Chattanooga

[apaladin]

There is a reliable report that UTC did not start a single starter today the statrted last week against Furman. If true this is disturbing and an integrity of the game issue. UTC was 3-0 going into today and a likely playoff team. Is this fair to the UTC players that wanted to make the playoffs? Is it fair to fans or parents? If UTC wants to quit that is fine, quit but do not make a sham of the game. Coach should be repimanded along with the AD. SoCon should take action but of course they won’t. NCAA should place at least a 2 year playoff ban. If I was a UTC player I would be heading to the transfer portal.

[FUBeAR]

There is a reliable report that UTC did not start a single starter today the statrted last week against Furman. If true this is disturbing and an integrity of the game issue. UTC was 3-0 going into today and a likely playoff team. Is this fair to the UTC players that wanted to make the playoffs? Is it fair to fans or parents? If UTC wants to quit that is fine, quit but do not make a sham of the game. Coach should be repimanded along with the AD. SoCon should take action but of course they won’t. NCAA should place at least a 2 year playoff ban. If I was a UTC player I would be heading to the transfer portal.

Look at this L - this is a Fall L. Now...
Look at this L - this is a Spring L.

See the difference?

Neither do I.

If Chatt’s Head Coach wants to take an L, FUBeAR is fine with his decision to make his Team into Losers.

[bonarae]

Coach should be fired outright? xdontknowx

[apaladin]

Looked it up and 10 of the 11 starters on defense last week did not play today. 5 of 11 starters on offense did not play today. Of the few that did play I do not know if they started or not but doubt it. This really stinks.

[Laker]

At 3-0 why would he do this???

[apaladin]

At 3-0 why would he do this???

The only reason is so no starter gets hurt. This is crazy. You have games to play now and something to play for. Why worry about the fall season?

[Laker]

The only reason is so no starter gets hurt. This is crazy. You have games to play now and something to play for. Why worry about the fall season?

Exactly. Play for today- you could get hurt in a car. Play to win.

[caribbeanhen]

Exactly. Play for today- you could get hurt in a car. Play to win.

totally agree, Why doesn’t the Coach go play dominoes was Spack

[JayJ79]

totally agree, Why doesn’t the Coach go play dominoes was Spack
he could get hurt doing that. sometimes dominoes fall off the table, and you accidentally slip/trip on it, and hit your head on the edge of the counter, leading to injury/paralysis/death.
best not to take that risk

[Laker]

Yes, you can get hurt off of the field.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Exh_NFWWQAAFK5K?format=jpg&name=small

[Schism55]

Yes, you can get hurt off of the field.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Exh_NFWWQAAFK5K?format=jpg&name=small

Lol this is one of my all time fav pics, I look at it every couple months. Will never NOT be funny xlolx

[ysubigred]

Lol this is one of my all time fav pics, I look at it every couple months. Will never NOT be funny xlolxOle dirty dick got the Bears in contention for a share of the MVFC,,

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

[Milktruck74]

If anyone listened to Coach Wright over the last 4 or 5 months, this is not a surprise. He has always said he was playing for the fall and was going to treat the spring season like a NFL preseason. He is correct in thinking his team can not play 20+ games in a 9 month period. That is just not physically possible. I once played 3 games in 8 days, and I was beat down for a month afterward. The team is completely bought in to this plan and is excited to make a run at something special in the fall.

The Mocs have talent...deep talent. They lined up 8 true freshmen, 2 juniors, and a senior on offense and still managed to go toe to toe with first team defense of Mercer... Let this sink in.... The 4th string RB that has never taken a snap had 19 carries for 137 yards and 2 TDs...and did it behind 5 (6 counting a TE) kids that played on Friday nights last fall.

[caribbeanhen]

If anyone listened to Coach Wright over the last 4 or 5 months, this is not a surprise. He has always said he was playing for the fall and was going to treat the spring season like a NFL preseason. He is correct in thinking his team can not play 20+ games in a 9 month period. That is just not physically possible. I once played 3 games in 8 days, and I was beat down for a month afterward. The team is completely bought in to this plan and is excited to make a run at something special in the fall.

The Mocs have talent...deep talent. They lined up 8 true freshmen, 2 juniors, and a senior on offense and still managed to go toe to toe with first team defense of Mercer... Let this sink in.... The 4th string RB that has never taken a snap had 19 carries for 137 yards and 2 TDs...and did it behind 5 (6 counting a TE) kids that played on Friday nights last fall.

so why not manage that deep talent's playing time...say they only needed to play 15 minutes yesterday to pull out a win....

I get his strategy but he better win in the fall or else right....

[Daytripper]

so why not manage that deep talent's playing time...say they only needed to play 15 minutes yesterday to pull out a win....

I get his strategy but he better win in the fall or else right....

Exactly. If your team is so great, break out to an early lead and sit the starters in the second half. If he doesn't win big in the fall he is going to look like an idiot and a jack***.

