Looking at Game 6, UT Chattanooga

Who: Chattanooga Mocs

When: Saturday, October 5th, at 6:00 pm (EST)

Where:Finley Stadium, Chattanooga, TN

Series history: Western Carolina trails in the series 16-23, having lost the last 4 games to the Mocs.

Their conference: Southern Conference

Their coach: Russ Huesman.  Huesman enters his 5th season as head coach at Chattanooga, and is 23-21 overall as a head coach.

Last year’s record: 6-5 (5-3 SoCon)

How they got there: The Mocs ended the 2012 season with a 6-5 overall record and were 5-3 in conference, ending the season tied for 4th place. Chattanooga began the season with a 24-17 win over Elon, then traveled to Wofford where they lost by 2 points.  The Mocs rebounded with a 45-24 win over WCU in Cullowhee, only to lose by 8 point the following week to GSU.  The Mocs then rolled off 3 conference victories, before falling to ASU in the final conference game of the season.

Offense:  Multiple

Defense:  Multiple

Lettermen Returning/Lost:  39 / 19

Offensive starters Returning/Lost:   10 /  1

Defensive starters Returning/Lost:   10 /  1

2012 Stats:
Rushing Yardage avg. per game:  166.4
Passing Yardage avg. per game:  183
Total Yardage Per Game:  349.4

Strengths: The Mocs have 34 seniors and juniors on the roster, and 18 players with at least 10 career starts. The Mocs roster is full of talented, All-SoCon-caliber players, including three All-Americans on defense, Davis Tull, Wes Dothard, and Kadeem Wise.  These 3 are part of the 10 returning starters that was one of the stingiest defenses in FCS football in 2012. The Mocs ranked 10th nationally in total defense (307.9 ypg) and 18th in scoring defense (20.4 ppg) in 2012.

In three preseason polls released, the Mocs are ranked at least No. 20 nationally in all three. UTC will likely be among the favorites to win the SoCon title or earn an at-large bid to the expanded playoffs should they not win the title.

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