Mercer Prepped for First Clash with Yale

MACON, Ga. – Mercer will wrap up its nonconference slate with a trip to New Haven, Conn., where it will face defending Ivy League champion Yale for the first time at the Yale Bowl at 1 p.m. Saturday.

The Bears (3-2) are coming off their bye week while Yale enters the contest at 2-2 overall. The clash is the first of four scheduled meetings between the two historic universities over the next six years and will also mark the first time one of the current nine Southern Conference schools have played Yale.

Saturday's game will be broadcasted via ESPN+ while fans can tune into the "Voice of the Bears" Rick Cameron and the Mercer Sports Network on 100.9 The Creek FM or the SportsMic app.

GAMEDAY LINEUP
» Date/Time: Saturday, October 13 | 1 p.m. (ET)
» Teams: Mercer (3-2, 2-1 SoCon) at Yale (2-2, 1-1 Ivy)
» Location: New Haven, Conn. | Yale Bowl (61,446)
» Television: ESPN+
» Television Talent: Evan Ellis (PxP), Josh Hess (Analyst)
» Radio: Mercer Sports Network | 100.9 The Creek FM | SportsMic
» Radio Talent: Rick Cameron (PxP), Roger Jackson (Analyst), Charles Davis (Sideline)
» Live Stats: YaleBulldogs.com
» Twitter Updates: @MercerFootball
» Game Notes: Mercer | SoCon | Yale | Ivy League
» Tickets: YaleBulldogs.com

The Game

Mercer has never faced an Ivy League program in football.
Saturday is the first time that one of the current nine SoCon schools have played Yale. The last SoCon school to face Yale was North Carolina in 1944.
Mercer is the first Peach State team to face Yale since University of Georgia did in 1934.
Mercer and Yale have four scheduled games (2018, 2021, 2022, 2023). Yale will visit Macon in '21 and '23 while the Bears will return to the Yale Bowl in '22.
Mercer's 976-mile trek to New Haven, Conn. is its longest road trip of the season.
Saturday is the first time Yale has hosted a new opponent since Albany in 2010.

Quick Hits

Mercer is 16-5 in nonconference games since 2013, including a 1-1 record this year.
A win by the Bears on Saturday would mark their best six-game start to a season since opening the 2014 campaign at 4-2.
Marquise Irvin needs 24 receiving yards to become the first Bear with 2,000 for his career. He is averaging 93.0 receiving yards per game this season.
Tee Mitchell needs 213 rushing yards to break Mercer's all-time rushing record (2,604). He has rushed for 100-plus yards in three of five games this season.
Stephen Houzah leads the SoCon in yards per catch (18.5) and has a team-best four receiving touchdowns. He is the only active SoCon player with at least one career touchdown catch (4) and one career interception (6).

Mercer is the SoCon's best in net yards per punt (42.1), a credit to the Bears' punt return defense and Matt Shiel (43.9 yards per punt).
Will Coneway leads Mercer with 43 tackles. He has tallied 10-plus tackles in three of five games.
LeMarkus Bailey (191 career tackles) needs 16 more to pass Lendell Arnold (2013-16) for sole possession of third all-time at Mercer.
BJ Bohler tallied his first two career interceptions at VMI, becoming one of two players in program history to record multiple interceptions in a single game (Houzah).

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

LeMarkus Bailey

BJ Bohler

Will Coneway

Stephen Houzah

Marquise Irvin

Tee Mitchell

Matt Shiel

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