[Libertine]

so why not manage that deep talent's playing time...

Didn't he, though? Those guys played the first games. If you're working from the perspective that the spring season doesn't matter, then why would he care about spring W/L 's?

[KPSUL]

If anyone listened to Coach Wright over the last 4 or 5 months, this is not a surprise. He has always said he was playing for the fall and was going to treat the spring season like a NFL preseason. He is correct in thinking his team can not play 20+ games in a 9 month period. That is just not physically possible. I once played 3 games in 8 days, and I was beat down for a month afterward. The team is completely bought in to this plan and is excited to make a run at something special in the fall.

The Mocs have talent...deep talent. They lined up 8 true freshmen, 2 juniors, and a senior on offense and still managed to go toe to toe with first team defense of Mercer... Let this sink in.... The 4th string RB that has never taken a snap had 19 carries for 137 yards and 2 TDs...and did it behind 5 (6 counting a TE) kids that played on Friday nights last fall.

I couldn't care if a coach for another team decides to use a spring conference game as scrimmage; however, I wouldn't like it if Sean Mcdonnell did it at UNH ( Zero chance he would). I also think this could backfire as well. Competition drives excellence and putting players on the field when better players could be out there in a close games is not promoting excellence. Also losing games can become a habit.

While 3 games in 8 days would be grueling with insufficient rest and recovery time, 20 games in 40 weeks is no way the equivalent.

But I'll do as Coach Wright requests and ensure I don't consider Chattanooga a top 25 team for the remainder of the Spring Season. There are plenty of other teams that are busting their butts to be there.

[Milktruck74]

Didn't he, though? Those guys played the first games. If you're working from the perspective that the spring season doesn't matter, then why would he care about spring W/L 's?

He doesn't care about spring games. I'm not saying I like the decision, but I do understand it and respect it. As a fan we worry about 4 or 5 hours a week about 12 weeks a year....as a coach, you have to worry about 168 hours a week 52 weeks a year. As a player I would take 12 easy hours in the fall and 18 much more difficult hours in the spring. If this practice is the same, many of his players are struggling with their grades right now. Is it worth a conference championship if 10 kids fail out of school and never get their degree? What about 5? How many futures is conference championship worth? He is making the best decision for his kids/team....not based on wins...but based on futures. Maybe it is the wrong decision, but he is doing the best he can with the information he has right now. This isn't PRO football, these are STUDENT-Athletes.....HE felt a 4 game season was enough....and that is where the season ends. I don't think Chattanooga plays anymore spring games.

[caribbeanhen]

Didn't he, though? Those guys played the first games. If you're working from the perspective that the spring season doesn't matter, then why would he care about spring W/L 's?

I was thinking it more like the starters play a half game every game and not take a whole game off, but it looks like that was not in his plans so I get you

[Libertine]

I think that, in a lot of cases, fans of FCS football have gone through a shift in viewpoint that few other people share, including the coaches of FCS teams. Specifically, many fans appear to be approaching this spring season as an aberrative replacement for the lost 2020 season and their expectations for teams' goals and strategy align with that viewpoint. However, the fall-to-fall viewpoint of coaches really hasn't changed and some of them -- not all, but clearly more than a few -- have completely written off fall 2020 and are approaching this spring 2021 season as the aberration instead. I'm not saying that one perspective is right and one is wrong, merely that we shouldn't be surprised if some teams don't take these games as seriously as their fans do.

[The Cats]

Just curious, how can you pick wins or losses for UTC the rest of the spring, when you don't know which team Rusty Wright will play on Saturday?

Most coaches play to win, guess it's just different in Cullowhee and Chattanooga.

[apaladin]

Can you imagine an FBS team doing this and getting away with it? Live for the moment and opportnity at hand. Lots could happen between now and September. What if things don’t go well the first 2 or 3 games in the fall? Does he shut it down again and plan for 2022? Really makes a mockery of FCS football.

[Mocs123]

Right or wrong, I think Rusty was trying to do two things, keep opportunities for injuries for projected starters down, and develp younger players, which is what you would normally be doing in the spring anyways. Multi year starters like Brandon Dowdell and Cole Strange wouldn't be playing many snaps in spring practice and most of the players that played yesterday haven't ever been able to go through a spring practice before as we didn't get to have one last year. I know Rusty thinks that not getting these younger guys a lot of meaningful snaps would be detrimental to the program long term.

The spring season has been really weird. I know it seemed like a good idea at the time - and I as a fan want to see them play - but it's caused a lot of complications and issues that nobody thought about when it was announced. This has been an unprecedented season for sure.

I know Coach Wright is doing what he feels is right for his players and the program, and I also know he wants and expects to win.

[Libertine]

Can you imagine an FBS team doing this and getting away with it? Live for the moment and opportnity at hand. Lots could happen between now and September.

