No. 12 Chattanooga vs. Western Carolina: Huge SoCon Clash Saturday

Western Carolina Takes On Chattanooga In A Game That Has Huge SoCon Title Implications

The Game: Chattanooga vs. Western Carolina

The Records: Chattanooga: 5-3 (4-0 SoCon) Western Carolina: 6-2 (4-0 SoCon)

The Location: Cullowhee, N.C.

The Venue: E.J. Whitmire Stadium (13, 742)

The Series: Chattanooga Leads 24-16, Including Having Won Five-Straight

Game Time: 2:00 p.m.

TV/Internet: SoCon Digital Network

Western Carolina vs. Chattanooga Preview

GREENVILLE, S.C–With Furman’s 45-0 loss to Samford last Saturday, the Southern Conference title race became a little clearer this past Saturday, and the Nov. 1 clash with between the Catamounts and Mocs has never been bigger.

Both the Catamounts and Mocs are off to their best respective starts in Southern Conference history, with the Mocs coming in ranked No. 14, while Western Carolina are flirting with breaking into the national polls.

The Catamounts have won six games in a season for the first time since the 2001 season, and for third-year head coach Mark Speir, the turnaround by the Catamounts, who won just three games in his previous two as the head coach, now stands at the doorstep of a Southern Conference title Saturday afternoon in front of what should be a sellout crowd in Cullowhee.

Should the Catamounts claim a Southern Conference crown this season, it would mark in the program’s first since joining the league some 37 years ago.

Chattanooga enters Saturday’s contest having claimed five Southern Conference titles in its history, including winning the league crown in 2013. However, despite tying with Furman and Samford for the league crown last season, the Mocs were not selected into the league’s postseason, stretching their playoff drought to 29 years.

Having already recorded wins against Catawba (35-17) and Brevard (45-21) this season, the Catamounts cannot have a missed step from here on out, as Western needs to all its remaining FCS games to claim the seven Division I wins needed to be eligible for FCS postseason eligibility, as Western ends the season with a trip to Tuscaloosa to face the FBS No. 3 Alabama Crimson Tide to close the campaign.

Should the Catamounts accomplish the feat of winning their remaining FCS games, it would mark just the second time the program has qualified for the FCS postseason, and would mark the program’s first trip back to the postseason some 31 years ago, when the Catamounts advanced all the way to the FCS national title game against Southern Illinois before losing soundly to Southern Illinois, 43-7, in the Division I-AA national title game.

The Catamounts went on to post an impressive 11-3-1 mark, winning playoff games against Colgate (24-23), Holy Cross (28-21) and Furman (14-7), with their quarterfinal matchups against the Crusaders and the semifinal clash with SoCon rivals Furman both coming away from Cullowhee.

At the beginning of the season, I had a strange feeling it could be a big season for the Catamounts, but I likely didn’t think the title would be decided on Nov. 1 when the Mocs and Catamounts were to square off at Whitmire Stadium.

Chattanooga has been a tough out since Russ Huesman arrived in 2009, posting just one sub-.500 record, which came in 2011, as the Mocs finished 5-6 overall and 3-5 in Southern Conference in a season which saw the Mocs suffer injuries and some tough losses, including five league losses by a combined 12 points.

Huesman’s career has seen him record a 34-28 in his six seasons on the sidelines as the head coach of the Mocs. Over the past two seasons, the Mocs have been impressive in Southern Conference play, having won 14 of the 16 league games they have played.

The Mocs and Catamounts will be meeting on the Southern Conference gridiron for the 41st time in series history, as the Mocs hold a 24-16 all-time series edge.

The Mocs have won seven of eight games in the series, including the last three by an average of 28 PPG, including the past two by three TDs. The Catamounts have been out-scored 138-52 in the past three meetings between the two.

In last season’s meeting between the Catamounts and Mocs, Western Carolina would overwhelmed by an onslaught from the Mocs, who raced to a 21-0 halftime lead on the strength of three scoring strikes from quarterback Jacob Huesman, and the Mocs would use a Huesman scoring run to take a 28-0 lead before the Catamounts would ever find the end zone.

The meeting between the Mocs and Catamounts might be an unlikely pairing for the Southern Conference title, however, it’s one that offers intrigue and is surrounded by some excitement. The Catamounts enter the contest with one of the better offenses in the Southern Conference, coming into the contest averaging 412.9 YPG, while Chattanooga brings the league’second best defense into the contest, surrendering a mere 309.2 yards-per-game.

The game marks an opportunity for the Catamounts to snap their 22-game losing streak to FCS ranked competition, dating back to a 20-17 win over No. 19 Eastern Kentucky in 2006.

