TICKETS
CHATTANOOGA---Homecoming Week is off and running for the Chattanooga Mocs and campus community. Civic events, campus contests and visits from prominent alums are just part of an exciting week.
All of that surrounds one of the marquee matchups around the country and certainly
the one taking place in the Volunteer State on Saturday. The Mocs and Western Carolina meet in a battle that when the dust settles, the winner lays claim to the Southern Conference lead for at least a week.
"[WCU] plays with a lot of confidence," Coach
Rusty Wright shared. "They've done a good job of getting guys to do what they do, and they're just playing well across the board. Offensively, their running back averages 150 yards, and I'm not sure he's played past the first half in the last two games. Their quarterback is playing at a high level, they've wideouts that can go, and they're probably one of the biggest offensive lines we've played against so far this year.
"Defensively, they give you issues because they're long, athletic and can run. We'll have our hands full Saturday in all three phases."
Kickoff Saturday is at 4 p.m., airing on ESPN+ as well as the Mocs Sports Network (radio). It's Hall of Fame Weekend with four student-athletes and one coach being inducted Friday night including PGA Tour pro Stephan Jaeger '12 (golf), Michelle Fuzzard LaCourse '12 (softball), Bobby Orand '80 (wrestling), Anastasia Zhukova '07 (tennis) and Coach Frank Reed (softball).
Week 6: #20 Chattanooga (4-1/3-0) vs. #17 Western Carolina (4-1/2-0)
Game Time: 4 p.m. |
Location: Finley Stadium; Chattanooga, Tenn. (
Tickets)
Game Notes:
Media Center |
Weekly Stories:
Monday |
Tuesday
Coaches
Chattanooga:
Rusty Wright (Chattanooga '96) | UTC: 26-18 (5th) | Career: Same | vs. WC: 2-1
Western Carolina: Kerwin Bell (Florida '88) | WCU: 14-13 (3rd) | Career: 107-55 (13) | vs. UTC: 1-1
Series
Game: 49th | Record: 30-18 | H: 17-7 | A: 13-11 | SoCon: 28-17 | Last 5: 3-2 | Streak: -1
Vs. Western Carolina
- One of four schools with 30+ wins against: The Citadel (35), Samford (34) & Tenn. Tech (30).
- 1-0 when facing the Cats as a ranked team on homecoming (#4, 2015, 41-13). 0-1 when Western is ranked Homecoming opponent (#24, 1993, 10-41). First one to 41 wins?
- 1st matchup with both schools ranked. 4-3 (2-1 home) when ranked vs. Western, 0-2 (0-1 home) against ranked Catamount squads.
- Chattanooga is 18th in the FCS in Scoring Offense (34.4 ppg) & 21st in Scoring Defense (20.2). Western is tied for 6th on offense (39.2) & tied for 44th on defense (24.4).
- 9.7% of RB Ailym Ford's 3,801 career rush yards came against WCU (75 car., 371 yds, 3 TD).
- Last Homecoming matchup vs. Western Carolina in 2019 included 96 points scored in a 60-36 win. The two combined for 1,086 yards of offense (589/497), 823 yards rushing (400/423). The Mocs averaged 8.2 yards per play (72-589). There were 150 snaps with still finding a way, with all those points and yards, to have five punts combined.
Notes to Know
- Chattanooga is No. 20 in the AFCA Coaches Top 25 & 24th in the Stats Perform Poll. Western Carolina is 17th according to the AFCA & 11th in Stats Perform.
- 79-80-1 as a ranked team (54-52 at the FCS level). 48-22 in home games as a ranked team, 22-14 at FCS level.
- Third in the nation in penalty yards per game (26.0) and seventh in penalties per game (4.0).
- 3rd nationally in red zone defense allowing scores on six (4TD/2FG) of opponents' 10 drives that reach the Mocs 20. The Catamounts have 32 red zone entries with 24 scores. 83.3% of their scores are touchdowns (20). WCU has twice as many TDs in the red zone than Chattanooga's allowed teams to enter.
- QB Chase Artopoeus is 7th nationally in passing yards (1,307), 9th in pass yards per attempt (8.95), 16th in yards per completion (14.05), Artopoeus is 15th in total offense (287.0), 16th nationally in passing TDs (9) & 19th in passing efficiency (153.8).
- Edge Jay Person and DE Ben Brewton are closing in on becoming the 5th and 6th Mocs with 20 or more career sacks. Person (19.0) needs 1.0, while Brewton (17.5) is 2.5 shy.
- WR Jamoi Mayes needs just nine catches to reach 100 & 55 yards to get to 1,500 for his career.
What We're Hearing
"We can't let them run it and throw it; we're going to have to pick our poison. We've got to figure out how to defend it. I'm not sure you can take it all away, but you've got to figure out how to slow one part of it down so you can do a little bit better in the other. Offensively for us, it's going to be about being consistent and figuring out a way to move the football, keep them off the field and convert third downs." –
Coach Wright on the matchup
"[There's] a lot of focus and a lot of attention to detail this week. We know this is a big game. We know that if we come out and play like we did last week, we could definitely get hit in the mouth and be in for a long one. We have to be very attentive to detail, put our eyes in the right spots and everyone has to fly around to the football and make plays." –
DT Quay Wiggles on the magnitude of the WCU game
"Obviously, their offense is great, but that doesn't change how our offense is going to play. Our goal is always to go out there and score as many points as we can. They're a very good defensive team, well-coached with a lot of speed." –
QB Chase Artopoeus on the challenge ahead
LAST CHANCE SALE
It's the last opportunity to purchase the Pick 3 football mini-plan. The cost is $36 for the set with a $5 order charge.
Click here to order and get your seats for No. 17 Western Carolina, Rail Rivalry opponent ETSU and No. 4 Furman.
Everything Is Cashless Now On Gamedays
No cash will change hands at Mocs athletics venues in 2023-24. That includes tickets, concessions, merchandising and even parking. Be prepared to pay by credit card when coming to enjoy the hard-working efforts of our student-athletes and coaches.
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