Edwards, who is sixth on the team with 26 tackles and tied for second in tackles for loss with four. He, noseguard Telvin Jones and end Devonnsha Maxwell have combined for 65 tackles and 14.5 tackles for loss.
Edwards knows that it's not all about making tackles for the line. Taking on multiple blockers allows the active UTC linebacking corps to make plays. Get out of position and those guys get blocked.
"We just have to be disciplined and be ready to do our thing and stick to what we know," he said. "I see it as a challenge. We've got to take each down as its own, keep our gaps and not try to do anything extra. Me, Telvin and Devonnsha, we are focused on that. Even our young guys who rotate in are focused on doing their responsibility first. That's the biggest key."
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6296; follow on Twitter @youngsports22.