Busy first day of practice on the beat, with what seemed like a dozen round of interviews. It's all on the blog below this post. There's too much to link to all of it.

But I'm not abandoning our opponent previews. Today is UT-Chattanooga.

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UT-Chattanooga Mocs

• Head coach: Russ Huesman (2nd season at UTC, 6-5; assistant at South Carolina, William & Mary Memphis, Richmond and UTC)
• 2009 record: 6-5 (4-4 Southern Conference, t-4th)
  
• Returning starters: 16 (9 offense, 7 defense)
• Total offense: 301.8 ypg (7th SoCon, 86th FCS)
• Total defense: 307.7 ypg (3rd SoCon, 28th FCS)
• Series: Auburn leads 20-0
• Last meeting: Auburn won 76-10 at Jordan-Hare Stadium in 1995
• Consensus prediction: Fifth in preseason SoCon coaches poll
  

Five-week schedule glimpse

• Oct. 23: at Furman
• Oct. 30: Elon
• Nov. 6: at Auburn
• Nov. 13: Samford
• Nov. 20: at Wofford

Football Championship Subdivision teams: everybody in the SEC plays at least one every year (well, not Vanderbilt) and everybody seems to catch flak for doing so. I think it's a symbiotic relationship. FBS teams need to fill out a 12-game schedule. FCS teams need the payout and like getting a shot — albeit a long one — against big-time competition. What's the harm?

Admittedly, I don't know much about UT-Chattanooga, other than what I've read in the preseason prospectus. To find out more, I went to John Frierson, the team's beat writer for the Chattanooga Times Free Press. Read his articles here, follow him on Twitter here and be a fan of his Facebook page here. Here are his answers to five quick questions:

AB: How much has second-year coach Russ Huesman, a UT-Chattanooga graduate, done to raise interest and excitement about the program after inheriting a team that went 1-11 in 2008 and leading it to a 6-5 record last season? Also, is his alma mater the place the 50-year-old wants to stay for a long period of time or could he conceivably flip this quick turnaround for a better job?

JF: Huesman brought immediate credibility with him when he took the job in December 2008, two days after helping Richmond to the FCS national championship as the Spiders' defensive coordinator. The fans and alumni quickly embraced him, many of them opening their wallets for the first time in a long time, and in many ways this program already bears little resemblance to the one he inherited. There haven't been too many winning seasons at UTC lately, so it was a heck of an opening act. Huesman has said a few times that he wants to stay in Chattanooga until he retires, however if someone big came calling he'd surely listen.

AB: Former Tennessee quarterback B.J. Coleman made a big impression his first year a Chattanooga, throwing for 2,348 yards and 17 touchdowns. Can he match or eclipse those numbers this year, especially after the graduation of receivers Blue Cooper (824 yards, 7 TD) and Clint Woods (240 yards, 1 TD), two of his top-three targets last year?

JF: Ideally, his numbers would be about the same or slightly down, which will be the case if the Mocs can develop any kind of running game — something they didn't have for most of last season. Coleman's quick 6-yard passes to Cooper basically became the running game down the stretch. Coleman had a ton of pressure on him last season as the local star coming home to help resurrect the Local U., and he handled it about as well as possible. A lot of that pressure will be gone this season, so he right be able to relax a little and just play ball.

AB: Huesman made his reputation on defense, helping lead Richmond to the 2008 FCS national title as the defensive coordinator. This year's Mocs defense lost defensive end Josh Beard, the SoCon Defensive Player of the Year. What are the strengths of this year's defensive group and can it be better than the team that ranked 28th last season in the FCS in total defense?

JF: The defense will be a little younger than last season, but it should be a bit faster, and the defensive coaches at UTC, like in the SEC, crave that speed. The secondary should be one of the best in the SoCon, led by corner Buster Skrine and safety Jordan Tippit. Defensive end Josh Williams was one of the top freshmen in the nation last season with seven sacks, but he benefited from having Beard on the other side so it will be interesting to see how he does as a sophomore. Linebacker is a bit of a question mark because only one starter returns. Another question mark is defensive end Chris Donald, the Tennessee transfer who did nothing with the Vols after being the No. 1 prospect in the state coming out of high school. Donald has shown some flashes of greatness as a pass rusher, but it remains to be seen if he can be an every-down guy.

AB: UT-Chattanooga hasn't fared well against FBS competition in recent years (losing 45-0 to Alabama last year and 57-2 to Oklahoma and 46-7 to Florida State in 2008) but these games are extremely profitable for the program (the Mocs will get $425,000 for playing Auburn this year). How do UTC players and coaches approach games like these, knowing the chances to be competitive are usually slim to none?

JF: Everyone know the reality, that barring a miracle the game's going to be one-sided, but they still love the opportunity to play in front of about 90,000 people. They don't get too upset about losing the money games as long as they compete and don't beat themselves.

AB: While the Mocs have made progress, the SoCon is one of the more loaded FCS conferences in the country, with Appalachian State, Elon and Furman expected to be in the top-25 poll to start the year. Can UT-Chattanooga compete at the same level as those programs, especially this year with 18 returning starters? And if not this year, how long might it take to get to that level?

JF: The Mocs were competitive with just about everyone last season and should be again this fall. The conference's top teams lost a lot of really good players last season, so it's hard to predict how the standings will look in November. If UTC goes 4-4 in the SoCon again this season, that would be a solid result, but the coaches and players believe they can do better. If the Mocs' veteran running backs can stay healthy, and the defense matures quickly, UTC could be among the top three teams in the league.

Big thanks to John for filling us in on the Mocs. We're coming down the home stretch now. Up next: Georgia.