WRCBtv.com | Chattanooga News, Weather & SportsMocs excited for rare top 25 tilt at Finley Stadium

CHATTANOOGA (WRCB/UTC) -- Mark Richt is avoiding the idea of a "must-win game" for Georgia's SEC-opener against South Carolina this Saturday.

Meanwhile, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga head coach Russ Huesman is embracing it for the Mocs' home-opener against Jacksonville State.

"We need to win," Huesman said at Tuesday's weekly press conference.

Unlike Richt, Huesman's job security is not hanging in the balance. But there is a simple reason for his claim.

"I'm sure there are people out there who will say the season starts this week," Huesman said of a season-opening game against FBS power Nebraska. "But that's not true. The season started last week and we are 0-1.

"We are 0-1, and we need to be 1-1."

For the Chattanooga program as a whole, a win would likely mean a little more.

With the Mocs ranked No. 23 in the country in The Sports Network poll, the visit from No. 10 Jacksonville State will be the first-ever regular season meeting between ranked teams at Finley Stadium. It will also be the first such game in Chattanooga since UTC upset top-ranked Furman at Chamberlain Field in 1984.

"It was shocking to me to think that amount of time has gone by since that's occurred," said UTC athletic director Rick Hart. "We're talking about records being broken that students who are at UTC now, this hasn't happened in their lifetime.

"But it just goes to show the steps being taken by Coach Huesman and his program."

The second-largest crowd in Finley Stadium history helped the Mocs upset No. 18 Georgia Southern last October. That win pushed Chattanooga into the top 25 rankings for the first time since 1997.

Huesman is hoping for a repeat in this year's home-opener.

"I hope we get a great crowd. I know every time we get a crowd it's an advantage for us because they do a great job," Huesman said. "We want to put on a good show in front of them because we owe them a lot more to the people in the stands than they owe us."

The school is doing everything it can to increase attendance for the matchup, headlined by a "Go Blue. Be Gold" promotion.

Fans planning to sit on the skybox (south) side of the stadium are encouraged to wear GOLD, while those who sit on the student side (north) will make up the BLUE section. BLUE and GOLD shirts are being distributed around town throughout the week, and more than 3,000 shirts will also be available at the game.