The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team, after an open date last weekend, returns to the playing field Saturday with a Southern Conference matchup against Furman at Paladin Stadium in Greenville, South Carolina.
The game, which will kick off at noon and be streamed on ESPN Plus, pits two teams with national rankings in the Football Championship Subdivision, with UTC (2-1, 2-0) at No. 11 in the STATS FCS Top 25 and the Paladins (3-1, 3-1) at No. 13.
The Mocs needed overtime in their most recent game, a 25-24 victory at The Citadel on March 6, and now the awaiting challenge is a team that was a preseason favorite in the SoCon. The Paladins' loss was on Feb. 27 to Virginia Military Institute (3-0, 3-0), which is joined by UTC as the SoCon's only remaining teams undefeated in league play this year.
Here are three keys for the Mocs at Furman.
1. Stay consistent: From a talent standpoint, Furman and UTC may be the best teams in the league, yet they've both been prone to some highs and lows throughout their games. The Mocs have probably been more consistent, having not trailed in regulation since the first half of their 24-13 home win against Wofford on Feb. 27, but the lack of a kicking game nearly cost them at The Citadel two weeks ago. UTC was forced to go for it on a couple of fourth downs in Bulldogs territory and came up short, which sparked the home team's comeback to force overtime. If the Mocs are able to build a lead, that can't be the case against Furman, which has fallen behind by double digits in each of its past two games only to rally for wins over Samford, 44-37 in overtime, and at East Tennessee State, 17-13.
2. Make plays in the passing game: On offense, the Mocs have been more strategic than explosive so far this year. Drayton Arnold has shown he can push the ball downfield, with six of his 26 completions in the team's two SoCon games going for 25 or more yards, but the rushing attack has been consistent. UTC's ground game is still probably considered more of a strength, though, so it's something that Furman - which leads the league in rushing defense, having allowed an average of 82.8 ground yards per game - will probably try to take away. If Arnold can get in sync early with Reginald Henderson, Kanore McKinnon, Andrew Manning and tight ends Jay Gibson and Juwan Tyus, it could force the Paladins to play differently and potentially open up holes for Tyrell Price and Gino Appleberry.
3. Win the little battles: It's never the sexy sort of stuff, but it's likely this game will come down to things that have little to do with rushing yards and passing yards (although that's important as Furman is second in total offense while UTC leads the league in total defense). The Paladins' defense is first in the SoCon in third-down conversions, while UTC's offense ranks eighth in that category. The Mocs are plus-two in turnover margin while the Paladins are minus-two, having thrown six interceptions. Again, those aren't the sexy stats, but the winning coach will be pointing to those things as it appears the game will be close.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3.