Not only is University of Tennessee at Chattanooga coach Rodney Allison looking for a better performance from his players on Saturday, he’s looking for improvement from his coaches, as well.

Last week’s season opener at Oklahoma was the first UTC game for seven of Allison’s assistants, so it was the first time that Allison had a chance to see how they handled the stress of a game, as well as how their managed their responsibilities.

During his media luncheon Wednesday, Allison said overall the coaches did OK, but there were three substitution mistakes (twice UTC had 12 men on the field, and once it had just 10). Allison also said he learned quickly to adjust his headset when defensive coordinator Dick Hopkins gets angry about something because his message is coming full volume with quite colorful language.

It’s not often that showing up to a football game is a charitable act — though given UTC’s struggles over the past decade or so there’s probably a good joke in there somewhere. On Saturday, though, fans who bring two non-perishable food items to the Finley Stadium or First Tennessee Pavillion box offices will receive one free general admission ticket to the 6 p.m. game against Cumberland.

And if you want to clean out the cupboard that’s not a problem because you can get as many free tickets as you want as long as you bring the food, all of which will go to the Chattanooga Area Food Bank.

All former UTC letter-winners are also invited to attend the game for free. They are asked to call 425-5273 in advance for tickets. Their presence will be part of a Night of Champions theme, which will include their recognition at halftime.

Also being honored at halftime will be last year’s championship teams at UTC, its all-americans and individual champions, and there will be a pregame presentation to honor the top student-athletes from spring semester.

For more Mocs coverage, see tomorrow’s Times Free Press.

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