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The NCAA Football Championship Subdivision playoffs don't begin until the end of November, and the national championship game has moved from Chattanooga to Frisco, Texas. But tonight's game at Finley Stadium should have all the atmosphere and consequences of a postseason matchup.
In a nearly must-win meeting for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga to have a chance to make the playoffs and maintain an outside shot at the Southern Conference title, the Mocs host 18th-ranked Georgia Southern for homecoming.
The Eagles (3-2, 1-1), reinvigorated and reinvented under first-year coach Jeff Monken, are in a similar position as UTC after losing at home to No. 17 Wofford last week. The difference is that GSU's other loss was at Navy of the bowl subdivision, while UTC has lost to two FCS opponents, No. 1 Appalachian State and No. 3 Jacksonville State.
"The'yre all must-win games," Mocs coach Russ Huesman says every time someone tries to elevate the importance of one over another.
But when UTC (3-2, 2-1) fell to 0-2 after leading for most of its first two games, all subsequent "must-win" games took on more significance. For a shot at the SoCon title and a first playoff berth since 1984 -- UTC's only appearance -- the Mocs have no more room for slip-ups.
UTC wideout Brian Sutherland hinted at the stakes, saying, "We know what we have ahead of us."
Running back J.J. Jackson got to the point.
"Every week it gets tougher and tougher, and these conference games -- we've got to win if we want to make it to the playoffs," he said. "I feel like these games mean more than they did at the beginning of the season."
Before the season, the opener against Appalachian State was hyped as the biggest UTC game in years, maybe decades. Now the Eagles are in town for homecoming, both teams are playing for a lot more than just a "W" and this looks like the biggest game in ages.
An announced crowd of 15,235 saw the Mocs fall to Appalachian State 42-41, and UTC is hoping for a similar, if not greater, turnout tonight. The weather will be perfect, UTC can achieve its first four-game win streak since 1997 and it's a mid-October game with loads of meaning. That hasn't happened in a while.
"I just want a big, awesome atmosphere for this game," wideout Joel Bradford said. "We haven't been at home in a while [since Sept. 25], so hopefully it will be a special weekend."
After tonight, the Mocs have five games left on their schedule. Along with the Nov. 6 trip to Auburn are four SoCon matchups: Furman and Wofford on the road and Elon and Samford at Finley.
"There's not one on there that's a gimme," Huesman said. "I wish there were about four that were gimmes -- I'd be feeling a lot better right now."
Contact John Frierson at jfrierson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6268. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/mocsbeat.
Online: Audio of UTC coach Russ Huesman
