Mocs' loss in opener offers blueprint for improvement

Sep. 3—Throughout the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's 2021 football season, Times Free Press UTC beat writer Gene Henley will list three major takeaways from each game.

Here are his thoughts after the Mocs' 30-20 season-opening loss to Austin Peay on Thursday night at Finley Stadium, a matchup of nationally ranked teams in the Football Championship Subdivision.

The Mocs can't win without better quarterback play: Despite being a sixth-year senior, Drayton Arnold made just the sixth start of his collegiate career, and it was only his 11th appearance in a college game. The other two players who seriously contended for the starting role entering the opener were junior Cole Copeland, who has played in eight games (although only two since 2017), and sophomore Robert Riddle, an offseason transfer who played in 11 games at Mercer after redshirting in 2017.

One of those three has to be the answer, because in the current state of college football, a good quarterback lightens the load on everyone else. If he's a true threat throwing, opponents have to respect the passing game (which Austin Peay's defense quit doing as Thursday's game wore on), and that opens up holes to run the ball, which is what UTC likes to do in an attempt to play complementary football. Having a quarterback who can keep the offense moving also makes life easier on the defense by giving those players time to rest, and that would have helped UTC when the Governors started going with an up-tempo offense in the second half.

Arnold has been up and down since his first start against Western Kentucky last fall, with Thursday the third time in his six starts he has completed fewer than half of his passes. The Mocs are 1-2 in those games, with the exception a 20-18 road win over Furman this spring, and Copeland entered in relief that day. Arnold was 2-for-8 on third down against the Govs, and he overthrew multiple receivers, including Tyler "Smoke" Smith on a deep route that would have been a touchdown if on target. That's just not going to cut it.

UTC defense got gassed in second half: The offense's struggles led to struggles for the defense, which already had been tackling poorly in spots. UTC's six offensive series in the second half netted seven points, 119 yards and an average time of possession of 2:28, but the Govs gained 117 yards in the fourth quarter alone.

Even when the defense made a play — like Brandon Dowdell's fourth-quarter interception, his second of the game — the offense didn't help, losing 3 yards on two rushing attempts before throwing an incomplete pass on the ensuing possession that consumed just 1:38 of game time. Dowdell even alluded to the fatigue afterward, stating the defense was "very exhausted" late in the game.

Not all is lost, but weaknesses were exposed: People don't have to go far back to remember a UTC team losing a disappointing home opener to a talented Ohio Valley Conference opponent before making a run: In 2014, the Mocs lost 26-23 to ninth-ranked Jacksonville State to fall to 0-2, but that UTC team won 10 of its next 11 games before losing in the FCS quarterfinals.

For a similar turnaround to happen this year, there's plenty to be addressed. Coach Rusty Wright and his staff are going to have to find a quarterback they can trust, one who is effective and capable of being the decisive factor in at least a game or two — because the difference between the Mocs and Austin Peay in this meeting was that the Govs had the better quarterback.

That 2014 UTC team had three-time Southern Conference offensive player of the year Jacob Huesman behind center. This one doesn't, and until someone emerges as the guy, the Mocs are capable of winning games within the SoCon but not much else in the way of significance.

Their first chance to show progress: Sept. 11 at North Alabama, which gives them more than a week in between their first and second games.

Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3.