The matchup between the Catamounts and Mocs will feature two of the best quarterbacks in the SoCon, in Western Carolina signal-caller Troy Mitchell (142-of-214 passing, 1,647 yds, 12 TDs, 5 INTs) and Chattanooga quarterback Jacob Huesman (110-of-173 passing, 1,288 yds, 12 TDs, 6 INTs).

Both Huesman and Mitchell have shown proficiency calling their own number when having the football this season, as Huesman leads the Mocs in rushing so far in 2014, as he enters the monumental SoCon clash leading the Mocs with 483 rushing yards and six scores on 94 attempts (5.1 YPC). For the Catamounts, Mitchell has rushed for 432 yards and three scores on 90 attempts so far this season (4.8 YPC), with his averages almost exactly that of his counterpart.

Terryon Robinson (30 rec, 460 yds,1 TD, 12.1 YPR ) and Spearman Robinson (30 rec, 479 yds, 8 TDs, 16.0 YPR) have been a challenge for any secondary in the Southern Conference to handle this season, and Saturday’s contest they will face a talented Chattanooga secondary, which features all-conference caliber performers, in safety Cedric Nettles (27 tackles, 3.5 TFL, 1 FR) and cornerback Dee Virgin (42 tackles, 1.0 TFL, 7 PBUs). Nettles and Virgin are both all-league candidates in the defensive backfield for the Mocs.

The Mocs’ top wideout coming into Saturday afternoon’s contest is Xavier Borishade (14 rec, 242 yds, 2 TDs, 17.3 YPR), who comes into the contest as the third-leading wideout for Chattanooga, but has been playing exceptionally well as of late for the Mocs. In the narrow win over Mercer last Saturday, Borishade had a 61-yard scoring catch.

Borishade will team with C.J. Board (23 rec, 338 yds, 2 TDs, 14.7 YPR) and Tommy Hudson (19 rec, 284 yds, 3 TDs, 14.9 YPR), who are both big-play wideouts in the passing game for the Mocs. Hudson has had some of the more explosive plays this season for the Chattanooga offense, including a 70-yard TD for a score earlier this season against Central Michigan.

The Catamounts come in with a pair of defensive backs that have been among the best in the SoCon this season, in Trey Morgan (33 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 5 INTs, 5 PBUs, 2 FFs ) and Ace Clark (53 tackles, 3.5 TFL, 1 INT, 1 FR, 3 FFs). Morgan was recently named Southern Conference Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts in the Catamounts’ win over The Citadel last week.

The running backs on each side have the potential to be game-breakers, in Chattanooga’s Keon Williams (101 rush att, 433 yds, 6 TDs, 4.3 YPC) and Western Carolina’s Darius Ramsey (103 rush att, 524 yds, 6 TDs, 5.1 YPC), who have also benefitted from having running quarterbacks this season. Ramsey needs just 42 yards rushing Saturday to surpass his career-high for a season, which he established last season with 565 yards.

Countering both running games are two solid linebacking corps for both the Catamounts and Mocs. Daniel Riddle (54 tackles, 4.5 TFL, 1.5 sacks, 2 FFs), who will start at the middle linebacker position, while the experience of Sertonuse Harris (44 tackles, 6.5 TFL, 2.0 sacks, 1 INT, 3 PBUs, 2 FRs) and Christon Gill gives the Catamounts a pair of experienced seniors surrounding the freshman standout.

The Mocs come in with what would be considered an unheralded group at linebacker, however, likely have one of the more athletic contingents of linebackers in the Southern Conference. Muhasibi Wakeel (65 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 1 FF) and Nakevion Leslie (51 tackles, 7.0 TFL, 1.0 sack, 1 PBU) rank first and third on the Mocs’ roster in tackles this season.

It’s the defensive line of Chattanooga that will garner most of the attention for Mark Speir and staff on Saturday, and the Mocs’ front four have been nearly unstoppable this season. Davis Tull (41 tackles, 13.5 TFL, 8.5 sacks, 2 FFs, 1 blkd kick) is one of the leaders to garner the prestigious Buck Buchanan Award given to the nation’s top defensive player.

Tull’s attention has allowed others to get into the act on the defensive line this season for the Mocs, as Derrick Lott (28 tackles, 10.5 TFL, 5.0 sacks, 1 FR) has benefitted from the attention garnered by Tull this season. Lott and Daniel Ring (27 tackles, 3.5 TFL, 1 FR) will line up as the two nose tackles on Saturday, and will probably be the deepest tandem the Catamounts have faced this season, and the only line that the Catamounts have seen even comparable to the Mocs this season came back in their Southern Conference opener in the 31-17 win at Furman.

