Mocs QB Preston Hutchinson SoCon Offensive Player of the Week

(gomocs.com) CHATTANOOGA—The 9th-ranked Chattanooga Mocs are off to a 2-0 start this season behind a fierce defense and balanced offense. That offensive balance was very apparent in the 38-20 win at Eastern Illinois Saturday behind this week’s Southern Conference Offensive Player of the Week Preston Hutchinson.

The senior gunslinger accounted for three of the Mocs five touchdowns with two on the ground and one by air. He completed 17 of 27 passes for 278 yards including the 51-yard scoring connection with redshirt freshman Javin Whatley.

Hutchinson ran for 64 on six carries. He scored the first and last UTC TDs with 20 and 14-yard runs, respectively. The 342 yards of total offense is the most by a Moc since Nick Tiano’s 387 (347 pass/40 rush) at The Citadel in 2018, also a Week 2 road win.

“(Preston) played a good game,” Coach Rusty Wright began. “He played hard and gave us an opportunity to win. He kept some things alive with his feet and made good throws when he needed to, and those guy’s converted with good runs and catches. It was a good day for him offensively.”

The defensive effort went even deeper into the stats archives. The unit registered 13 tackles for losses including six sacks. The 13 TFLs are the most since 14 in November 2008 at Western Carolina.

The Mocs host the North Alabama Lions Saturday evening at 6 p.m. The Lions are fresh off a 49-17 home win over UVA Wise and enter at 1-1 after opening the season with a narrow 17-14 overtime loss at Indiana State.

UNA is averaging 31.5 points per game so far and has a stout rushing attack at 188.5 yards per contest. Defensively, the Lions have been stingy allowing just 2.9 yards per rush and 4.4 per play in the early going.

“They played well against Indiana State and won last week at home,” Wright noted. “It’ll give us some problems and some things they do offensively. The running back’s a really good player. It’ll be one of those days we’re going to have to go play defense and cover the whole field, because that’s what they do.

“Defensively, they line up a bunch of different ways, different sets and formations. We’ll need to be buttoned up on a bunch of things and execute like we’re supposed to.”

It’s Homecoming Week with a special guest in attendance. You’ll see him plenty around town and on campus throughout the week so keep your eyes out for our favorite NFL Hall of Famer Terrell Owens.

3 NOTES TO KNOW

• Chattanooga is No. 9 in the AFCA Coaches Poll and No. 10 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25.
• The rushing attack account for 193 yards at EIU. That’s back-to-back weeks topping 190 and the 10th time in the last 12 games.
• 759 yards allowed in last four road games: at Samford (200), at Wofford (136) & at Mercer (163) in 2021. That’s an average of 189.8 total yards per game with 329 on the ground (82.3 ypg) and 430 in the air (107.5 ypg). The Mocs are 3-1 over that stretch.