CHATTANOOGA---Has it really been 12 weeks? The season always seems to fly by once you get by week 5, but really? Game 11? The 16th-ranked Chattanooga Mocs head to Tuscaloosa this weekend to match up with No. 8 Alabama Crimson Tide.
 
There's a lot on the plate for both teams eyeing more than just a brisk Saturday morning kickoff. Playoffs loom in both the FCS and FBS variety. Both teams have some nervy moments ahead in that regard.
 
But that's the future and in the present, only Saturday matters. It's a big game because it's the next one, a belief the Mocs have carried week-in, week-out in their gauntlet to this point. There's a lot to be excited about with the opportunity ahead.
 
"It's Bryant-Denny, it's cool," Coach Rusty Wright shared. "We've all watched games on TV there, and it may not be a night game, but it's going to be a cool environment. That's why I'm excited for these kids to go down there, no matter what happens. I'm excited for these coaches to do that, no matter what happens. I'm excited to go out there and watch it.
 
"We'll go out there and throw what we've got at them, see what happens and go from there."
 
Kickoff Saturday is at Noon, Eastern time, on SEC+. It also airs on Mocs Sports Network (radio).
 
Week 12: #16 Chattanooga (7-3) vs. #8 Alabama (9-1)
Game Time: Noon (ET) | Location: Bryant-Denny Stadium; Tuscaloosa, Ala. (Tickets)
Series: 0-13 (History) | Media: SEC+ | Mocs Sports Network | Live Stats
Game Notes: UTC Media Center 
 
ICYMI
Stories from game week: Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday
 
COACHES
Chattanooga: Rusty Wright (UTC '96) | UTC: 29-20 (5th) | Career: Same | vs. Bama: 0-0
Alabama: Nick Saban (Kent St. '72) | UA: 198-28 (17th) | Career: 289-70-1 (28th) | vs. UTC: 3-0
 
MEDIA
TV: ESPN+ - John Schriffen (PxP), Rocky Boiman (Analysis) & Dawn Davenport (Sideline)
 
Radio: 96.1 FM, 100.3 FM & 1070 AM - Jim Reynolds (PxP), Todd Agne (Analysis) & Will Poindexter (Sideline). Also available online at GoMocs.com.
 
App: Go Mocs & Varsity Network
 
SERIES
Game: 14th | Record: 0-13 | H: 0-1 | A: 0-12 | Last 5: 0-5 | Streak: -13
 
vs. Alabama
- Fourth meeting since 2009. All have come the week prior to the Iron Bowl.
- Last matchup was a comeback win for the Tide in 2016. The Mocs led 3-0 after one quarter before 31 unanswered points for the hosts.
- Mocs have one student-athlete (LS Jake Hall) & one coach (Def. Coord. Lorenzo Ward) who played at Alabama.
- TE Rusty Wright played one season as starting center at UTC (1994). 1st opp.? Alabama.
- 14 on the roster from Alabama: OL JD Broussard (Athens), DB Kam Brown (Mobile), OL Almarion Crim (Adamsville), RB Reggie Davis (Montgomery), Edge Jestin Gilmore (Tuscaloosa), LS Jake Hall (Saraland), WR Jaden Jude (Athens), DT Kelvin Morris (Hartselle), DB Cardavion Myers (Piedmont), WR Matt Rozier (Huntsville), QB Luke Schomburg (Huntsville), LB Bo Spearman (Irondale), DT E.J. Thomas (Pritchard) & S Jordan Walker (Lafayette).
- Two former Chattanooga coaches have prominent places in Tuscaloosa. CFB Hall of Famer Frank Thomas went 26-9-2 in four Scenic City seasons (1925-28) before 15 campaigns on the Capstone (115-24-7). He won three SIAA titles with the Mocs and four SEC titles. H.D. Drew followed him for two seasons at UC (13-5-2) before joining Thomas' staff and becoming head coach from 1947-54.
 
Notes to Know…

• Coach Rusty Wright is 4-0 coming off the bye week.
• WRs Jamoi Mayes (924), Javin Whatley (802) & Sam Phillips (520) are the first Mocs trio since 2004 with 500+ to pass that number in the same season: Alonzo Nix (819), current assistant coach Tyrus Ward (660) and Emanuel Hassell (647).
• One of the best Red Zone teams in the country with defense ranked 7th (68.2%) & offense 11th (90.2%). Joined by just South Dakota State (3/1) in the top 12 in the FCS. South Alabama (11/8) is the only other in all of DI. Allowed just 22 trips with 15 scores (8 TD/7 FG).
• PFF College ranks the Mocs performance to date 19th in all of DI with a 92.2 grade ahead of Penn St. & Florida St.
• D-line has 25 of the Mocs' 30 sacks in 2023. 8th time with 30 or more, 3rd in five years under Wright.

 
QUOTABLE
"My dad was a die-hard Alabama fan. It's a great experience anytime you get on the field with an SEC opponent. Just playing against the top program in the country is a great experience." – sophomore guard Almarion Crim
 
"It's a dream come true. Being from Alabama, watching Coach Saban, being from Alabama…it's definitely a dream come true getting to play there." – sophomore guard Almarion Crim
 
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