FBS teams aren't playing in the spring and coaches don't get paid to live in the moment. Every coach I've ever been around wanted their team to "be at their best on gameday" and built their entire yearly calendar around that axiom. If a coach considers the real gamedays as those 11-15 Saturday's in the fall, then these 6-9 Saturday's in the spring are going to look like scrimmages to them.

[apaladin]

Dangerous precedent. Come fall, teams that don’t start well should just shut it down and start planning for 2022. Only teams that start well should continue to try.

[Go Lehigh TU owl]

Can you imagine an FBS team doing this and getting away with it? Live for the moment and opportnity at hand. Lots could happen between now and September. What if things don’t go well the first 2 or 3 games in the fall? Does he shut it down again and plan for 2022? Really makes a mockery of FCS football.

Temple pretty much threw in the towel during our fall season. Between local (Philly) and state (PA) covid regulations it was virtually impossible to field a competitive team. Our interim AD also refused to schedule OOC games against the wishes of the AAC.

Bring on fall....

[SU DOG]

I thought that UTC was in the SoCon. To play a spring schedule was decided by the conference months ago. If Rusty Wright wanted to bail out of the season, why not announce doing so back then? This is NO time to opt out, which is essentially what he is doing. Not right for Mocs players, fans, and the opponents. Unbelievably bad ill-timed decision. Hard to imagine that even UTC fans are happy with this.

[Tuna85]

If Chatty had won the game, with their younguns, would there have been as much grumbling? I think if they had not dropped two kicks, recovered by their opponents near the end zone, the younguns would have won. Catching those kicks during a torrential downpour was dicey at best.

[FUBeAR]

We can speculate from now until Kingdom come what woulda, coulda, shoulda happened IF this, that, and the other, but the fact of the matter is that Chattanooga had an official NCAA Division I FCS regular season Football game on their schedule on March 27, 2021 at home vs. Mercer.

Mercer WON the game 35-28.

Chattanooga EARNED their LOSS.

[Milktruck74]

I thought that UTC was in the SoCon. To play a spring schedule was decided by the conference months ago.

Let's revisit this statement in 12 months....

[apaladin]

Let's revisit this statement in 12 months....

Just curious, why 12 months?

[The Cats]

Let's revisit this statement in 12 months....

I don't think anyone will cry......

[Mocs123]

We can speculate from now until Kingdom come what woulda, coulda, shoulda happened IF this, that, and the other, but the fact of the matter is that Chattanooga had an official NCAA Division I FCS regular season Football game on their schedule on March 27, 2021 at home vs. Mercer.

Mercer WON the game 35-28.

Chattanooga EARNED their Loss.


And in the SoCon Pick'Em thread I congratulated Mercer on the win. Congratulations Mercer on the Win. Chattanooga lost the game - we had too many mistakes to overcome. If you want to win a football game, you can't make as many mistakes as we made including turning the ball over twice in your own red zone.

[Mocs123]

I thought that UTC was in the SoCon. To play a spring schedule was decided by the conference months ago. If Rusty Wright wanted to bail out of the season, why not announce doing so back then? This is NO time to opt out, which is essentially what he is doing. Not right for Mocs players, fans, and the opponents. Unbelievably bad ill-timed decision. Hard to imagine that even UTC fans are happy with this.

Coach Wright was absolutely against the spring season - especially with as many games as were scheduled. He was very outspoken about it and has said he thought it was the wrong thing for the players and the program in just about every interview with him since last fall even before the schedule was officially announced. On at least one interview he thought it put the whole SoCon at a disadvantage in the fall vs. conferences that are playing less games in the spring. I think if he had the choice to opt out of the whole spring season he would have done so, though I think he really liked what Portland State, Montana, and Montana State did. Rusty was always clear on how he felt about the issue.

Coach Wright has stated that his guys needed a normal spring practice and off season. We have freshmen that are in their second year here (C/O 19) that have never had a college spring practice and workout program. We didn't get a practice last year due to COVID (I know some teams like Furman were already done) and wern't going to get one this year due to the "Spring" season. He feels that the best thing for the long term health of the program is to develop the young guys.

Now, was it the right thing to do - I don't know. I think only time will tell. He did anger some fans for sure, but overall I think the majority seem to understand where he is coming from and all seem to think he is building something special. As a fan - I want to win and I wanted to go beat Mercer, WCU, Samford, and ESTU on the way to a SoCon championship but I trust Coach Wright and know he cares about his players, the school, and the program as much as anyone. Both he and his wife played sports for UTC, he's been an assistant coach here twice before, he continuted to live here and commute to GStU when he was a coach there rather than move - He loves this school and this city. I trust the process.

[Mocs123]

I thought that UTC was in the SoCon. To play a spring schedule was decided by the conference months ago.

For what it's worth (perhaps nothing) UTC was openly opposed to the spring season.

