Mocs hope to rediscover early success

At 4-1, the UTC football team seemed to be proving that all the hype, expectations and build up were warranted. Now, after a 30-20 loss at Georgia Southern and a 45-10 drubbing at Elon, all that excitement may be the cause for the regression."We've gotten complacent," Head Coach Russ Huesman said after the Elon game. "[The players] think they've arrived. As coaches we think we've arrived. And it's ridiculous.

"We haven't. We're not even close."

After giving up just 29 points defensively, the Mocs have surrendered 75 in the last two games combined.

The Phoenix have two of the most talented players in the FCS in quarterback Scott Riddle and wide receiver Terrell Hudgins, but there were no excuses to be found after the game in Elon.

"I just don't think we came together as a whole," senior receiver Blue Cooper, from Rome, Ga., said. "Same as last week. I think that reflects on practice and it reflects on leadership. We [as seniors] need to take responsibility for that."

The game started well for Chattanooga Saturday. Riddle's first pass was intercepted by Joel Bradford, a sophomore defensive back from Chattanooga, but the Mocs were only able to turn the great field position into a field goal.

The second possession for Elon was nearly as bad, as Chattanooga forced a three-and-out. But the ensuing drive led to no points, a quick punt, and from there Riddle and Hudgins took off.

The ensuing drive led to the first touchdown connection for the duo on the day, and there would be two more.

Riddle finished 13-18, for 196 yards through the air and three touchdowns.

Hudgins caught six passes for 74 yards and all three of the touchdown passes from Riddle.

The Mocs' offense has struggled to run the ball since running back Bryan Fitzgerald went down for the year with a sprained foot in the first quarter against Samford.

They mustered only 33 rushing yards against Georgia Southern, and 112 against Elon - for only a 2.8 yards-per-carry average.

Freshman Chris Awuah, from Marietta, Ga., led the team in rushing with 16 carries for 56 yards against the Phoenix.

Quarterback B.J. Coleman, a sophomore from Chattanooga, also had his worst day as a Moc against Elon, completing 14 of his 30 passes for 122 yards, a touchdown and an interception.

"We just came out flat," senior defensive end Josh Beard, from Lincolnton, Ga., said.

The Mocs missed numerous chances to hold Elon after forcing the Phoenix into third down and more than 10 to go.

"We you've got them down like that you have to capitalize," Beard said. "We just couldn't come up with the big stop."

There were also openings on offense to turn the game around when it was still within reach.

"We had opportunities today," Huesman said. "We had six or seven dropped balls today. You can drop those against Glenville State but if you drop them against Elon you're gonna lose 45-10."

The real emphasis was on practice, however.

"It hasn't looked like we're as hungry," Huesman said. "I put that on coaches. I've told the guys, 'I've gotten soft. It's on me.' We're not as demanding in practice and we haven't practiced well the past two weeks."

Practice will get tougher and the Mocs will try to refocus, but all the expectations have not gone away. Elon is the No. 7 team in the FCS, and there is still a game against Appalachian State to judge whether or not Chattanooga is capable of playing at that level.

Next up for the Mocs is a home game against Western Carolina.

Last year Western Carolina handled the Mocs easily in Cullowhee, N.C., 27-7, but this year WCU is struggling and the Mocs are looking to bounce back.

The Catamounts come in last in the Southern Conference, with a 1-4 SoCon record and 1-6 overall. Their only win this year was against the Citadel.

WCU is only averaging 10.4 points-per-game, while giving up an average of 27.5.

All this bodes well for a UTC offense that needs a big day. The recent difficulties in the running game could change quickly against the Catamounts, who have given up 214.4 yards-per-game on the ground, and 4.8 yards-per-carry to opponents.

While Western Carolina is giving up an average of less than 200 yards passing on the year, that is primarily a result of opponents having a big lead early in the game.

Coleman and Cooper will look to build on the connection that has been so strong early in the season.

Cooper leads the team with 445 receiving yards and four touchdowns.

In the first home game in over a month for the goal is to get back to the basics.

"We've gotta go back to work and take another baby step," Huesman said. "We haven't taken any steps the last two weeks.