Rounding out the quartet slated to start along the defensive front on Saturday for the Mocs will be former linebacker Zach Rayl (13 tackles, 2.0 TFL) and preseason second team All-SoCon selection Josh Freeman (21 tackles, 3.0 TFL, 2.5 sacks, 1 FR). Rayl will join Tull as a starter at defensive end, while Freeman will line up inside along with Ring.

In contrast, the Western offensive line has been one of the real surprises of the season in the Southern Conference. The Catamounts come in tied for third with Chattanooga in the SoCon this season in sacks allowed, having yielded just eight sacks on the campaign. It has certainly been one of the big reasons the Catamounts find themselves in the type scenario they find themselves in Saturday, and last season, the Mocs surrendered 21 sacks to finish sixth in the league in that category.

Up front, the Catamounts returned everyone and the unit is among the most experienced fronts in the league this season, anchored by one of the league’s best tandems of offensive tackles, in left tackle Hunter Kirby and right tackle Josh Wineberg. Wineberg was a preseason All-SoCon selection and is the Catamounts’ most experienced offensive lineman, having made 30-career starts, including 25 consecutively.

Chattanooga came into the season with a relatively young offensive line, and it’s been one that has seemingly improved with each game this season. The Mocs are anchored up front by left guard Corey Levin, who made the move from tackle-to-guard five games ago, and Levin was considered the top offensive lineman for the Mocs coming into the campaign, as he was named preseason second-team All-SoCon.

The most experienced Moc along the offensive line is right tackle Brandon Morgan, who has 29-career starts coming into Saturday’s SoCon showdown.

Going toe-to-toe with the Mocs’ offensive line Saturday will be an improved and experienced defensive front for the Purple and Gold. Anchoring the unit will be Caleb Hawkins (33 tackles, 7.O TFL, 2.0 sacks, 1 FF) and John McBeth (23 tackles, 1.5 TFL), who will start at the respective defensive end positions, and their experience has paid dividends this season.

Helva Matungulu (16 tackles, 2.0 TFL) is turned into one of the league’s better defensive tackles, and is one of the most improved players on the defensive side of the ball for the Catamounts this season.

Final Prediction:
One of the things that makes the new Southern Conference great is the opportunity for other teams to step up and make some noise, and that will be the case when the Catamounts and Mocs tee-it-up on Saturday.

For Chattanooga, the Mocs are still a hungry program even though they claimed a SoCon title last season, as the Mocs were snubbed from the FCS postseason and should have been the third team from the SoCon playing in the FCS playoffs in 2013. But that was the motivation fueling the Mocs coming into the season, and it has led to a dominating start for the Mocs, who weren’t really tested in SoCon play until last week’s game against Mercer. The Mocs haven’t made the FCS postseason since 1984 despite winning their Southern Conference title for a fifth time last season.

Is any program hungrier than Western Carolina? Probably not. The Catamounts have never won a Southern Conference title and have only been to the playoffs, like UTC, just one time, which was a year prior to Chattanooga’s appearance, as the Catamounts went in 1983. WCU managed to make it all the way to the national title, with greats like Tiger Greene, Jeff Gilbert and Louis Cooper all apart of that great run to the title, which eventually ended with a lopsided, 43-7, loss to Southern Illinois. That season saw the Catamounts finish with an 11-3-1 overall record.

Though the Catamounts haven’t had many opportunities, they have had opportunities to make the postseason and win the conference title, with those opportunities seemingly coming in both 1992 and ‘93. In ‘92, the Cats lost a similar situation in the final game of the season against Appalachian State, which they needed to win to make the postseason, however, a 14-12 loss in Boone kept the Catamounts from making it into the postseason. WCU already had a win over No. 2 Marshall (38-30) on a Halloween Saturday that season.

A year later, the Catamounts were in a similar position and maybe had a better football team, but lost games to No. 16 Appalachian State and at No. 9 Marshall by a combined eight points. Last season, it was heartbreak for the Mocs, who saw their playoff hopes end in Birmingham with a 17-14 overtime loss to Samford.

This is a matchup between a pair of programs that have found their fair share of heartbreaks along the way, and the winner Saturday will be a step closer to finally finding their way back at national prominence after such a long absence. It’s been remarkable how both coaches have turned around each program.

The Catamounts, who have played two non-Division I opponents this season, are in a must-win situation. I believe with what should be a raucous crowd in Cullowhee on Saturday, the Catamounts find a way to get the victory and take a major step towards the program’s first-ever Southern Conference title.

Western Carolina: 20, Chattanooga: 17