Football team faces first 2009 road test

The jury is still out on the UTC football team after two games. Glenville State, a Division II school, provided little resistance in the opener. Furman handed the Mocs their thirteenth straight Southern Conference loss, but the SoCon shapes up to be one of the Football Championship Series' (formerly I-AA) top conferences in 2009.When the Mocs play their first road game of the season, Saturday in Clinton, S.C against Presbyterian College, it may serve as a more accurate measuring stick. Presbyterian is 0-2 on the season, but the game offers a chance for Chattanooga to snap its 17-game losing streak to Division I opponents.

The Blue Hose open their season with four straight games against SoCon opponents, including a 21-45 loss to Furman and a 7-41 loss to No. 7 Elon in their first two games.

Presbyterian, like Chattanooga, is in a transition phase.

The Blue Hose have a first year head coach in Harold Nichols, and they have 38 true freshmen on the roster, including walk-ons.

Furman and Elon combined to throw for 478 yards against Presbyterian, which may bode well for the tandem of sophomore quarterback B.J. Coleman, Chattanooga, and senior wide receiver Blue Cooper, from Rome, Ga.

The game will kick off at 1:30 p.m. at Bailey Memorial Stadium.