Mercer Football Hosts Abilene Christian for Homecoming

MACON, Ga. – The Mercer Football team hosts Abilene Christian on Saturday in the Bears' first home contest of the season on homecoming at Five Star Stadium. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m.

If you can't make the game, catch the broadcast on NexStar or ESPN3. Nexstar affiliates that will air games from the package include: WYCW (Greenville/Spartanburg/Asheville), WCBD (Charleston), WWCW (Lynchburg), WMUB (Macon) and WJHL (Johnson City). WSPA Sports Director Pete Yanity will provide play-by-play and former Wofford All-American offensive lineman Jared Singleton will serve as the analyst.

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.

Don't have a ticket to the game? Come out to Black Field and join the watch party presented by U.S. Army ROTC. Festivities, including music by Hindsight as part of the Ford Concert Series, will begin at 12 p.m. on Black Field which is adjacent to Five Star Stadium.

For all game day questions, check out MercerGameDay.com. Gates for Five Star Stadium open at 2 p.m. ET.

GAMEDAY LINEUP
» Date | Time: Saturday, Oct. 31 | 3 p.m. (ET)
» Teams: Abilene Christian (0-3, 0-0 Southland) at Mercer (0-2, 0-0 SoCon)
» Location: Macon, Ga. | Five Star Stadium (10,200)
» Television: NexStar/ESPN3
» Television Talent: Pete Yanity (PxP), Jared Singleton (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/LiveStats
» Twitter Updates: @MercerFootball
» Game Notes: Mercer | Abilene Christian | SoCon

The matchup pits the Bears against the Wildcats for the first meeting between the two programs.

SCOUTING ABILENE CHRISTIAN
The Wildcats come to Macon with a 0-3 record during the 2020 season. Abilene Christian is coming off a 35-32 loss to Stephen F. Austin in overtime. ACU racked up 387 yards of total offense in the loss. Quarterback Peyton Mansell went 15-of-26 for 224 yards.

On the offensive side of the ball, ACU has two players ranked in the top 15 for all-purpose yards. Wide Receivers Lionell McConnell and Jordan Brooks-Wess are averaging over 80 all-purpose yards per game. Mansell leads the air attack as he is averaging 235 yards per game and three touchdowns. The Wildcats average 116 yards per game on the ground with Tyrese White leading the way with a 35.0 yards per game. Jermiah Dobbins follows averaging 33.3 per game. McConnell and Kobe Clark are the primary targets through the air for Mansell as they have 26 of the Wildcats 55 receptions. McConnell leads the team with 16 receptions while Clark is second with 10. Clark is averaging 101.5 yards per game.

The defensive unit for Abilene Christian is allowing 35.7 points per game and has allowed 30 or more points in two of the three contests the Wildcats have played. ACU's Jack Gibbens leads the team with 19 tackles, while 12 Wildcats have 10 or more tackles on the season. Abilene Christian has four or more tackles for a loss and one or more sack in each game this season. The Wildcats have forced one turnover on the season.

Quick Hits

Mercer is looking for its first win of the 2020-21 season and first win since Nov. 2, 2019. The last win for Mercer came against Samford in triple overtime, 36-33. Caleb Dowden hit the game-winning field goal in the third overtime to give the Bears the win. The Orange and Black have lost five straight games.
True freshman Isaac Dowling has made a huge impact on the defensive side of the ball for the Bears. He is averaging 16.0 tackles per game over the first two games of the season. Of his 32 tackles this season, 13 have been solo tackles and 19 have been assisted. He has a team-high three sacks on the season. The Lawrenceville, Ga., native leads all FCS players in tackles per game. The two 16-tackle games rank fourth in single history for a single game.
When Mercer takes on Abilene Christian on Saturday, it will mark the first matchup between these two programs. Since 2013 when Mercer brought football back, the Bears are 13-7 when playing an opponent for the first time. When playing an opponent for the first time at Five Star Stadium, Mercer is 12-1.
Earlier this season, Tyray Devezin became the third active player to rush for 2,000-yards in the Southern Conference. With his 165-yards this season, Devezin has rushed for 2,151 yards in his career. His total leads the SoCon trio of 2,000-yard rushers.
Sophomore Ken Standley had a career-day at Army West Point. Entering the season, Standley had one career tackle, which came during the 2019 season at North Carolina. After picking up two tackles at Jacksonville State, Standley tallied 10 tackles (5 solo; 5 assisted) against Army, which were all are career highs.
Redshirt sophomore Deondre Johnson does it all for the Bears. Over two games this season, Johnson is averaging 112.5 all-purpose yards per game. He has tallied 128 yards on kick returns, 67 receiving yards and 30 rushing yards. Johnson leads the Southern Conference in all-purpose yards and ranks third in the FCS.
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 Oct. 21, 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 Hosts Abilene Christian for Homecoming

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Players Mentioned

Tyray Devezin

Caleb Dowden

Isaac Dowling

Deondre Johnson

Ken Standley

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