Mocs try to add to offensive progress
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga offense showed some progress last Saturday.
Now the Mocs have to turn that progress into some consistency — and points.
UTC rushed for a season-best 7.5-yard average on 19 carries, with senior Darrell Bridges running for 149 yards and a pair of scores in the 20-14 Southern Conference loss to The Citadel. For the first time all season, other than the lone win against Virginia Military Institute, the Mocs’ offensive line was able to control the line of scrimmage for the most part.
Center Josh Cardiello credited the preceding week of practice for the line’s improved effort.
“We got a glimpse of what we’re capable of doing last week, so I think that really sparked some things in people and makes us realize we can do this,” Cardiello said. “We had a good week of practice and it finally trickled over into the game. We didn’t get the outcome we wanted, but we played well as an offensive unit.
“There’s still some things we can do better, but I think it just started in practice and continued over into the game.”
This week’s challenge against eighth-ranked Samford (5-2, 3-1) is slowing a defense that ranks third in the SoCon in sacks with 18 and fourth in turnovers, with eight interceptions and five fumble recoveries.
The Mocs had an opportunity to win last week’s game late, but four tries from The Citadel’s 11-yard line netted no yards and no points, with a fourth-down pass by freshman quarterback Cole Copeland intercepted.
Offensive coordinator Justin Rascati said the fact that UTC was 0-for-7 on converting third downs into firsts was an even bigger factor in the loss.
“Everybody wants to talk about the last four plays and us not punching it it down there, but if we handle business on third down throughout the game like we could have, it could have been a different situation,” Rascati said. “We’ve focused this week on being better on third down; we practice it more here than anywhere I’ve ever been as a player or coach.
“Coach (Tom) Arth does a great job of stressing for coaches and players to really think about situations, which helps us go out and take care of business when we get put in that situation in games. That’s why we do it.”
Aside from executing on third down, the other challenge is taking care of the football. The Mocs are eighth in the SoCon and 117th in the country with a negative-13 turnover margin, with three more turnovers and no takeaways against The Citadel.
Still, the coaching staff was pleased with the progress the team made. They just need to see more of it.
“It’s all about the power of belief and playing with confidence,” Rascati said. “We did that for sure last week at times and we’ve had a good week of practice, but we’ve got to be more consistent. We can go out and make plays — we’ve shown that. We’ve just got to do it with consistency and take care of the football.”
Added Cardiello: “Our confidence started last Saturday and continued into this week, so hopefully we can keep it going this Saturday.”
Injury report
Running back Richardre Bagley is expected to miss a third consecutive game this week with an upper-body injury, which means Bridges will get most of the carries again. In three games as the team’s primary back, Bridges has 295 of his 344 rushing yards and four of his six touchdowns.
Arth said senior linebacker Tavon Lawson, senior cornerback Trevor Wright and junior defensive back Kareem Orr will be back after missing at least one week. Lawson is the team’s leading tackler with 50 despite missing the last two games. He’s also second on the team with 5.5 tackles for loss and tied for the lead with 1.5 sacks.
Wright and Orr each missed last week. Orr has 24 tackles, a forced fumble and an interception this season, and Wright has 12 tackles and an interception.
Quarterback Alejandro Bennifield is out, while Nick Tiano, who still has been limited in practice, is questionable, which means Copeland will start his fourth consecutive game.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress. com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.