The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team heads to LSU on Saturday, Sept. 9, for a 7:39 p.m. (E.D.T.) kickoff in Baton Rouge, La. The Mocs are ranked No. 14 in the latest FCS Coaches Poll while the Tigers sit at No. 12 in both FBS polls.

Below are excerpts from today's press conference with photos.  The full videos are attached to the story.  Today's press conference included remarks from head coach Tom Arth, senior offensive lineman Josh Cardiello and senior linebacker Tae Davis.

Tickets are on sale now on GoMocs.com, or by calling the UTC Ticket Office at (423) 266-MOCS (6627). 

Tae Davis, Linebacker, Senior
On playing at LSU.
"Those are the games you can gain an experience playing in an environment like that. It's a great opportunity to play against the best in college football. From a competitive stand point, I'm a competitor and so is the team, so it brings out the best in us."

On the defensive focus after last week.
"There's always room for improvement and the biggest thing we need to do as a defense is finish plays and tackle. It's something we're working on and looking to improve this week."

On the outlook for LSU game as a team.
"We're looking to compete and do our job. As a defense and a team, we're pretty good. We're looking to go out there and show that we belong. You definitely get an extra juice playing in an environment like that, but that's from the love of playing the game. We're excited to go out there and compete."

 

Tom Arth, Head Coach
On the passing of UC All-American Bucky Wolford.
"I want to express our deepest sympathy to the Wolford family and how much we'll miss Bucky. What an incredible person he was and an incredible player on the field. He was a person who contributed more off the field than on the field and his terms of support for our school and program were incredible. We'll deeply miss him and express our sympathy to his family and loved ones."

On the opportunity to get back out on the field against LSU.
"We're very excited to have the opportunity to get back out there and play. I thought the bye week was great timing for us. At the same time, when you go so long and play just one game, you get a taste before you have to wait again. We had a lot we needed to work on over this past week that I think we did. I thought we definitely improved this week and had the opportunity for our players to get some good rest and recover. I think we have a great mindset coming into this week and have the chance to improve in all the areas we need to after last week. All of the mistakes that happened were self-inflicted. I don't think it matters who we are playing, we need to get better as members of UTC football, regardless of who that opponent is."

On the environment of LSU's 'Death Valley'.
"I think they know it's going to be a hostile environment. Everyone outside of our freshmen have had the opportunity to be in that type of atmosphere. It's a little bit of a new environment for me, but when we get between the white lines it's just us going out there to play football and everything else can fade away in the background."

On the focus leading up to LSU matchup.
"We're really focused on how we can improve ourselves from the mistakes we made last week. It wasn't an easy pill to swallow what happened last week, but we've had some great practices leading up to today and we're ready to get back to playing our way."
 
On national exposure & tough non-conference schedule.
"It's a privilege to play college football. It's a privilege to represent a school like UTC. The opportunities we have in front of us, including me being the head coach at Chattanooga, are privileges we never take for granted. It doesn't matter if we are playing LSU or anyone else in the country, it's important that we are very grateful for the opportunities we have."
 

Josh Cardiello, Offensive Lineman, Senior
On missed opportunities last week against Jacksonville State.
"There were definitely some opportunities. We shot ourself in the foot some times, but they are a great football team and it was a good measure of where we stand and what we have. I think this week will tell us even more what we have as a team and what we improved on from last week."

On offensive line, running game against opponent's defensive lines.
"We've been working on it and I think we have improved over this past week. We as an offensive line have been working on it and it's getting better day-by-day. Jacksonville State had a great D-line and this week will be similar to what we saw last week. LSU has some great players up front and it'll be a good test."

On atmosphere at LSU for a night game.
"We're excited, really excited. It's not an opportunity you get all the time so it's awesome. We've played in some loud stadiums before and you kind of get used to it. You might have to put in some silent counts and double-check the communication, but it's not something to worry about."