Mocs living up to expectations

There really may be something to all the hype. The UTC football team just may be living up to the seemingly over-exaggerated expectations.

Between former football player Russ Huesman taking over the head coaching vacancy and the surprise transfer of sophomore quarterback B.J. Coleman - originally from Chattanooga's McCallie High School, but more well known for coming from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville - the Mocs received their fair share of excitement from the city. But the critics still had their doubts.

When 14,000 fans showed up to the Thursday night home opener and Chattanooga dismissed Division II Glenville State, there were still plenty of chinks in the armor.

Glenville State was a Division II team.

The Southern Conference, in which Chattanooga plays a majority of its games, is arguably the best conference in the Football Championship Subdivision.

When Furman came to Finley Stadium, all the critics got what they were expecting. Chattanooga looked sloppy at times and the defense could not stop the Paladin offense at all in the first half. But the second half against Furman, after many in the record crowd had gone, perhaps previewed things to come.

Then the Mocs went to Presbyterian College and won a road game against a Division I team. It ended a 17-game losing streak against such teams, but still, Presbyterian is no Appalachian State.

Finally, on a dim, rainy Homecoming Saturday, Huesman and Coleman got the win they needed.

In 2008, Wofford demolished the Mocs, 56-7, in Spartanburg, S.C.

At that point the Terriers were ranked in the top 10 in the FCS. This year they came in as No. 17, so a drop off for Wofford cannot be used as an excuse.

Behind four B.J. Coleman touchdown passes, the Mocs stomped Wofford, 38-9, in front of a crowd of more than 8,000 that came out despite the weather.

Coleman was 23-30 on the day, but it was a complete effort that created what could be the biggest win since the early 1980s, when Huesman was a player, for Chattanooga.

"I've coached 30 years and this is the best victory I've ever had in my life!" Huesman said. "I've been to bowl games and won a national championship. This is the best win I've ever been involved with."

No matter how high the initial expectations or how little the critics thought of this team, the win over Wofford was more than anticipated. And it was very impressive.

When Huesman was first hired, he set goals and claimed he would win national titles, graduate players and bring back the alumni and city.

While national titles may still be in the distant future, establishing a winning program is looking more and more feasible.

The city has shown its support. The record crowd for Glenville State was proof of that, and just recently Chattanooga was listed as eighth in total home attendance among FCS schools. The high crowd numbers even perservered through a rainy Homecoming.

UTC is eighth in average home attendance among FCS schools with three home games at 11,284. If the winning persists, two goals can be all but checked off.

But an APR probation still hangs over the program, banning the team from any postseason play and taking away valuable scholarships.

That problem will not be eliminated quite so quickly, but with better scores and graduation rates, there is no reason Huesman could not accomplish what he set out to do.

Three major goals accomplished after just four games into the first season?

Right now the Mocs and UTC fans should celebrate a landmark win. It seems as if there will be many more to come in the very near future.

The rest will be determined later.