TICKETS

CHATTANOOGA---The 22nd-ranked Chattanooga Mocs are back on the road in Southern Conference play this weekend at Wofford. The Mocs have cruised to SoCon victories over the last two weeks, while the Terriers have suffered heart-breaking 3-point losses at home to Presbyterian (23-20) and on the road at VMI (17-14).
 
It's the Nexstar SoCon Game of the Week. It's the third of eight straight weeks of SoCon Saturdays. Any chance the Mocs are overlooking Wofford? Not likely.
 
"Like Coach Wright was telling us, they're a couple of plays away from being one of the top SoCon teams," senior defensive back Kam Brown shared at yesterday's press conference linked below. "We've got to go into this game like it's any other game that we would play in the conference. For some reason, everyone (in this league) plays us to their hardest ability, so we have to be prepared."
 
Kickoff Saturday is at 6 p.m. It airs on ESPN+ along with audio on the Mocs Sports Network. It also airs on WFLI 53.2 My Network TV in Chattanooga (308-EPB, 226-Comcast & 53-DirecTV).
 
Week 5: #22 Chattanooga (3-1/2-0) at Wofford (0-4/0-1)
Last Week: Chattanooga 47, at Samford 24 | at VMI 17, Wofford 14
Game Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Gibbs Stadium; Spartanburg, S.C. (Tickets)
Weekly Stories: Monday | Tuesday Presser
 
Coaches
Chattanooga: Rusty Wright (Chattanooga '96) | UTC: 25-18 (5th) | Career: Same | vs. Woff: 3-1
Wofford: Shawn Watson (SIU '80) | Woff: 3-7 (2nd) | Career: 25-51 (5th) | vs. UTC: 0-0
 
Series
Game: 30th | Record: 14-15 | H: 10-6 | A: 4-9 | SoCon: 11-15 | Last 5: 3-2 | Streak: +3
 
vs. Wofford
- Looking to get back to .500 in the series. Won the first five matchups beginning in 1927. Won the last three...6-15 in the 21 in between.
- VMI (28) is the only team in the SoCon the Mocs have faced fewer times.
Top performers against the Terriers...
- RB Ailym Ford: 3G, 64-396, 5 TD (86 long) rushing/2-46 receiving
- DB Reuben Lowery III: 3G, 1.0 TFL, Pick 6 (45 yds)
- Edge Jay Person: 4G, 17 tackles (5.5 TFL/1 sack)
- LB Bo Spearman: 2G (reserve), 7 tackles (0.5 TFL)
 
Notes to Know

• 78-80-1 as a ranked team (53-52 at the FCS level). 30-58-1 in road games as a ranked team, 22-38 at FCS level. 6-1 all-time against Wofford when ranked (3-0 in Spartanburg). Lone loss (28-36) was Nov. 12, 2016 in Chattanooga.
• 149 points through four games (37.3). Most since 162 in 2016 (66 vs. Shorter, 34 vs. Presbyterian, 21 at Furman, 41 vs. Samford). Record is 199 in 1951. Need 50 points this weekend to match 2016 (199) and 63 to reach the best number through five games (212, 1951).
• 2nd nationally in red zone defense allowing scores on five (2TD/3FG) of opponents' drives that reach the Mocs 20. Offensively, the Mocs are 18 of 19 on red zone entries (94.7%) with 11 TDs/7 FGs. Lone missed opportunity was on downs at North Alabama on game-tying attempt late in fourth quarter.
• WR Jamoi Mayes leads the NATION in receiving yards (417) and is third (1st SoCon) in yards per game (104.3).
• QB Chase Artopoeus' 1,226 yards of total offense is the most in the first four games of a Mocs career. Second only to Nick Tiano's 1,295 in 2018, his second campaign with the program.

 
What We're Hearing
"Not a whole lot of rest for the weary now. We've got to go over to Spartanburg and play a game on Saturday night. It'll be all we want, and we'll have to go play well and get it figured out. You can watch those guys and tell they have a plan of what they're trying to do. I'm not sure you can count the VMI game, I know it counts in the standings, but that game was played in a monsoon, so I'm not sure how anybody got anything done in that one, and they've played good [teams] in William & Mary and Pittsburgh. Playing them at home... I'm sure it'll be a good crowd, and it'll be loud. Last time we played on the road at night, we didn't play very well. So, we've got some things to figure out between now and then, and hopefully we will." – Coach Rusty Wright on the matchup ahead
 
"[Wofford] makes you work to go make plays. They're not going to turn somebody loose, there's not going to be a gaping hole. The one thing we've done in the last few weeks is we haven't turned the ball over, knock on wood. That was the difference in the game Saturday, and we have to continue to do that, especially on the road. You've got to take care of the football and you've got to limit big plays. We're going to find out if we can grow a little bit this week." – Coach Wright on what it takes to win on the road
 
"For us, it's focusing on ourselves more so than the opponent. Every day when we go out to practice, every Saturday when we go out to play, we try to be a little bit better than we were the day before. Wofford is a really good team. They might be 0-4, but they've had some tough losses. Presbyterian scored a late TD on them, they had a tough game with VMI, then they went and played William & Mary, who's a top 5 team in the country and played them really well. They're nothing to take lightly." – TE Jay Gibson on preparing for Wofford
 
Chattanooga Players of the Week
Week 2: Jordan Walker, Defense (SoCon)
Week 3: Jude Kelley, Special Teams (SoCon)
Week 4: Alex Mitchell, Defense (SoCon & Tennessee Sports Writers)
 
Tickets On Sale
The Mocs 2023 schedule is linked above. Home games remain with visits from Western Carolina (Oct. 7), ETSU (Oct. 21) and Furman (Nov. 4). Click the link above, go to the Go Mocs app or call (423) 266-MOCS (6627) to purchase.
 
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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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