Bears Head to Third-Ranked Chattanooga

MACON, Ga. – For the second straight year Mercer will face a Chattanooga team ranked third in the country. Last year's contest ended in a 17-14 win for the Bears, the first win over a top 25 team in school history. Mercer will try to replicate that success Saturday at 4 p.m. at Chattanooga's Finley Stadium.

It is just another tough challenge in a front-loaded schedule for Mercer. The Bears have already faced a top 15 team in The Citadel, played an FBS team in Georgia Tech and took a hot VMI team to overtime.

GAMEDAY LINEUP
Date: Saturday, Oct. 8 | 4 p.m.
Teams: Mercer (2-2, 1-1 SoCon) at No. 3/5 Chattanooga (5-0, 3-0 SoCon)
Location: Chattanooga, Tenn. | Finley Stadium
Broadcast: SoCon Digital Network | Watch
Broadcast Talent: Jim Reynolds (play-by-play), Todd Agne (analyst), Will Poindexter (sideline)
Radio: Mercer Sports Network (Flagship: 97.3 FM The Bull Icons) | iHeartRadio
Radio Talent: Rick Cameron (play-by-play), Roger Jackson (analyst), Megan Trammell (sideline)
Live Stats: Live Stats
Twitter Updates: @MercerFootball
Game Notes: Mercer | SoCon | Chattanooga

SERIES HISTORY
Dating back to 1909 and spanning 26 meetings, Mercer's history with Chattanooga is the longest running of any Southern Conference opponent. The Bears claimed that first victory, a 10-2 decision in Macon in 1909, and also won in last year's contest. That 17-14 win over the third-ranked Mocs marked Mercer's first win over a top 25 opponent in school history. Twice before Mercer has won two in a row in the series, first in 1923 (18-3) and 1924 (33-0) and then again in 1932 (25-0) and 1933 (7-0). The Mocs, however, lead the all-time series at 18-7-1.

LAST TIME OUT
All it took for Mercer to pull out the win at VMI was a hook and ladder combined with nerves of steel. The Bears ran the trick play – made famous by Boise State in the now-bygone BCS era – to set up a game-tying field goal by Cole Fisher then watched as Avery Ward raced untouched for the end zone in a 33-30 overtime win at Foster Stadium in Lexington Saturday afternoon.

John Russ found Ward on an 18-yard slant in overtime after VMI had already kicked a 25-yard field goal, clinching the 33-30 win for Mercer (2-2, 1-1 SoCon). The game snapped a two-game win streak for VMI (2-2, 0-1) as the Keydets dropped their home opener.

The overtime period was set up as Kelby Brock pitched the ball to Jordan Marshall on a hook-and-ladder play for a total gain of 28 yards on the play before VMI added another 15 with a personal foul late hit on Marshall after he stepped out of bounds. Following a Keydet timeout, Fisher easily kicked the 42-yard field goal to tie the game and force the extra period.

Close Calls Continue
At this point we are starting to think we should just list our year-by-year results when listing close games. The 2015 season was marked by more close calls than anyone would like to imagine. Out of the 11 games Mercer played last year, seven were decided by one score or less with four games determined by three points or less. Of those close calls, six of the games were played in a span of seven weeks while two games required more than 60 minutes of playing time to determine a winner and required overtime.

Those close calls have continued into 2016 as three of the Bears' four games have been decided by one score including an overtime win at VMI on Oct. 1. In all, 10 of Mercer's last 13 games have had one possession be the deciding factor.

Bobby Lamb Reaches 90
No, not his age (yet). With Mercer's 33-30 overtime win at VMI on Oct. 1, Bears head coach Bobby Lamb recorded his 90th career win as a head coach. Now in his fourth season in the Orange and Black, Lamb has won 23 games with Mercer after winning 67 games over nine years as head coach at Furman (2002-10).

Lakes Surpasses 2,000 Career Rushing Yards
Alex Lakes reached a notable plateau on Oct. 1 at VMI as he surpassed 2,000 career rushing yards. Granted he needed his two carries for seven yards in overtime to achieve it but that seemed to be the theme that day as the Bears needed overtime to complete the win.

By reaching the 2,000 career mark, Lakes is one of 22 running backs in the FCS to record 2,000 or more career rushing yards as of the completion of the Oct. 1 weekend of games.

Potential for a Winning Streak
With victories over Tennessee Tech and VMI, Mercer has now won two games in a row. IF the Bears can find a way to win at No. 3/5 Chattanooga on Oct. 8, Mercer will have won three consecutive games for the first time since the 2014 season. That year MU claimed consecutive wins over Stetson (49-0), Ave Maria (42-21) and VMI (27-24).

"Touchdown, John Russ"
Let's face it, that phrase has been uttered a lot over the last four years. And it keeps getting uttered this season. Mercer QB John Russ has ran for four touchdowns this season - that's actually more than one team has scored so far this year (Savannah State, 3).

Including touchdowns Russ is responsible for (running and passing), he has a total of nine which is more than 11 different teams. That list includes the Savannah State (3), Columbia (5), Presbyterian (5), Northwestern State (6), Marist (6), Robert Morris (6), Yale (7), ETSU (7), Delaware State (7), Elon (8) and Florida A&M).

Recalling a First
Mercer's upset win against Chattanooga last season was more than just the program's first win over the Mocs since 1933 and in 10 tries. That victory also was recorded as Mercer's first program win over a ranked opponent (in five tries).

How to Follow the Bears:
For complete coverage of Mercer Football, please follow the Bears on social media at @MercerFootball (Twitter), /MercerFootball (Facebook) and @MercerFootball (Instagram) or visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com.

Players Mentioned

Kelby Brock

Cole Fisher

Alex Lakes

Jordan Marshall

John Russ

Avery Ward

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