CHATTANOOGA—The 19th-ranked Chattanooga Mocs put together their best offensive performance of the season in a 45-17 triumph over Western Carolina. The VMI Keydets, receiving votes in both FCS national polls, are coming off a tough 35-24 road loss to bitter rival The Citadel.
The Mocs face a difficult task in the reigning Southern Conference Champs. VMI has won eight of its last 10 league matchups and six of last seven at home. On the flip side, Chattanooga has three straight FCS road wins dating back to their last visit to Lexington in 2019.
The offense is coming off a 500+ yard performance. The legs of running back trio of Tyrell Price (82), Gino Appleberry (79) and Ailym Ford (74) all topped 70 yards combining for 235 of the team’s season-high 271 yards.
The defense has been on point of late as well. That includes 25 tackles for loss with 13 sacks and 11 takeaways. The group ranks in the top 20 nationally in total (18) and rushing (9) defense as well as interceptions (2) and TO Margin (14). They’ll have their hands full with Keydet receivers Jakob Herres and Leroy Thomas who have combined for more than 300 career catches for nearly 4,000 yards.
COACHES
UTC: Rusty Wright (Chattanooga ‘96) | UTC: 11-10 (3rd) | Career: Same | vs. VMI: 0-1
VMI: Scott Wachenheim (Air Force ‘84) | 20-49 (7th) | Career: Same | vs. UTC: 1-4
3 NOTES TO KNOW
- 518 total yards are the most since 589 in the Sept. 28, 2019 victory over Western Carolina. 247 passing yards are the most since 268 in the Nov. 16 ,2019 win over The Citadel.
- The Mocs nine picks rank second nationally. That total is higher than 2012 (8), 2013 (6), 2014 (8), 2016 (7) and 2018 (6). There were 12 air thefts in Wright’s initial campaign (2019).
Chattanooga had eight “explosive” plays of 20+ yards entering the Western Carolina game. It had nine alone against the Catamounts – 4 rushing & 5 passing. It included five of the six longest on the year
No. 19 Chattanooga at VMI
Game 5 | Oct. 9 | Lexington, Va. | Foster Stadium (10,000)
| Team | Record | SoCon | Stats Perform Top 25 | AFCA Coaches Top 25 |
| Chattanooga | 2-2 | 1-0 | RV | 19 |
| VMI | 3-2 | 1-1 | RV | RV |
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