Mocs Prepare For Ranked Season Opening Showdown With Austin Peay

Chattanooga-(WDEF-TV) The Chattanooga Mocs earned a top ten ranking during their brief spring season a few months ago. Now they want to prove they are indeed one of the nation’s top FCS teams as they kick off their fall season this Thursday against Austin Peay.

Since Chattanooga returns 46 players with four or more years of experience. That has to make the head coach feel comfortable heading into the opener. Right Coach Wright?

Said head coach Rusty Wright: “(chuckles) It’s only my second true season opener. I don’t know if I’m more comfortable now than I was for the first one. I can promise you I don’t feel that way. I feel. I didn’t sleep very well last night if that makes you feel any better.”

Maybe coach is still sleeping on his starting quarterback.

Will it be Drayton Arnold, Cole Copeland, or maybe transfer Robert Riddle?

Said Wright: “We’re going to put one out there and take a snap. We may play’em all. We may play one. We may play two. I don’t know. Everybody is caught up on that. In game I’m not sure how much it really matters because they’re just another piece that has got to play well and has got to do what it’s supposed to do.”

The Mocs and Governors are the only ranked FCS opponents facing off to open the season.

Said Wright: “Yeah I mean I think it’s always good to play good people right out the gate. I don’t know if it doesn’t do you any good not to at the end of the day. We are going to go through a stretch where we are going to play close games in our league.”

Said linebacker Ty Boeck: “One thing I don’t think rankings mean a lot to this team. I think we know what we can do, and we’re just excited to go show everybody what we can do.”

And the best part of the match-up… fans will be back at Finley Stadium.

Said Arnold: “It feels like we’re playing an actual football season now. You have fans there now. The record counts so to speak right?”

Said Boeck: “First game with fans back in the stands. It’s going to be a surreal feeling. Been really two years since we’ve had a game like that.”

Kickoff is at 7:30pm Thursday at Finley Stadium. Chattanooga is ranked 18th in the country, while Austin Peay is ranked 20th.