[dgtw]

So why didn’t they just sit out the spring or play an abbreviated fall schedule?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Mocs123]

Coach Wright wanted to play more in the fall but I think there were some eligibility questions that didn't get answered in time. I know we tried to pick up a game with Nebraska, but the BIG squashed it. As for the spring season I think Chattanooga was told they had to play.

[Chalupa Batman]

Coach Wright wanted to play more in the fall but I think there were some eligibility questions that didn't get answered in time. I know we tried to pick up a game with Nebraska, but the BIG squashed it. As for the spring season I think Chattanooga was told they had to play.

How can they be told they had to play? What could’ve happened if they just opted out like ISUb, the Montana schools, Portland St., Sac. St. and other schools have?

[walliver]

Wofford and VMI have no graduate programs, and Furman's are fairly limited. As a result, players tend to move on when they are ready to graduate and often don't return for a 5th year, and would be extremely unlikely to return for a sixth year. Hence there is a strong push to allow these players to play in the Spring. Other programs have limited graduate programs an are still at risk of losing players to graduate transfers. Hence the strong push to play in the Spring. I personally wish we had just played in the fall.

I just wish Wofford was actually playing this spring. :(

[Libertine]

How can they be told they had to play? What could’ve happened if they just opted out like ISUb, the Montana schools, Portland St., Sac. St. and other schools have?

Bear in mind that a head coach does not make decisions about or for his program in a vacuum and the decision to play or not play certainly isn't even his decision to make alone. Over the last year, we've seen a lot of coaches at all levels forced into going along with administrative decisions that they didn't like. In some cases like the Montana schools, most of the MEAC, etc., admin and coaches didn't get on the same page until mere weeks before the season started which, understandably, caused massive in-conference scheduling disruptions. We don't know -- and probably never will reliably -- what discussions have gone on administratively at UTC or within the SoCon but, this spring season more than any other season ever, I am inclined to cut coaches a MASSIVE amount of slack on how they choose to conduct their program.

[Mocs123]

Wofford and VMI have no graduate programs, and Furman's are fairly limited. As a result, players tend to move on when they are ready to graduate and often don't return for a 5th year, and would be extremely unlikely to return for a sixth year. Hence there is a strong push to allow these players to play in the Spring. Other programs have limited graduate programs an are still at risk of losing players to graduate transfers. Hence the strong push to play in the Spring. I personally wish we had just played in the fall.

I just wish Wofford was actually playing this spring. :(

And I think those two (along with ETSU) were pushing very hard for a spring season - and honestly who can blame them in their situations. VMI is going all in on the spring season as they lose Udinski to Maryland in the fall.

I'm not saying it was the right decision or the wrong decision - to be honest we may not know for a couple of years, but I do think Rusty Wright made the decision he felt like was the right decision for his players and the program. I realize as a fan - I'm focused on the 3 hour's on Saturdays and I want to win. I know Rusty and his staff have a lot more to think about than that. The fans might not be thinking about getting someone ready to start at Free Safety in 2022, the fans aren't worried about the kid taking 18 hours of engineering classes this spring, but he is worried about stuff like that. We didn't get a spring practice the past two years, and I think that played into his decision as well. I also know that as a fan, even a fan that tries to catch every interview, and one that has a few (somewhat) inside connections, I don't know 95% of the things that go in to a decision like this so I trust his decision.

[apaladin]

Absolutely, no way they were made to play. I suspect they opted out of their first game with VMI to give them another week to think about wheter they wanted to play or not. They should have opted out instead of making a farce/mockery of the spring season.

[Mocs123]

As for being made to play I've been told otherwise. (though it's not like Coach Wright or AD Mark Wharton told me this personally so I could be wrong)

I know Rusty was not in favor of the spring season as he felt like it was too many games in a calendar year for the players, so I wondered that after the VMI game was postponed too, but we didn't get to start practice until late due to COVID issues and only had 14 practices in by the time we played Wofford so that would have been what 8 practices before when we would have played VMI.

If Coach Wright wanted a "normal spring" and wasn't able to get one, was playing his young guys a bunch of meaningful game snaps (the guys that would get the majority of spring snaps while the veterans rested) the wrong thing to do? I can see different viewpoints on that, but you have to admit that those young guys got game meaningful and developmental game experience on Saturday.

As for a farce of the spring season - it was a one possession conference game - certainly not unusual in any fall season. In fact one could argue that if Chattanooga hadn't made some stupid mistakes like muffing two punts inside their own red zone (one on the 7 and one on the 16) giving Mercer a short field that they turned into two touchdowns, that the Mocs win that game, so it's certainly not a un- competitive game.

[FUBeAR]

FUBeAR doesn’t really care about all of the “moral”/“integrity” issues being discussed regarding Coach Wright’s Player personnel decisions.

He’s the Head Coach of Chattanooga’s Football Team.

Chattanooga had a game on their schedule.

