NOTES | QUOTES | PHOTOS

CHATTANOOGA (September 14, 2024) --- The No. 14 Chattanooga Mocs football team suffered from offensive struggles during a tough 10-3 loss to No. 23 Mercer during its home and Southern Conference opener on Saturday evening inside Finley Stadium.
 
Following the defeat, Chattanooga drops to 0-3 overall and opens league play 0-1. Mercer remains unbeaten and improves to 3-0 overall and 1-0 inside SoCon action.
 
Despite a strong defensive effort, the Mocs offensive unit failed to reach the endzone during the contest and was limited to just 19 rushing yards on 20 attempts. In addition, an 0-of-12 total on third down attempts proved to hinder any scoring opportunities.  
 
"A lot of credit to Mercer. They came in here and won a football game. They won possession, which in the Southern Conference can win you a football game," said head coach Rusty Wright following the game.
 
"We had talked about it all week that we were going to get their best shot, and we got it. We're our own worst enemy sometimes. We have to fix ourselves before we worry about anything else."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Kameron Brown delivered a spark for the Chattanooga defense in the opening quarter with an interception over the middle before the two teams ended the opening frame knotted at 0-0. Mercer broke the scoreless lock and took a 7-0 lead following an 11-play, 82-yard touchdown drive with 5:55 left in the half.

Chattanooga answered with a short scoring drive that spanned 61 yards in just five plays and was capped off with a 32-yard Jude Kelley field goal, cutting the deficit to 7-3 at the break. The lone score the rest of the way would be a 35-yard field goal from Mercer's Reice Griffith with 5:30 left in the fourth, ultimately amounting to the 10-3 final decision.
 
UTC finished the game 0-of-12 on third down attempts and saw its last six offensive drives come up empty. The Mocs did outgain the Bears in total yards-per-play during the contest (5.15-4.16), but suffered a hefty 12-plus minute deficit in time of possession (36:17-23:43).

SCORING SUMMARY
2nd Quarter
5:55 – MER – TD – B. Smith 9-yard rush (XP GOOD) – 7-0 MER
3:24 – UTC – FG – J. Kelley 32-yard field goal – 7-3 MER
 
4th Quarter
5:30 – MER – FG – R. Griffith 35-yard field goal – 10-3 MER
 
RECORDS/SERIES – Chattanooga 0-3 (0-1) ∙ Mercer 3-0 (1-0) ∙ UTC leads all-time series 22-12-1.
 
UP NEXT – vs. Portland State – Saturday, Sept. 28 – 7 p.m. ET – Finley Stadium – ESPN+ – BUY TICKETS

3 NOTES TO KNOW | MORE
1 – 330 receiving yards over the first three weeks for Sam Phillips…5th Moc with 300+ yards in first three games since 2000: 546-Bryce Nunnelly (2018), 415-Joel Bradford (2010), 332-Cos DeMatteo (2000) & 303-Jamoi Mayes (2023).
2 – LB Alex Mitchell recorded 11 tackles with 2.0 for loss and a sack…tied career high for tackles and set a new high for TFLs…second career sack…nine solo stops for Mitchell are also a career high. 
3 – 0-12 on third downs...first time shut out on conversions since 0-7 in a 20-14 home loss to The Citadel on Oct. 21, 2017...largest disparity without a first down since 0-16 in 57-2 loss at Oklahoma on August 30, 2008. 
 
QUOTABLE | MORE
QB Chase Artopeous on getting the offense back on the same page.
"That's a good question and I'm asking myself the same question. I'm glad we have a bye week coming up. It's quite lucky, really. Hopefully we can look at the film and start dissecting what's going on with our offense and try to make it more proficient and efficient and just get back to our original form."
 
HC Rusty Wright on there being a lack of effort tonight.
"I didn't think that at all. I don't know what it looked like up there (in the press box/stands), and you can say lackluster since we weren't moving the football, but you have to give them some credit too. They came and played the right way. We had opportunities to make some plays, and we didn't make them. We had chances and we didn't make them. We need to figure out how to make them."

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