Chattanooga coach references Tennessee's Jim Mora controversy from last season ahead of season-opener against Vols

One of the most unexpected (and wild) moments of the Tennessee Vols' 2023 season came in early November in what was expected to be a ho-hum game against the UConn Huskies.

Tennessee beat UConn 59-3 in Neyland Stadium after the Huskies riled up the Vols via some pre-game shenanigans (various UConn players attempted to warm up on Tennessee's side of the field before the game).

After the game, UConn head coach Jim Mora hit Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel with a quick drive-by handshake (which resulted in a smirk from Heupel).

Mora threw some shade at Tennessee a couple of days after the game.

"I mean, it started in pre game," said Mora the week after the loss to the Vols. "And our guys did a tremendous -- it followed us all the way to the locker room, unfortunately. And I was so proud of the way our players held themselves together in very tough times. And handled that environment and showed class. And not striking back at some things that would probably be hard to not strike back at had they not had the class that they had."

Chattanooga head coach Rusty Wright references the Jim Mora controversy ahead of season-opener against the Tennessee Vols

Tennessee is set to open the 2024 season on Saturday against Chattanooga.

Mocs head coach Rusty Wright joined 102.3's SportsTalk Chattanooga on Monday to preview the opener against the Vols and he referenced the Mora debacle from last season.

"We can't get into a track meet with them," said Wright of the matchup against Tennessee. "There's no doubt about that. If that happens, we're going to be in for a long day. And they get into track meets pretty quick -- they have against a lot of people. I just hope whatever Jim Mora did, I don't do. Because they sure did piss them guys off up there before they played them ."

View the original article to see embedded media.

It sounds like Chattanooga won't be poking the bear on Saturday before kicking off against Tennessee. And that's probably a good idea. There's already a huge talent gap between the two programs, there's no sense in giving the Vols any added motivation.

Related: Former Sooners QB Jason White offers strong comments on Josh Heupel's time at Oklahoma and Heupel's exit from Norman