2019 Chattanooga Mocs football team

The 2019 Chattanooga Mocs football team represented the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon). The Mocs were led by first-year head coach Rusty Wright and played their home games at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga, Tennessee. They finished the season 6–6 overall and 5–3 in SoCon play to place third.

2019 Chattanooga Mocs football
Conference	Southern Conference
2019 record	6–6 (5–3 SoCon)
Head coach	Rusty Wright (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Joe Pizzo (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Lorenzo Ward (1st season)
Home stadium	Finley Stadium (Capacity: 20,668)

2019 Southern Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 16 Wofford $^		7	–	1					8	–	3
No. 21 Furman ^		6	–	2					8	–	4
Chattanooga		5	–	3					6	–	6
The Citadel		4	–	4					6	–	6
Samford		4	–	4					5	–	7
VMI		4	–	4					5	–	7
Mercer		3	–	5					4	–	8
Western Carolina		2	–	6					3	–	9
East Tennessee State		1	–	7					3	–	9
$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

Previous season

The Mocs finished the 2018 season 6–5, 4–4 in SoCon play to finish in a tie for fifth place.

Preseason

Preseason polls

The SoCon released their preseason media poll and coaches poll on July 22, 2019. The Mocs were picked to finish in fifth place by the media and in fourth by the coaches.[1][2]

Media poll

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Wofford	253 (21)
2	Furman	229 (6)
3	East Tennessee State	187 (2)
4	Mercer	146
5	Chattanooga	134
6	Samford	125
7	The Citadel	111
8	Western Carolina	88
9	VMI	32

Coaches poll

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Wofford	63 (7)
2	Furman	55 (1)
3	East Tennessee State	44 (1)
4	Chattanooga	40
5	Mercer	34
6	Samford	33
7	The Citadel	22
8	Western Carolina	21
9	VMI	12

Preseason All-SoCon Teams

The Mocs placed six players on the preseason all-SoCon teams.[2]

Offense 1st team Bryce Nunnelly – WR 2nd team Tyrell Price – RB Cole Strange – OL

Defense 1st team Marshall Cooper – LB Brandon Dowdell – DB Jerrell Lawson – DB

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 29	7:00 p.m.	Eastern Illinois*	Finley Stadium Chattanooga, TN	ESPN3	W 24–10	8,254
September 7	7:00 p.m.	at No. 18 Jacksonville State*	JSU Stadium Jacksonville, AL	ESPN+	L 20–41	19,428
September 14	12:00 p.m.	at Tennessee*	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN	SECN	L 0–45	86,208
September 21	4:00 p.m.	No. 2 James Madison*	Finley Stadium Chattanooga, TN	ESPN+	L 14–37	8,795
September 28	4:00 p.m.	Western Carolina	Finley Stadium Chattanooga, TN	ESPN+	W 60–36	7,636
October 5	4:00 p.m.	at Mercer	Moye Complex Macon, GA	ESPN+	W 34–17	8,972
October 17	7:00 p.m.	East Tennessee State	Finley Stadium Chattanooga, TN	ESPN+	W 16–13	7,124
October 26	1:30 p.m.	at Wofford	Gibbs Stadium Spartanburg, SC	ESPN+	L 34–35 ^OT	4,445
November 2	2:00 p.m.	No. 13 Furman	Finley Stadium Chattanooga, TN	ESPN+	L 20–35	7,431
November 9	2:00 p.m.	at Samford	Seibert Stadium Homewood, AL	ESPN3	W 35–27	4,835
November 16	2:00 p.m.	The Citadel	Finley Stadium Chattanooga, TN	ESPN+	W 34–33	7,363
November 23	1:30 p.m.	at VMI	Alumni Memorial Field Lexington, VA	ESPN+	L 24–31
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

[3]

Game summaries

Eastern Illinois

	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	3	7	0	0	10
Mocs	7	10	7	0	24

at Jacksonville State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Mocs	3	3	14	0	20
No. 18 Gamecocks	7	14	6	14	41

at Tennessee

	1	2	3	4	Total
Mocs	0	0	0	0	0
Volunteers	21	17	7	0	45

James Madison

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 2 Dukes	14	6	10	7	37
Mocs	14	0	0	0	14

Western Carolina

	1	2	3	4	Total
Catamounts	7	14	15	0	36
Mocs	6	31	7	16	60

at Mercer

	1	2	3	4	Total
Mocs	7	10	10	7	34
Bears	14	0	0	3	17

East Tennessee State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Buccaneers	0	13	0	0	13
Mocs	7	0	6	3	16

at Wofford

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Mocs	7	7	0	14	6	34
Terriers	0	14	7	7	7	35

Furman

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 13 Paladins	0	14	7	14	35
Mocs	3	9	0	8	20

at Samford

	1	2	3	4	Total
Mocs	7	21	7	0	35
Bulldogs	7	0	13	7	27

The Citadel

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	2	7	17	7	33
Mocs	12	0	0	22	34

at VMI

	1	2	3	4	Total
Mocs	10	0	7	7	24
Keydets	3	14	14	0	31

Ranking movements

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Final
STATS FCS	RV
Coaches	RV

References

1. "SoCon Media Tab Wofford Preseason Favorite". July 22, 2019. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
2. "Football Coaches Select Preseason Teams, Poll". July 22, 2019. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
3. "2019 Football Schedule". University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Athletics.