Three takeaways from UTC's football win over Wofford
Feb. 27—Here are three takeaways from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team's 24-13 win over 11th-ranked Wofford at Finley Stadium on Saturday, when the Mocs opened their Southern Conference schedule and improved to 1-1 overall for the 2020-21 season:
Drayton Arnold report: It was fair to question the fifth-year senior starting quarterback after a sub-par performance in the Mocs' 13-10 loss at Western Kentucky this past October. But I also wondered if some of that was due to rust, as Arnold hadn't started a game since his senior year of high school. Saturday suggested the latter could be the case, as Arnold passed for 223 yards and a touchdown against a good defense, and after the first quarter, he didn't put the ball in danger. It's definitely a performance that should make UTC coach Rusty Wright feel confident.
Receivers are fine: Aside from Bryce Nunnelly, who will finish his college football career elsewhere, UTC's receivers didn't consistently perform during the most recent full season, so there were questions as to who could step up and provide the production that Nunnelly offered. Maybe it could be Reginald Henderson, whose 102 yards on seven catches against Wofford (1-1, 1-1) didn't even include two highlight-reel grabs that were ruled out of bounds. Maybe it could be Andrew Manning, who moved into Nunnelly's slot position and had 77 yards on three catches. But UTC is fine at receiver.
Defense as good as expected: There was never any question about how good the defense was after the Western Kentucky game, but there may have been some cause for concern after the Terriers drove downfield on the opening series Saturday. UTC erased those doubts by allowing just 124 yards of offense the rest of the game and forcing one of the Terriers' two turnovers (the other came on a muffed punt).
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3.
