The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team’s 2019 strength of schedule is ranked No. 2 in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), according to HeroSports.com.
Written by Senior FCS Analyst Sam Herder (@SamHerderFCS), the listing is based on the number of Top 25 opponents in the HERO Sports’ Preseason Poll, FBS opponents, games against 2018 playoff teams, non-counter games and the strength of the conference schedule.
The Mocs have one FBS game at Tennessee on Sept.
14 and no non-Division I games. UTC checks in at No. 19 in the Hero Sports preseason top 25. The slate includes games against No. 1 James Madison, No. 6 Jacksonville State, No. 8 Wofford, No. 15 Furman and No. 25 The Citadel.
“Our opener against Eastern Illinois is going to be battle,” stated UTC head coach Rusty Wright. “They are a very tough team and we can’t forget about them. This is definitely an ambitious schedule for our first year. We want to play a strong non-conference schedule every year, and we certainly have that.
“This also shows the strength of the Southern Conference. It is going to be an exciting season, and I hope to see our fans respond by getting out to Finley Stadium.”
JMU, Jacksonville State, Wofford and ETSU were all FCS playoff teams in 2019. Three of the teams mentioned are part of the upcoming home schedule, including the Dukes on Sept. 21, the Paladins on Nov. 2 and the Bulldogs on Nov. 16.
Other Southern Conference teams on the list of toughest schedules include The Citadel at No. 5, VMI (10), Western Carolina (11) and Furman (26). The Citadel and UTC are two of only three teams set to face five top 25 squads. The other, North Dakota, has the No. 1 overall strength of schedule with six top 25 teams on tap for 2019.