Mercer Football Heads North to Face Army West Point

MACON, Ga. – The Mercer Football team heads north to West Point, N.Y. to face Army West Point on Saturday at Michie Stadium. This will be the first trip for the Bears to the Empire State since Nov. 16, 2013. Kickoff for the Bears and Black Knights game is set for 12 p.m.

If you can't make the game, catch the broadcast on CBS Sports Network. As always, the game will also be broadcast by the "Voice of the Bears" Rick Cameron and his crew on The Creek (100.9 FM) and the SportsMic App.

GAMEDAY LINEUP
» Date | Time: Saturday, Oct. 24 | 12 p.m. (ET)
» Teams: Mercer (0-1, 0-0 SoCon) at Army West Point (5-1)
» Location: West Point, N.Y. | Michie Stadium (38,000)
» Television: CBS Sports Network
» Television Talent: Ben Holden (PxP), Ross Tucker (Analyst), Tina Cervasio (Sideline)
» Radio: Mercer Sports Network | 100.9 The Creek FM | SportsMic
» Radio Talent: Rick Cameron (PxP), Roger Jackson (Analyst), Charles Davis (Sideline)
» Live Stats: GoArmyWestPoint.com
» Twitter Updates: @MercerFootball
» Game Notes: Mercer | Army West Point | SoCon

This is the first meeting between these two programs since Sept. 30, 1933. Army came away with a 19-6 victory over Mercer that day on the gridiron. In that contest, Mercer collected 14 first downs while holding Army to seven.

SCOUTING ARMY WEST POINT
Army West Point enters the contest with the Bears coming off a 28-16 victory at UTSA last weekend. The Black Knights have won their previous three games and are a perfect 4-0 at Michie Stadium this season. Army led 14-10 at halftime and limited UTSA to six points in the second half en route to the victory.

The 5-1 start for the Black Knights is just the fourth time since 1970 that Army has won at least five of its first six tilts. The 5-1 start this season is the Black Knights best start since 1996 when they opened the season a perfect 6-0.

Army's rushing attack is one of the best in the nation, ranking third in the FBS averaging 310 yards per game. The Black Knights possess a balanced ground game as six different players have at least 30 carries through six games. Freshman Tyrell Robinson leads the group with 298 yards on 33 carries (9.0 avg.). He is one of just two players in the nation to have more than 290 rushing yards on fewer than 35 carries and earned a spot on the FWAA Freshman All-America Watch List. Army also relies heavily on its full backs, including Jakobi Buchanan (251 yards), Anthony Adkins (234 yards) and Sandon McCoy (167 yards).

The defensive unit for Army has been stout in 2020, holding its opponents to fewer than 20 points four times through the first six games. The Black Knights average 13.2 points allowed per game with a combination of negative plays and turnovers. Army has intercepted seven passes on the season and forced seven fumbles, recovering four. The Black Knights have also tallied 39 tackles for loss totaling 162 yards. Jon Rhattigan captains the defense from the linebacker position, leading the team with 47 tackles and 6.0 tackles for loss.

Quick Hits

For the first time since 2013, the Bears will make a trip to New York. The last time Mercer went to New York they were defeated by Marist 33-7 on Nov. 16, 2013, in a Pioneer League contest.
On Oct. 10, senior Tyray Devezin rushed for 94 yards, becoming the fourth Bear in program history to join the 2,000-yard club. He currently has rushed for 2,080 yards, which is the most rushing yards by an active player in the Southern Conference.
At Jacksonville State, Deondre Johnson took the opening kickoff 100-yards for a touchdown. It was the first time in program history that Mercer took the opening kickoff back for a touchdown. The 100-yard return is the longest special teams play in program history.
Making their first start as a Mercer Bear, Isaac Dowling and Jaden Taylor both made huge impacts at Jacksonville State. Dowling led the Bears with 16 tackles and Taylor followed with nine stops in the contest. Dowling's 16 tackles were the most for a Bear in his debut and the first time since Nov. 2, 2019, a player recorded more than 15 tackles in a single game.
The Bears converted 50 percent (8-of-16) of their third downs in the lone game this year. They currently rank third in the FCS in the category.
The Bears announced the team's captains for the 2020 season. The players voted Michael Campbell, Deondre Johnson, Harrison Frost, Lance Wise and Devezin as captains.
Tyray Devezin was named to the FCS Players to Watch List by Stats FCS. He is one of 15 players to make the list and is one of three Southern Conference players on the list. The Woodstock, Ga., native is coming off an impressive junior campaign, which saw him rush for the first 1,000-yard season of his career.
On Wednesday, the Southern Conference announced the 2021 spring schedule. The eight-game conference only schedule will start on Feb. 20. The Bears can be caught at Five Star Stadium four times this spring. For the full schedule click here.

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 Football Heads North to Face Army West Point

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Players Mentioned

Michael Campbell

Tyray Devezin

Isaac Dowling

Harrison Frost

Deondre Johnson

Jaden Taylor

Lance Wise Jr.

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