It's official! The Mocs Sept. 5 season opener against Jacksonville State will be a top-10 matchup in Finley Stadium. The Football Championship Subdivision Coaches Poll was released today, one of two top-25s officially recognized by the NCAA, and the Mocs were tagged with a preseason No. 8 national ranking.
Jacksonville State, who finished with a 10-2 record in 2014, is No. 9 in the preseason poll. Southern Conference opponents Western Carolina (13), Furman (12) and Samford (5) all garnered votes from coaches around the country.
"I put Jacksonville State one spot ahead of us on my ballot," stated UTC head coach Russ Huesman.
"They beat us last year, so I thought they should be ahead of us. Regardless of the rankings, we know they are a really good football team and that game should be a lot of fun. We hope to get a big crowd."
UTC was getting a lot of a lot of preseason recognition from various publications around the country. However, this is the first official poll to come out.
The No. 8 national ranking is the highest in school history, equaling the Mocs were listing at the end of 2014. UTC finished last year with one of the most successful campaigns in school history, including a 10-4 overall record, second-straight SoCon title and its first appearance in the FCS Quarterfinals.
The UTC-JSU game is the only one in the regular season that features two outright conference champions from 2014. It is also the first time two top-10 teams have faced off in Finley Stadium in the regular season.
Kickoff for the Jacksonville State game is 6:00 p.m. (E.D.T.). Tickets are on sale now on GoMocs.com or by calling the UTC Ticket Office at (423) 266-MOCS (6627).