Coach Wright selected the Players, from his eligible roster, that he wanted to play in this scheduled game.

That’s his job & his decision.

I once played in a game here we ran the same play (the EXACT same play) every play in the 2nd half. I played in a game where we pulled all of our starters after the 1st quarter. I didn’t play in a game when I could have because the next game was going to be for the SoCon Championship. These were all Coaching decisions.

Fine. If your Coaching decisions cause your Team to take an L, then take the L.

He made a similar decision when he decided to go for 2 in the 1st OT @ The Citadel. Could have hung another L on Chatt with that call, but it worked out and he booked a W for the Mocks. Great! This decision Saturday didn’t work out & he hung an L in the Mocks record books. He may never get another W or even another chance to get a W. All College Football could be shut down forever, tomorrow...nothing is promised.

His call. He made it. Now, he, his Asst. Coaches, his Players, his Players’ families, and Mocks Fans get to live with it - whatever that may /may not mean in the future. They EARNED the L & they OWN the L.

...simple as that, really.

[Mocs123]

Since when has anyone said that Mercer didn't beat Chattanooga? Mercer got the W, Chattanooga got the L - that will be a permanent record at each of the schools.

Rusty Wright made the decision he felt like was best for his players and the program and played the players he felt like needed to play. He felt like that was the correct decision - will he still feel that way in a year? two years? five years? Only time will tell.

If it was me, I'd have played for the "2020" Championship. It's certainly wasn't a given, but with Wofford and Furman out of the way I felt reasonably good about it, but I'm not the one making the calls. I'm a fan who doesn't have near the feel or information about his players or the program that Rusty does. He chose to play for the fall (and has been advertising such since last fall). If college football ends forever I imagine Coach Wright would regret the decision!

And just so you think anyone is trying to say Mercer didn't win: On March 27th 2021 Mercer beat Chattanooga by a score of 35 to 28.

[FUBeAR]

Since when has anyone said that Mercer didn't beat Chattanooga? Mercer got the W, Chattanooga got the L - that will be a permanent record at each of the schools.

Rusty Wright made the decision he felt like was best for his players and the program and played the players he felt like needed to play. He felt like that was the correct decision - will he still feel that way in a year? two years? five years? Only time will tell.

If it was me, I'd have played for the "2020" Championship. It's certainly wasn't a given, but with Wofford and Furman out of the way I felt reasonably good about it, but I'm not the one making the calls. I'm a fan who doesn't have near the feel or information about his players or the program that Rusty does. He chose to play for the fall (and has been advertising such since last fall). If college football ends forever I imagine Coach Wright would regret the decision!

And just so you think anyone is trying to say Mercer didn't win: On March 27th 2021 Mercer beat Chattanooga by a score of 35 to 28.
Right.

I’m kinda defending him. It’s his Team. He can decide who he does / does not want to play.

If his decisions help earn his Team a W (@ CIT), that’s fantastic.
If his decisions (possibly) help earn his Team an L (Mercer) that’s too bad for Chatt.

Just seems to be a lot of words trying to put an Asterisk beside the L that Chatt earned on Sat.

Didn’t see any effort to put an Asterisk beside the W Chatt earned @ CIT

Coaches’ decisions matter - Chattanooga’s Football Team beat The Citadel’s Football Team on 3/6.
Coaches’ decisions matter - Chattanooga’s Football Team lost to Mercer’s Football Team on 3/27.

[Mocs123]

Coaches’ decisions matter - Chattanooga’s Football Team beat The Citadel’s Football Team on 3/6.


True. That obviously could have gone the other way. Rusty's comment after the game was something like - We were going to get on the bus after that play win or loose we finished the game healthy and that was what mattered to me.

[Mocs123]

Chattanooga has opted out of the remaining Spring season

https://twitter.com/genehenley3/status/1376595553501470726

http://<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/GoMocsFB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GoMocsFB</a> has opted out of the remainder of the 2021 spring season. <br><br>More coming.</p>&mdash; Gene Henley (@genehenley3) <a href="https://twitter.com/genehenley3/status/1376595553501470726?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 29, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> (http://
.@GoMocsFB has opted out of the remainder of the 2021 spring season. <br /> <br /> More coming.<br /> &mdash; Gene Henley (@genehenley3) March 29, 2021)

[Mocs123]

https://gomocs.com/news/2021/3/29/chattanooga-football-opting-out-of-the-remainder-of-the-2021-spring-fcs-season.aspx

[Mocs123]

Yep. If the Keydets knock off ETSU this week they win the SoCon for the first time since 1977.

I emphasize enough how impressed I am with the turnaround at VMI.

[apaladin]

Good riddance. Hope the Mocs go 0-11 in the fall. xnodx

[Milktruck74]

FuBear....Mercer will be the last team to beat the Mocs in the Spring Season....so you have that too!!!!

