Even when the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga isn’t practicing it’s hurry-up offense, it looks like it as the players hustle back to the huddle after every play.

That extra hustle is due in part to Mocs coach Rodney Allison’s push for the team to player harder, but it’s also because with the new clock rules in college football this season there isn’t much time between plays.

In an effort to regulate the pace of play, the NCAA has instituted a 40-second play clock that starts immediately after the previous play is blown dead. In dead-ball situations, such as after a timeout or penalty, a 25-second play clock will be used.

The Mocs’ offense has practiced using the new clock several times during the past two weeks with some mixed results.

“I just want to get (the players) into a rhythm, into a tempo (with the new clock),” Allison said. “It’s harder when you don’t have a clock for them to see, but if it’s harder now it will be easier when we’re actually in a game.”

The new 40-second clock will be hardest on the wide receivers who run deep routes because they’ve got the most distance to cover to get back to the huddle. Between that and the new penalty for loafing, wideout Blue Cooper said he feels like he’s sprinting all the time.

“I’m sprinting on the play, sprinting back to the huddle, sprinting to the line — it’s tough,” Cooper said. “I’m sure it will be a little slower in the game than the pace we’ve gone at in practice, but we’re in shape for it, that’s for sure.”

The waiting game

The Mocs’ starting quarterback for Saturday’s opener at fourth-ranked Oklahoma has not yet been named by Allison, who will choose between Jare Gault and Tony Pastore. Allison said as many as three UTC quarterbacks could play against the Sooners.

For Gault, the waiting hasn’t been easy.

“There’s been a little unrest, a little uneasiness, but you just got to deal with it,” Gault said. “Obviously they’re going to play who they think is best for the job, and I’m doing what I can to make that decision a little easier.”

Allison said his son, Sloan, who lives with Gault and offensive lineman Chris Harr and appears to be the Mocs’ third-string quarterback at this point, has even been doing some fishing for information recently.

“My son came up to me the other day feeling me out because everybody’s bugging him,” Allison said. “But I didn’t tell him anything just like I haven’t told any of the players.”

This and that

The Oklahoma game is available on pay-per-view and can be seen on both DirecTV and Dish Network. Tim Brando and Spencer Tillman will call the game, which can be seen on DirectTV channel 695 and Dish Network channel 462. Comcast customers in Chattanooga can purchase the game for $29.95 on channel 726. ... Assistant sports information director Jim Horten has been named interim sports information director while UTC searches for a permanent replacement for Jeff Romero, who is leaving UTC next week for a job at McCallie.