NOTES | QUOTES | STATS | PHOTOS
 
SPARTANBURG---For the second week in a row, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team was poised to knock off a top-10 foe on the road.  Despite a stout defensive effort, UTC's second upset bid in as many weeks came up short in a 24-21 loss at No. 8 Wofford today. 
 
The Mocs held Wofford's triple-option attack to a season-low 233 yards and just 14 points in regulation.  Trailing 14-6 late in the game, UTC forced its fifth three-and-out, giving the Mocs a chance with just over two minutes to play. 
 
Senior James Stovall got his hand on the punt that eventually wobbled 22 yards to the Wofford 43.  Chattanooga took nine plays to get within two points when freshman Cole Copeland found junior Bingo Morton for a six-yard TD catch. 

With nine seconds left to play, the Mocs still needed to convert the two-point conversion.  Head Coach Tom Arth called a trick play where Copeland handed off to senior running back Darrell Bridges.  Bridges reversed to Morton who narrowly avoided a tackle in the backfield before finding Copeland in the endzone to tie the game. 
 
Both teams scored in overtime, with the Mocs taking the second possession.  Copeland hit senior Alphonso Stewart for an 11-yard score to force a second extra session. 
 
The Mocs took the ball first in the second overtime, but Copeland threw a pick on the first play.  Wofford ran three plays before kicking 34-yard field goal for the win. 
 
Chattanooga had chances early.  The defense forced three-and-outs on three of Wofford's five possessions in the first half.  The Mocs moved the ball inside the Wofford 10 twice, but both times penalties cost them.  UTC had to settle for field goals on both drives and trailed 7-6 at halftime. 
 
Ulmo hit from 20 and 28 yards in the first half.  He just missed a 47-yarder in the second half that would have given the Mocs a 9-7 lead.  He had the distance, but the attempt was just wide-right.
 
UTC's defense came up big all night, including a key fourth-down stop in the third quarter.  Wofford drove down to the Mocs 27 and went for it on fourth-and-five.  Senior linebacker Dale Warren's blitz forced a bad pass that stopped the Terriers' threat. 
 
Warren posted a season-high nine tackles, while senior Taylor Reynolds had a game-high and career-high 14 tackles.  Senior linebacker Tae Davis added 12 stops, while junior Derek Mahaffey tied a career-high with nine. 
 
Copeland was 27-39 for 201 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.  Stewart had six catches for 68 yards and score, while Morton added seven grabs for 23 yards.  Senior running back Darrell Bridges added 80 yards on the ground and tied a season-high with 22 carries.
 
NOTABLE
Three notes from tonight's contest. Check out the full complement of facts and figures in the link above.
- Chattanooga drove into the Wofford redzone twice in the first half but only scored FGs on those two possessions … those two drives were 14 plays long … only one longer was 17 (TD) at VMI on Sept. 23
- UTC defense held Wofford to a season-low 233 yards of total offense … 188 rushing and a season-low 45 passing … Wofford came into the game No. 5 in the FCS in rushing at 282 ypg.
- The Mocs have lost five consecutive OT games … last win was 45-38 at Georgia Southern on Sept. 22, 2007 … UTC is 3-13 in games decided by three points or less since 2009.
QUOTABLE
Check out all we heard at the quotes link at the top of this story.
 
"I was proud of the way we fought back.  It was a tough situation, down eight and they have the ball with a great offense we know can take time off the clock.  Our defense did a fantastic job getting a three-and-out and an opportunity to get the ball back.  Then a great play on special teams, get the blocked punt, which is exactly what we needed.  A short field.  We were able to go down and make the play to get in the endzone and the two-point.  The story of the game, you just go back to that first half.  Just some missed opportunities.  Down inside the five-yard line twice and get penalized.  It is just hard to overcome that stuff playing against a great team like Wofford.  When you really need to score touchdowns and you come away with field goals, knowing they are eventually going to get something going, it hurts you." Head Coach Tom Arth.
 
STATS
Check out the final stats at the link above. Here are three stats of note…

• Darrell Bridges 318 yards on 62 carries last three games.
• Taylor Reynolds third time in last five games with 10+ tackles.
• Alphonso Stewart ninth career receiving TD. 

NEXT UP
The Mocs are off next week before hosting ETSU for the season finale at Finley Stadium. Game time is 2:00 p.m. (E.S.T.), on ESPN3 and the Watch ESPN app. Access links to tickets, video, audio and live stats here on the GoMocs.com football schedule page.
 
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