[Mocs123]

Good riddance. Hope the Mocs go 0-11 in the fall. xnodx

I think you'll be disappointed xcoolx

With no disrespect to VMI, which is absolutely killing it right now, or any other SoCon team, I think Furman and Chattanooga are the two best teams in the SoCon this fall.

[FUBeAR]

Chattanooga has opted out of the remaining Spring season

https://twitter.com/genehenley3/status/1376595553501470726

http://<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/GoMocsFB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GoMocsFB</a> has opted out of the remainder of the 2021 spring season. <br><br>More coming.</p>&mdash; Gene Henley (@genehenley3) <a href="https://twitter.com/genehenley3/status/1376595553501470726?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 29, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> (http://
.@GoMocsFB has opted out of the remainder of the 2021 spring season. <br /> <br /> More coming.<br /> &mdash; Gene Henley (@genehenley3) March 29, 2021)

Conklining out....

https://soconsports.com/news/2021/3/29/football-southern-conference-statement-on-chattanooga.aspx

“...it is left unable to field a sufficient number of players at several position groups to meet the conference’s COVID-19 guidelines.”


...yet able to play “5th string Players” against Mercer on Saturday. Horse manure. FUBeAR had no problem with Coach Wright’s decision to play who he wanted to play on Saturday, but this is BS. Just take the L’s and forfeit if you don’t want to play vs. claiming this Covid-caused crap. Now, we’ll see multiple posts and articles justifying this BS with lists of impacted position groups.

[apaladin]

I think you'll be disappointed xcoolx

With no disrespect to VMI, which is absolutely killing it right now, or any other SoCon team, I think Furman and Chattanooga are the two best teams in the SoCon this fall.

Chattannoga, maybe, but not Furman unless a lot changes between now and September.

[ETSUfan1]

Hypothetically....if ETSU goes 5-1 and beats VMI, but they go 6-1....who gets the autobid? What a mess. Thanks UTC!

[The Cats]

Coach Wright was absolutely against the spring season - especially with as many games as were scheduled. He was very outspoken about it and has said he thought it was the wrong thing for the players and the program in just about every interview with him since last fall even before the schedule was officially announced. On at least one interview he thought it put the whole SoCon at a disadvantage in the fall vs. conferences that are playing less games in the spring. I think if he had the choice to opt out of the whole spring season he would have done so, though I think he really liked what Portland State, Montana, and Montana State did. Rusty was always clear on how he felt about the issue.



Then why didn't he opt out of the spring season entirely?

I'm sure the AD would not have "made" him play the season IF as you say he was "absolutely against the spring season". That was the time to take a stand, not now when it screws up the schedule with two or three weeks left in the season.

[kdinva]

and costs ETSU a home game (they already lost Wofford 4 weeks ago)...

[The Cats]

and costs ETSU a home game (they already lost Wofford 4 weeks ago)...

It cost Western Carolina and ETSU home games, just when the NC governor has expanded attendance to 50% of capacity.

[Milktruck74]

Then why didn't he opt out of the spring season entirely?

I'm sure the AD would not have "made" him play the season IF as you say he was "absolutely against the spring season". That was the time to take a stand, not now when it screws up the schedule with two or three weeks left in the season.

THe AD is in Support of this move. This is the greatest spring practice Ever!!! Got 3 weeks of practice, and 3 chances to see how good the starters looked against live game situation, and got a chance to see how the freshmen recruits are working out....and escaped with a single injury, that can be corrected before fall....yep, a well rested and healthy Mocs team will look good in the Fall of 2021. Coach Wright may be a little crazy...but like a Fox....and it seems there are other teams that are about to follow suit. Did the Mocs start a trend?

[Milktruck74]

It cost Western Carolina and ETSU home games, just when the NC governor has expanded attendance to 50% of capacity.

It did save both of you an embarrassing loss at home to a scout team...just sayin'

[The Cats]

THe AD is in Support of this move. This is the greatest spring practice Ever!!! Got 3 weeks of practice, and 3 chances to see how good the starters looked against live game situation, and got a chance to see how the freshmen recruits are working out....and escaped with a single injury, that can be corrected before fall....yep, a well rested and healthy Mocs team will look good in the Fall of 2021. Coach Wright may be a little crazy...but like a Fox....and it seems there are other teams that are about to follow suit. Did the Mocs start a trend?

You post totally justifies why those final 3 games the Mocs "opted out" of, should be forfeits.

Wright opted out of the first game of the spring season, then the last three. That's fine, but UTC should not be rewarded by the SoCon listing these games as "no-contests".

[The Cats]

It did save both of you an embarrassing loss at home to a scout team...just sayin'

We've been embarrassed before, will again, but we didn't call it quits, like the Mocs did.

[ETSUfan1]

UTC should be forced to play AT Western and ETSU in the fall.

[Milktruck74]

You post totally justifies why those final 3 games the Mocs "opted out" of, should be forfeits.

