Chattanooga Routs Western Carolina 41-18 Behind 295 Rushing Yards and a Record 57-Yard Kick

For four straight years, Chattanooga had walked off the field against Western Carolina on the wrong end of a close one. The Catamounts' four wins in that stretch came by a combined 16 points, each decided in the final minute. This time, the Mocs made sure there would be no final-minute drama.

Chattanooga beat Western Carolina 41-18 on Saturday at E.J. Whitmire Stadium in Cullowhee, North Carolina, spoiling homecoming in front of 11,889 fans. The Mocs scored 31 points after halftime, ran for 295 yards and handed the Catamounts their first home loss of the season. It was Chattanooga's first win in Cullowhee since 2018.

The Mocs improved to 5-3 overall and 4-1 in the Southern Conference. Western Carolina fell to 3-5 and 1-3. Chattanooga now leads the all-time series 31-21.

A tight first half and a record kick

For 30 minutes, this looked like another coin flip. Western Carolina moved the ball well on two early drives but came away with only three points, a 28-yard Bryan McCollum field goal late in the first quarter after a Chattanooga stand near the goal line.

That 3-0 score held until the final five minutes of the half, when the game suddenly woke up. Quarterback Battle Alberson hit Taylor Crumedy for 37 yards, and Journey Wyche finished an 89-yard march with a 4-yard touchdown run for a 7-3 lead with 4:01 left.

Western Carolina answered in the most homecoming way possible. AJ Colombo fielded a punt and weaved 86 yards down the far sideline for a touchdown with 2:29 to go, sending the crowd into a frenzy and putting the Catamounts back in front 10-7. It was the program's first punt return touchdown since 2021 and the third-longest in school history.

Then Jude Kelley stepped up. With six seconds left in the half, the Chattanooga kicker drilled a 57-yard field goal, breaking a school record that had stood since Scott Kielblock's 53-yarder against Samford in 1998. It was 10-10 at the break, and the momentum Colombo had built was gone.

The turning point: four plays, 75 yards

Chattanooga took the second-half kickoff and settled the question of which team would control the afternoon. Kevin Lalin opened the drive with a 39-yard run. Three plays later, Alberson kept it himself and ran 19 yards for a touchdown. It was 17-10 at the 13:12 mark of the third quarter, and the Mocs never trailed again.

The defense took it from there. Western Carolina managed just three first downs and 61 yards of offense in the third quarter. A Kelley field goal early in the fourth made it 20-10.

The third quarter also brought the day's most heated moment. Chattanooga defensive back Keyshawn Jackson was blocked into the Western Carolina bench near midfield and ended up surrounded. Officials called offsetting unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, but Jackson was the only player ejected. Freshman Kaden Edwards stepped in, and the Mocs did not miss a beat. Wyche admitted the setting had a way of heating up. "We knew it gets really chippy over here," he said, and the answer for the offense was to keep the momentum going.

Two interceptions, two touchdowns

Any hope of a Catamount comeback ended in the span of a few minutes in the fourth quarter. Western Carolina backup quarterback Isaac Lee threw interceptions on back-to-back possessions, just three plays apart. Jaden Nelson returned the first one 42 yards, and Lalin punched it in from a yard out. Kristian Ozane picked off the second, and Alberson scored from 4 yards out. It was 34-10 with 6:40 left.

Lex Thomas led Western Carolina on a 14-play, 88-yard drive that ended with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Santana Carlos with 1:54 left, and Carlos caught the two-point conversion to make it 34-18. The Catamounts tried an onside kick. It failed, and two plays later Lalin broke free for a 37-yard touchdown run. That made it 41-18, and that was the final.

Lalin, Wyche and a running game that never stopped

This was a game won on the ground. Chattanooga ran 53 times for 295 yards, 5.6 yards per carry, and 206 of those yards came in the second half. Five of the Mocs' touchdowns came on the ground.

Lalin led the way with 135 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries. Wyche added 105 yards and a score on 17 carries. Alberson did not need to throw much, completing 5 of 11 passes for 103 yards, but he ran for 37 yards and two touchdowns despite being sacked three times. Crumedy caught three passes for 79 yards.

Alberson knew who deserved the credit. "The guys did a great job blocking up front," he said.

On defense, Zion Rutledge was everywhere. He finished with a game-high 17 tackles, nine of them solo, along with 1.5 tackles for loss. That was 10 more tackles than any other player on the field. Jermaine Stinson had Chattanooga's only sack, and Nelson and Ozane made the interceptions that broke the game open.

The Catamounts' bright spots

Western Carolina came in averaging 49 points per game at home, and it did not score an offensive touchdown until the final two minutes. Still, there were individual performances worth noting. Thomas completed 29 of 42 passes for 266 yards and spread the ball to 12 different receivers. Carlos caught a career-high six passes for 75 yards. Colombo added four catches for 42 yards to go with his punt return touchdown. Jayden Cornelius led the defense with seven tackles, including a tackle for loss and half a sack.

The stats that matter

Total yards: Chattanooga 398, Western Carolina 360. Western Carolina rushing yards: 76. Third downs: Western Carolina 2 of 11. Turnovers: Western Carolina 2, Chattanooga 0.

Add a season-high 12 penalties for 116 yards for the Catamounts, and the story is clear. Western Carolina moved the ball enough to stay close in total yards but could not run it, could not convert on third down and gave the ball away twice in the fourth quarter, with both turnovers turning straight into Chattanooga touchdowns. The Catamounts converted 44 percent of their third downs coming in. Every possession is in the official box score (opens in a new tab).

What it means

For Chattanooga, a team that lost at ETSU 14-3 earlier this month now has back-to-back wins and sits at 4-1 in league play. Next on the schedule was a Halloween home game against winless VMI at Finley Stadium, with a chance to string together three straight wins for the first time this season. More details are in Chattanooga's recap (opens in a new tab).

For Western Carolina, the home loss stings, and the road does not get easier. Next on the schedule was a Halloween trip to Furman in Greenville, South Carolina, with both teams 1-3 in the SoCon and looking to get back on track. Western Carolina has its own game recap (opens in a new tab).

The last word

Chattanooga coach Rusty Wright was not happy about losing Jackson. "You tell me how one guy in a crowd of people, he's the only one that gets thrown out," Wright said, according to the Chattanooga Times Free Press.

He was much happier with how his team responded. "Them kids just rallied around Kaden Edwards, and we kept playing like we were defensively," he said.

Rutledge summed up the approach in a single sentence. "Don't make it close," he said. "That's the biggest thing we kept wanting to emphasize."

After four years of close losses in this series, that was the right goal. The Mocs did not make it close.

Sources: Western Carolina Athletics recap, the Chattanooga Times Free Press and Chattanoogan.com. More college football coverage on Undrafted.

Photos: Willis Glassgow / UTC.