Mercer Faces Western Carolina in SoCon Finale

MACON, Ga. – Mercer hits the road to face No. 25 (Coaches) Western Carolina in its Southern Conference finale at 2 p.m. Saturday at E.J. Whitmire Stadium in Cullowhee, North Carolina.

The Bears (4-5, 3-4 SoCon) will look to play spoiler against the nationally-ranked Catamounts (7-3, 5-2), who seek a berth into the FCS playoffs with two weeks remaining in the season. Mercer also seeks its second straight win against Western Carolina; it earned a 38-24 win at home last season.

The game will be broadcasted via ESPN3 while fans can tune into the game on 96.5 FM The Bull or via the Sportsmic and iHeartRadio apps.

GAMEDAY LINEUP
Gameday Central: MercerBears.com
Date: Saturday, November 11 | 2 p.m.
Teams: Mercer (4-5, 3-4 SoCon) at No. 23 Western Carolina (7-3, 5-2 SoCon)
Location: Cullowhee, N.C. | E.J. Whitmire Stadium
Television: ESPN3
Television Talent: Frank Malloy (play-by-play), Conrad Nix (color), Kristin Banks (sideline)
Radio: Mercer Sports Network | 96.5 FM The Bull | iHeartRadio | Sportsmic
Radio Talent: Rick Cameron (play-by-play), Roger Jackson (analyst), Kristin Banks (sideline)
Live Stats: CatamountSports.com
Twitter Updates: @MercerFootball
Game Notes: Mercer | Western Carolina | SoCon

Quick Hits

Head Coach Bobby Lamb is two wins away from career victory No. 100 (98-64).
Mercer can reach four SoCon wins for the second straight year with a victory at Western Carolina.
Western Carolina enters Saturday's matchup with a SoCon-leading 34.6 points per game. The Catamounts average 447.6 yards of total offense per game.
Four Bears – Lee Bennett, Eric Jackson, Will Coneway and LeMarkus Bailey – have 50-plus tackles this season.
Bennett leads Mercer with 86 total tackles (22 solo, 64 assisted). He is 35th nationally and fifth in the SoCon with an average of 9.2 tackles per game
Chandler Curtis totaled 175 all-purpose yards in Mercer's 38-24 win over Western Carolina in Macon last season.
A win over Western Carolina would be Mercer's second against a ranked FCS team this season.
Mercer has allowed an average of 11.2 points to opponents in its four wins this season.
Stephen Houzah needs one interception to break the program's all-time record with seven.

Series History
The two programs first met in 2014, when the Catamounts claimed their first of two straight wins over Mercer in Macon. Mercer earned its first victory over Western Carolina with a 14-point win (38-24) in Macon last season. Alex Lakes rushed for 112 yards and two touchdowns while Chandler Curtis, Marquise Irvin and Sam Walker all caught touchdown passes.

The Bears' last road trip to Cullowhee ended in disappointment, as Western Carolina scored 14 unanswered points and rallied to a 24-21 win on Oct. 10, 2015. Tee Mitchell rushed for 111 yards and one touchdown while Kyle Williams notched a sack in that game.

Something Has To Give
The SoCon's top-rated offense (Western Carolina) and defense (Mercer) will clash in Cullowhee on Saturday. Western Carolina averages 34.6 points per game while the Bears are only allowing 19.0 points per game. Mercer hasn't allowed more than 28 points to a SoCon team this season.

Red Means Go
Consistency at its finest. Mercer is the only FCS team ranked inside the top 10 nationally for both red zone offense and defense. The Bears are second in red zone offense, scoring on 93.5 percent of its trips (29-of- 31). Mercer's defense is ninth, holding opponents to scores on only 66.7 percent of their trips.

What Do Ya Say, Coneway
Linebacker Will Coneway notched his second straight double-digit tackle performance in Mercer's loss to Samford. Coneway is third among Bears with 58 total tackles (17 solo, 41 assisted) and leads Mercer with three forced fumbles.

Welcome to the L.O.C.
Here comes the boom. The Legion of Chaos, otherwise known as the Mercer defense has established itself as a force. Mercer ranks second in the nation in fumble recoveries (13) and ranks 14th nationally with 21 turnovers gained this fall. Mercer has forced at least three turnovers in five of nine games this season.

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.

Mercer Faces Western Carolina in SoCon Finale

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Players Mentioned

LeMarkus Bailey

Lee Bennett

Will Coneway

Chandler Curtis

Stephen Houzah

Marquise Irvin

Eric Jackson

Alex Lakes

Tee Mitchell

Sam Walker

Kyle Williams

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