UTC quarterback Jacob Huesman gets ready to pass in the game against UT Saturday at Neyland Stadium.KNOXVILLE - Before fans had even emptied Neyland Stadium and made their way home through the damp night, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team was told to turn the page.
UTC coach Russ Huesman said he was tweaking the 24-hour rule he normally gives his team. Whether celebrating a win or hurting over a loss, the Mocs typically have nearly a full day to digest whatever happened on the field, but once they show up for team meetings on the Sunday following a game they're expected to turn their focus to the next game.
But after Saturday evening's 45-10 loss at Tennessee, Huesman said he had instructed the players to change their mental approach and not dwell at all on what had happened.
"I told them when they walk out this door, it's not even a 24-hour rule, it's a 20-minute rule," Huesman said. "As soon as they get a shower and leave that locker-room door, I want them to forget about this game.
"I told them to enjoy the experience and the bus ride home, but this one's behind us. We've got to play The Citadel and it's going to be a tough game. If we're not ready, we'll have some issues there for sure."
Of the Mocs' remaining six games, five are against Southern Conference foes, beginning this week with a road trip to The Citadel. UTC currently sits atop the SoCon standings as the only 2-0 team.
Although UTC was playing from behind after the first offensive series by Tennessee, there were several bright spots to build on.
The defensive line continued to solidify itself as one of the best in the FCS by collecting a season-high five sacks and seven of the Mocs' nine tackles for loss. UTC's defense limited the Vols to 123 rushing yards for the game on a 2.9-yards- per-carry average. Going into the fourth quarter UT had managed only 52 yards on the ground.
"I think that shows the level that we're playing at as a unit," said defensive end Davis Tull, who had two tackles for loss and a season-high seven total tackles and moved into a tie for third in the SoCon in career sacks with 32.5.
"We've been playing at a high level as a defensive line this year," Tull continued. "The goal is to live up to the expectations. Rushing the passer is something we work on every day and put a lot of emphasis on. We wanted to prove we're legit and we're not a fluke.
"That final score isn't what we wanted, but I believe we're already thinking ahead to The Citadel now. We wanted to compete in this one. Obviously that didn't happen, but at the end of the day these games don't really mean that much for us. Our goal is to win the Southern Conference championship, so our most important game is next week."
Tennessee took advantage of playing on a short field for five of its seven scoring drives. The Vols' first possession began at the UTC 38 after a 42-yard punt return, and their offense also took over at the Mocs' 25 following a UTC fumble to set up a first-half touchdown. UT opened the second half with a 68-yard kickoff return that turned into a 19-yard TD drive and later returned an interception to the Mocs' 16 to set up another TD and recovered a fumbled punt at the UTC 14 for the final short TD.
"We played hard," Coach Huesman said. "I told them I was proud, but you ain't going to beat an SEC team making mistakes. You're just not. It's hard enough as it is. It's hard enough to get first downs, to block those guys and cover those wideouts all day.
"We knew we were playing a good team. We made some mistakes. You jump offsides on third-and-inches, the punt return early in the game was a killer. We gave them good field position on a punt return, kickoff, fumble, interception. I thought our defense played well, but we put them in some bad situations. You can't do that."
The Mocs ran for 105 yards, even without starting running back Keon Williams, who had hand surgery this past week. Williams and senior receiver and punt returner Tommy Hudson, who was out a second straight game with turf toe, are both expected to return this week against the Bulldogs.
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293.