Chattanooga Mocs running back Ailym Ford joined Coach Rusty Wright and defensive back CaMiron Smith at this week’s press conference.
CHATTANOOGA—The 19th-ranked Chattanooga Mocs are coming off an impressive Southern Conference opener beating Western Carolina 45-17. It was an offensive explosion with 518 yards with 271 on the ground and 247 in the air.
There’s a stat many schools call “explosive plays” while the Mocs simply call them big plays. Those are offensive plays that go for 20 or more yards. Coming into Saturday’s game, they had eight for the season. The running backs and receivers combined for nine against the Catamounts.
The last of those was the 54-yard burst to the end zone by Ailym Ford. It put him in elite company breaking a 43-year mark. He reached the 1500-yard plateau running the ball in 15 games. Gwain Durden ’80 set the broken record of 16 in 1978. Durden set the career record of 3,686 in his stellar 4-year career before it was snapped by Jacob Huesman in 2015. Huesman ended up with 4,051.
The defense is second in the nation with nine interceptions after three more against the Cats. That 2.25 average is a 24-25 pick pace which would threaten the 1979 mark of 26 during the regular season. Five different defensive backs have interceptions: Brandon Dowdell (4), Jerrell Lawson (2), CaMiron Smith, Rashun Freeman and Telly Plummer.
This week’s presser included Coach Rusty Wright followed by Ford and Smith. The trio talked about difficult task ahead Saturday travelling to defending SoCon Champ VMI as well as Ford’s rushing numbers and the ball-hawking secondary.
This week’s kickoff is listed at 1:30 p.m., from Lexington, Va. It’s televised on ESPN+.
3 NOTES TO KNOW
- Won five of the six matchups since the Keydets returned to the SoCon in 2014.
- The 271 rushing yards Saturday was the most since Nov. 9, 2019 with 275 in the win at Samford. The Mocs have topped 200 yards on the ground in 11 of 13 SoCon games under Rusty Wright.
- Last three defensive efforts produced season lows for opponents: North Alabama (90 yds), Kentucky (356) & Western Carolina (277 v FCS).
TICKETS
Here is a link to VMI’s ticket page for those making the trek this weekend. Home tickets are available by calling (423) 266-MOCS (6627) or online here at GoMocs.com. Fans also can go through the GoMocs app available on Android and Apple IOS devices in their respective app stores.
MEDIA
TV – ESPN+: Wade Branner (PxP) & Chip Tarkenton (Analysis)
Radio – WFLI 97.7 FM/1070 AM: Jim Reynolds (PxP), Todd Agne (Analysis) & Will Poindexter (Sideline)
Listen Live – Radio broadcast is available for free online at GoMocs.com & on the Varsity Network App
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