Wright opted out of the first game of the spring season, then the last three. That's fine, but UTC should not be rewarded by the SoCon listing these games as "no-contests".

Thats a conference decision.

[Milktruck74]

UTC should be forced to play AT Western and ETSU in the fall.

I could see the conference doing something like that. I'm not opposed as long as the schedule is not set..

[The Cats]

Thats a conference decision.

So, the SoCon is making right decisions now? Or is it only when the decisions they make favor Chattanooga?

[Milktruck74]

So, the SoCon is making right decisions now? Or is it only when the decisions they make favor Chattanooga?

No, I think Chattanooga taking advantage of their rules and using their mandates against them forced their hand to support the decision. A wll played chess match by Wharton and Wright. And the only decisions the SoCon leadership ever makes are those that favor the small privates....This YOU should know!!!! Don't you realize publics are tolerated by the SoCon at best!!!

[walliver]

So if we show up with 7 or 8 that can go both ways, do we have to play against your 11? Which kids that opted out of the season do we force to come back and participate? The one on chemo with the suppressed immune system? or does he get a pass? Force??? wow.

The Covid Protocols give kids the option of opting out any time they see fit. The covid protocols also set forth a minimum number of players per position group to field a team. Those are the rules set forth by the NCAA and the SoCon. The Mocs did't make the rules, they just followed them. You may not like it, but they took advantage of the rules and made them work to their advantage.

Now, maybe the conference takes this into account when creating the home schedules next season...I could see that being fair....but not forcing anybody to show up and play.

I doubt the fall schedules get changed. The current schedule is designed to give every team 4 home games and 4 away games in conference every year. If you start switching that up, Chatty, ETSU, and WCU would have unbalanced schedules henceforward. It's not like anybody is filling the stands to capacity this year with paying fans anyways.

[Milktruck74]

I did delete the post, I read it wrong. I thought the OP mean FORCE to play this spring. Hence, my very different and not so snarky response.

[The Cats]

No, I think Chattanooga taking advantage of their rules and using their mandates against them forced their hand to support the decision. A wll played chess match by Wharton and Wright. And the only decisions the SoCon leadership ever makes are those that favor the small privates....This YOU should know!!!! Don't you realize publics are tolerated by the SoCon at best!!!

Just who were they playing chess with?

Everyone else in the conference is playing by the standard rules of scheduling and honoring your schedule, even the small privates as you put it. I don't guess you realize you described a sleazy action on behalf of UTC? Will they get away with it, probably.

Is it still sleazy, yep.

[Milktruck74]

Just who were they playing chess with?

Everyone else in the conference is playing by the standard rules of scheduling and honoring your schedule, even the small privates as you put it. I don't guess you realize you described a sleazy action on behalf of UTC? Will they get away with it, probably.

Is it still sleazy, yep.

Rules were followed...I guess you aren't a fan of a reverse or a fake punt either. haha

[The Cats]

Rules were followed...I guess you aren't a fan of a reverse or a fake punt either. haha

ha ha ha

it's still sleazy, no matter how many rules were followed. That you and the other Moc fans are proud of it, says something about the UTC fan base, something not pleasant.

[Milktruck74]

ha ha ha

it's still sleazy, no matter how many rules were followed. That you and the other Moc fans are proud of it, says something about the UTC fan base, something not pleasant.

Yep, I'm proud of my team's head coach and Athletic Director for putting Grades over games, for putting Diplomas over dollars, for putting kids over conferences, for putting player's futures over opposing fan opinions....yep I'm proud of them for having the integrity to make the difficult decision to put the health and welfare of the 95 kids in their charge ahead of what others want and taking the daggers for doing so.

You may not like it, but they did the RIGHT THING!!!! Just because it is unpopular doesn't mean it isn't right. And I'll bet Mark Spier wishes he did the same thing!!!

[FUBeAR]

No, I think Chattanooga taking advantage of their rules and using their mandates against them forced their hand to support the decision. A wll played chess match by Wharton and Wright. And the only decisions the SoCon leadership ever makes are those that favor the small privates....This YOU should know!!!! Don't you realize publics are tolerated by the SoCon at best!!!
You spelled Solitaire wrong.

[FUBeAR]

Yep, I'm proud of my team's head coach and Athletic Director for putting Grades over games, for putting Diplomas over dollars, for putting kids over conferences, for putting player's futures over opposing fan opinions....yep I'm proud of them for having the integrity to make the difficult decision to put the health and welfare of the 95 kids in their charge ahead of what others want and taking the daggers for doing so.

You may not like it, but they did the RIGHT THING!!!! Just because it is unpopular doesn't mean it isn't right. And I'll bet Mark Spier wishes he did the same thing!!!
Nah...

1) playing the Players you choose to play even if they aren’t your best players - nothing too much wrong with that. Anyone betting FCS games for a living is an idiot & deserves to lose all their money.

