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Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009

Eagles return home for key conference game against Mocs

STATESBORO — Chattanooga and the FCS playoffs are synonymous.

But the connection with the playoffs has been with the city of Chattanooga, the host of the championship game, and not the Mocs’ program.

Change, however, is brewing in the wind as the Mocs have emerged as a surprise in the Southern Conference under first-year head coach Russ Huesman.

The Mocs, off to their best start since 1997, visit Georgia Southern (3-3, 2-1 Southern Conference) on Saturday in the Eagles’ only October home game.

Georgia Southern is coming off a three-game road swing, losing 42-12 to North Carolina on Saturday. The Mocs (4-1, 2-1) have won three straight, including a 14-7 win at Samford last weekend.

Georgia Southern leads the series 19-3, but Chattanooga has won two of the past three games, including a 45-38 win at Paulson Stadium two years ago.

“They’re playing with a lot of confidence,” Georgia Southern head coach Chris Hatcher said of the Mocs. “They’ve had some success, and when you start having success, especially with a new coach, you go out and play with confidence.

“The ball seems to bounce your way a little bit more. They’re playing sky high and making plays.”

The playoffs are very much on the minds of the Eagles, who believe they are much better than their record indicates. But another loss would all but end Georgia’s playoff hopes.

“I wish the record was better,” quarterback Lee Chapple said. “But we can still win out and get in the playoffs. We’re good enough to beat everyone we have left, but on the other hand, everyone we have left is capable of beating us.”

Despite the lopsided score, Hatcher found a lot of encouragement in the contest against the Tar Heels.

“There were a lot more positive than negatives,” Hatcher said. “The defense gave up two long drives, but their other scores came off offensive mistakes.

“You can look at the score and say the defense did not play well, but we held them to 69 yards total offense in the second half. I felt like we improved a little bit in areas we needed to get better in, and I feel good about our team heading into Southern Conference play.”

Georgia Southern trailed 14-7 and was driving in the second period when the Heels’ took advantage of two turnovers to score 21 in a four-minute period. It was 42-7 at the half, and the Eagles had six turnovers in the game.

Adam Urbano ran for a career-high 93 yards, including a 45 yard run for Georgia Southern’s lone touchdown.

“Our offensive line played as well as it has all season,” Hatcher said. “You’re never pleased with getting beat, but I feel like we’re heading in the right direction going back into Southern Conference play.”

Chattanooga opened its season with an easy win over Division II Glenville (W.Va.) State and followed it up with a loss at Furman.

But the Mocs bounced back to beat Presbyterian before conference wins over Wofford and Samford.

Chattanooga has been using a stingy defense and efficient offense to get Huesman off on the right foot at his alma mater. Prior to going to Chattanooga, he was the defensive coordinator for Richmond’s national championship team last year.

The Mocs are leading the conference in turnover margin at plus-1.2 per game, nearly double Elon’s plus-0.67. The Eagles have struggled in that area, with a minus-0.33, which ranks seventh in the conference.

“Turnovers have been a huge part of our wins,” Huesman said. “The only reason we’re winning is that we’re not turning the ball over.“

Chattanooga lost a big part of its offense against the Bulldogs when tailback Bryan Fitzgerald went out in the second quarter with an ankle injury. He entered the game leading the conference in rushing at 105 yards per game but will not play Saturday.

Sophomore quarterback B.J. Coleman, a transfer from Tennessee, has thrown for 1,132 yards and nine touchdowns. Senior Blue Cooper has 30 catches for 313 yards and three scores.