Mercer Set to Square-Off with SoCon Foe Samford

Saturday, November 2

Macon, Ga.

7 p.m.

Mercer University

Samford

Mercer Set to Square-Off with SoCon Foe Samford

10/31/2019 5:18:00 PM | Football

ESPN+Listen Live Stats Game Notes

Bears welcome Bulldogs on Homegrown Day

By: Jace Sanders

MACON, Ga. – Mercer Football welcomes Southern Conference rival Samford to Five Star Stadium Saturday for its fifth of six home games in 2019; kickoff is set for 7:05 p.m.

The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and, as always, fans can listen in as "Voice of the Bears" Rick Cameron and his crew broadcast across the airwaves on The Creek (100.9 FM) and the SportsMic App.

GAMEDAY LINEUP
» Date/Time: Saturday, Nov. 2 / 7:05 p.m. (ET)
» Teams: Mercer (3-5, 2-3 SoCon) vs. Samford (4-4, 3-2 SoCon)
» Location: Macon, Ga. | Five Star Stadium (10,200)
» Television: ESPN+
» Television Talent: Frank Malloy (Play-by-Play) | Jason Patterson (Analyst) | Kristin Banks (Sideline)
» Radio: Mercer Sports Network | 100.9 The Creek FM | SportsMic
» Radio Talent: Rick Cameron (PxP), Roger Jackson (Analyst), Charles Davis (Sideline)
» Live Stats: MercerBears.com
» Twitter Updates: @MercerFootball

GAME DAY EXPERIENCE
Black Field is now the place to be on Saturday's in the fall, featuring the Ford Concert Series, Macon Beer Company Bear Garden and Toby Town. Rising artists Crawford & Power, Jordan Rager and Tucker Beathard will take to the Ford Concert Series stage prior to the game.

SERIES HISTORY | LAST MEETING
Samford leads the all-time series over Mercer, 13-11-1, dating back exactly 112 years from Saturday when the Bears won the first game of the series, 11-6, in 1907.

Mercer controlled the clock with over 35 minutes of possession and defeated No. 9 Samford, 30-24, in a Southern Conference road game at Seibert Stadium in September 2018. Robert Riddle totaled 342 yards of offense and three touchdowns (two rushing) as the Bears withstood a second-half rally by Samford. It was Mercer's first win over the Bulldogs since 1932 and snapped an eight-game losing streak in the head-to-head series.

BEATING THE BULLDOGS
The Samford football season has been up and down; starting 0-2, following that with a three-game win streak and then dropping two of its last three. Led by play-making quarterback Chris Oladokun, the Bulldogs' have the 13th best scoring offense in the FCS this year. Oladokun was named the SoCon Player of the Week in three of the first four weeks of the 2019 season.

Quick Hits

Who will win the time of possession battle? Mercer (123^rd) and Samford (124^th) have the two lowest time of possession averages in the FCS this season.
Bears running back Deondre Johnson has rushed for 6.20 yards per carry this season, which ranks 16th best in the FCS.
Mercer's offensive line ranks 18th in the country, allowing an average of just 1.25 sack per game this season.
Redshirt freshman kicker Caleb Dowden was perfect on field goal this season until last Saturday - he still leads the country in field goal percentage (10-for-11/.909).
As a team, Mercer is third in the country with 26.83 yards per kick return – Deondre Johnson's 98-yard touchdown against Chattanooga is one of just four kickoff return touchdowns in the FCS 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.