2) deciding you don’t want to play - whenever you decide & then forfeiting games already scheduled is fine also.

3) making up some crap to manipulate the system & blaming Covid & not taking your L’s even though you decided to quit, that’s horse manure.

[The Cats]

Nah...

1) playing the Players you choose to play even if they aren’t your best players - nothing too much wrong with that. Anyone betting FCS games for a living is an idiot & deserves to lose all their money.

2) deciding you don’t want to play - whenever you decide & then forfeiting games already scheduled is fine also.

3) making up some crap to manipulate the system & blaming Covid & not taking your L’s even though you decided to quit, that’s horse manure.

I couldn't have said it better.

[Milktruck74]

Awww, look at the love fest...y'all make a cute couple....

[FUBeAR]

Awww, look at the love fest...y'all make a cute couple....
Maybe...but I think this pair is a much better match...

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/c9/43/f2/c943f21233ce3c2943eb945a0667648e.jpg




https://i0.wp.com/animalbehav.joshstevens.kscopen.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/IMG_0495.gif

[FUBeAR]

Thought everyone might enjoy seeing the highlights of the last we’ll see of the Chattanooga Mocks this Spring Season...

https://twitter.com/mercerfootball/status/1376996860582363136

Reckon the Mocks TV Announcer knew how prophetic he was with his final comment, “...Chattanooga will not be able to take another snap.”

[dewey]

If anyone listened to Coach Wright over the last 4 or 5 months, this is not a surprise. He has always said he was playing for the fall and was going to treat the spring season like a NFL preseason. He is correct in thinking his team can not play 20+ games in a 9 month period. That is just not physically possible. I once played 3 games in 8 days, and I was beat down for a month afterward. The team is completely bought in to this plan and is excited to make a run at something special in the fall.

The Mocs have talent...deep talent. They lined up 8 true freshmen, 2 juniors, and a senior on offense and still managed to go toe to toe with first team defense of Mercer... Let this sink in.... The 4th string RB that has never taken a snap had 19 carries for 137 yards and 2 TDs...and did it behind 5 (6 counting a TE) kids that played on Friday nights last fall.

I am in the minority but I think the coach is doing what is best for his players. Isn't that the coaches highest priority?

With teams opting out and quasi-opting out the NCAA should just stop this spring season and wait until the fall.

The ideas of punishing UTC for playing their backups is ridiculous. 2 simple words "coaches decision". In all honesty I would imagine the AD and UTC administration were all on board.

Hell other teams should be happy that they got the win instead of a loss.

Dewey

[Milktruck74]

I am in the minority but I think the coach is doing what is best for his players. Isn't that the coaches highest priority?

With teams opting out and quasi-opting out the NCAA should just stop this spring season and wait until the fall.

The ideas of punishing UTC for playing their backups is ridiculous. 2 simple words "coaches decision". In all honesty I would imagine the AD and UTC administration were all on board.

Hell other teams should be happy that they got the win instead of a loss.

Dewey

Interesting opinion piece from your neck of the woods....

https://www.inforum.com/bison-media-zone/mens-sports/football/6961277-McFeely-Maybe-its-time-NDSU-calls-off-its-season

[sinksdweller05]

Interesting opinion piece from your neck of the woods....

https://www.inforum.com/bison-media-zone/mens-sports/football/6961277-McFeely-Maybe-its-time-NDSU-calls-off-its-season


The schools and the conferences agreed to play the games. Play the games. No asterisks.***





***VMI fan

[Milktruck74]

The schools and the conferences agreed to play the games. Play the games. No asterisks.***







***VMI fan

That's fair. I absolutely agree there should NOT be any asterisk on any Conference or national championship. If a team won the games that were put in front of them, the deserve to be named Champion and hoist a trophy. I'm glad to see VMI having a great season to send Udenski out on and hoping he recovers quickly and can get to win experience that on the field!

[walliver]

That's fair. I absolutely agree there should NOT be any asterisk on any Conference or national championship. If a team won the games that were put in front of them, the deserve to be named Champion and hoist a trophy. I'm glad to see VMI having a great season to send Udenski out on and hoping he recovers quickly and can get to win experience that on the field!

I have seen a tweet that Udenski is out for the season. His back-up is very good, however.

[dewey]

That's fair. I absolutely agree there should NOT be any asterisk on any Conference or national championship. If a team won the games that were put in front of them, the deserve to be named Champion and hoist a trophy. I'm glad to see VMI having a great season to send Udenski out on and hoping he recovers quickly and can get to win experience that on the field!

I agree. If the season finishes there should be no asterisks for conference or National titles.

It is awesome to see VMI having a great season.

Dewey

[Mocs123]

I have seen a tweet that Udenski is out for the season. His back-up is very good, however.

I hate that for Udenski. He is a great player and I hope he recovers and is able to play for Maryland in the fall.