The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team hosts Southern Conference foe and No. 6/7-ranked Wofford on Saturday, Oct. 6.  Kickoff is set for 3:00 p.m. (E.D.T.) at Finley Stadium.

Below are excerpts from today's press conference with photos.  The full videos are attached to the story.  Today's press conference included remarks from head coach Tom Arth, senior defensive lineman Derek Mahaffey and sophomore offensive lineman Chris Barnes.

Chris Barnes – So.-OL
The first half and the second half, completely different on offensive, what clicked and what did you like about it moving forward?
"We came together and said we have to come out and play hard. For the offensive line I told the guys some things that they picked up on. In the first half their defense was playing with us so we tried the try some different things at them to change the game."

It certainly doesn't get any easier in terms of what the defense is going to through at you, this is a top 10 defense. This is another tough test isn't?

"Oh for sure, but we will go to practice this week and go to work. We know the mistakes we made last week so now we know what we need to do better to get the win this weekend."

How hard is it, we talk about the four quarters, is it just the grind of football that makes a difficult thing to achieve.
"True, football is a grind but it is not a hard thing to do. We just need to go play and execute and work on it from the start to end of practice with the same motivation and drive."
 

Head Coach Tom Arth
On getting back out on the field after a tough loss:
"I feel that they are anxious to have an opportunity to get back out on the field.  Certainly, welcoming Wofford to Finley Stadium is a great challenge for us.  They are an outstanding football team and a great program.  Very tough and very disciplined team that presents a number of different challenges in all three phases of the game for our team.  It will be a great opportunity for us to get back out there and play well."

On the opportunity ahead against Wofford:
"That is the opportunity, just to get back out on the field.  Like I said, we have a great challenge in our opponent coming in this week.  At the end of the day, it is about us playing well and playing the best football we can play.  It is about us having an incredible week of preparation and going out and practicing hard and practicing well, so that we can give ourselves the opportunity to go out and play four solid quarters of football.  Again, we are haven't hit that goal.

"Last week, we got off to a slow start and finished a lot better.  However, you can't have either of those situations, especially playing against a great team.  You have to start fast and you have to finish ball games.  That certainly will be our goal this week. "

On the difficulty of playing four quarters of good football:
"I think it is just like anything else in life.  It is hard to be consistent.  I think consistency is a great quality in a human being.  It is a very rare quality in a person, to be the same all of the time, regardless of the circumstance and regardless of what is happening around you.  To remain consistent and be the same person is a real challenge."
 

Derek Mahaffey – Sr.-DL
How anxious are you to get another game underway and why?
"Pretty excited, we have a good opponent that is well respected so we are really looking forward to the opportunity."

As a defensive lineman do you have to prepare yourself mentally, we talked about the citadel, do you have to get yourself psyched up for what lies ahead on Saturday?
"I think that you have to prepare during the week that this is gonna be a war for 60 min and you aren't going to get any calls.  It is about who is more physical at the end of the day."

I was asking coach a lot of times after a big win is the 24-hour rule, is that harder to deal with after a loss for you?
"I think after you watch the film, I think it kinda weighs on you but I agree with the 24-hour rule."
 
Do you go through a routine or anything after a win, is it maybe different after a loss?
"I try to look at the film first because in some games you could play terrible but no one really talked about it because you won."

Does it matter that Wofford is coming in as a top 10 team? Do you even notice rankings as all when you get ready for a game?
"I think it is alright, I don't have a problem with it. They are a good team and well respected and they are gonna come here and be physical so we have to prepare ourselves for that."