TUESDAY PRESSER | GAME WEEK PRIMER | TICKETS
 
CHATTANOOGA---The 15th-ranked Chattanooga Mocs close out the regular season Saturday at Western Carolina. It's the first time the Mocs and Cats complete a football campaign against each other.
 
Chattanooga is in search of just the fifth 8-win season since 1980. The last four came during Coach Rusty Wright's 2013-16 run as an assistant coach. It's also the last chance to make an impression to the FCS Playoffs Committee looking for a 5th trip (1984, 2014, 2015, 2016).
 
The Cats are also looking for something special. A victory marks the first winning season since 2017. Western has the best total offense in the league (503.1 ypg), while the Mocs are second in total defense (321.0).
 
Three Mocs continue an assault on the record books. Junior RB Ailym Ford set three records during the matchup with Samford: Most Career 100yd Games (17), Most Career TDs by a Running Back (32) & becoming the first Mocs rusher to record three 1,000-yard campaigns. Next up is Derrick Craine's season record of 1,251 rushing yards in 2015. The countdown tach is set at 155 yards for Ford (1,097).
 
Defensive tackle Devonnsha Maxwell is on the cusp of school and conference history with 36.5 career sacks. That's just 0.5 behind program and SoCon record holder Davis Tull's (2011-14) 37.0.
 
Junior edge Jay Person looks to put a cherry on top of his outstanding campaign. His 17.5 tackles for loss are 1.5 behind the team mark of 19.0 by Tull in 2012 and matched by Dale Warren in 2016.
 
Saturday's broadcast is the SoCon/Nexstar Game of the Week and on ESPN+. Kickoff is at 1 p.m.
 

Team	Record	SoCon	Stats Perform Top 25	Coaches Top 25
Chattanooga	7-3	5-2	15	17
Western Carolina	5-5	3-4	---	---

 
 
COACHES      
Chattanooga: Rusty Wright (Chattanooga '96) | UTC: 22-16 (4th) | Career: Same | vs. WC: 2-0
WCU: Kerwin Bell (Florida'88) | WC: 9-12 (2nd) | Career: 102-54 (12) | vs. UTC: 0-1        
 
SERIES           
Game: 48th | Record: 30-17 | H: 17-7 | A: 13-10 | SoCon: 28-16 | Last 5: 4-1 | Streak: +3 
 
LAST MEETING
45-17 win last October in Chattanooga
- Season high offense for the Mocs: points (45), total (488 yards), rushing (271) and passing (247)...season-low (vs FCS opponent) 17 points for Western Carolina
- Four turnovers forced (3 Int/1 FR)...season high for takeaways.
- No 100-yard rusher today but three backs had 74 or more yards in Tyrell Price (82), Gino Appleberry (79) and Ailym Ford (74)
 
MEDIA
TV – Nexstar/ESPN+- Pete Yanity (PxP) & Jared Singleton (Analysis)
 
Radio – Mocs Sports Network: 96.1 FM, 100.3 FM & 1070 AM – Jim Reynolds (PxP), Todd Agne (Analysis) & Will Poindexter (Sideline). Also available online at GoMocs.com.
 
Listen Live – Radio broadcast is available for free online at GoMocs.com & on the Varsity Network App
 
QUOTABLE
"Just going out and getting it done. We have to get it down…win no matter how it looks. It's just playing hard and giving ourselves a chance to keep playing. For the older guys, it's just staying with the same group for another game. For the younger guys, it's getting experience, so they know what to expect as they get more experience." – Senior DT Devonnsha Maxwell on this weekend
 
"It means they're going to leave the place better than they found it. They've stayed here through it and made sure it's in a better place than when I got here (in 2019). It's through their hard work and dedication to each other." – Coach Rusty Wright on what this group of seniors have meant to the foundation of the program
 
3 NOTES TO KNOW

• First trip to Cullowhee since 26-6 win on Oct. 13, 2018. The two teams met in Chattanooga in 2019 and 2021 with the 2020-21 game postponed due to COVID.
• Rusty Wright is the first head coach since Brother Bill Oliver to have .500 or better seasons in his first four years: 2019 (6-6), 2020-21 (3-2), 2021 (6-5) & 2022 (7-3); 22-16. Rusty, Brother, CFB Hall of Famer Frank Thomas (1925-28) & Leslie Stauffer (1910-13) are the only ones to accomplish that in school history.
• Chattanooga leads the league in fewest penalties (36) and penalty yards (388), while Western Carolina is penalized the most (56) and yards (840).

 
2022 WEEKLY HONORS
Week 1
Reuben Lowery III, SoCon Defensive Player of the Week
Reuben Lowery III, TSWA Tennessee Defensive Player of the Week
Ailym Ford, TSWA Tennessee Offensive Player of the Week
 
Week 2
Preston Hutchinson, SoCon Offensive Player of the Week
Preston Hutchinson, TSWA Tennessee Offensive Player of the Week
 
Week 3
Preston Hutchinson, SoCon Offensive Player of the Week
Preston Hutchinson, TSWA Tennessee Offensive Player of the Week
Ty Boeck, TSWA Tennessee Defensive Player of the Week
 
Week 5
Ailym Ford, TSWA Tennessee Offensive Player of the Week
Reuben Lowery III, SoCon September Defensive Player of the Month
Jay Person, TSWA Tennessee Defensive Player of the Week
 
Week 8
FedEx Ground FCS National Team of the Week
Athlon FCS National Team of the Week
Kameron Brown, SoCon Defensive Player of the Week
 
Week 9
Ty Boeck, TSWA Tennessee Defensive Player of the Week
 
Week 10
Reuben Lowery III, SoCon Defensive Player of the Week
 
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