2020 Opponent Preview: Vanderbilt

MACON, Ga. – With the 2020 Mercer football season around the corner, let's get to know the team's 2020 opponents with our preview series starting with Vanderbilt, the Bears' first opponent of the Drew Cronic era.

BUY SEASON TICKETS

Mercer will play five games at Five Star Stadium, including SoCon matchups with Western Carolina (Sept. 12), The Citadel (Oct. 10), Furman (Oct. 17) and ETSU (Nov. 7). The Bears will also welcome Charleston Southern (Nov. 14) to Macon. The season kicks-off on Saturday, Sept. 5 when the Bears travel to Nashville, Tenn. to take on the Vanderbilt Commodores.

GAMEDAY INFO
WEEK 1
Date: Saturday, September 5
Location: Nashville, Tenn.
Venue: Vanderbilt Stadium
Kickoff: TBA

SCOUTING THE COMMODORES
Location: Nashville, Tenn.
Conference: SEC
2019 Record: 3-9
2019 Conference Record / Finish: 1-7 / 6^th (East)
2019 Postseason: None
Final National Rankings: Unranked
Head Coach: Derek Mason (7th season)

TOP RETURNING OFFENSIVE PLAYERS
-WR Cam Johnson (30 rec., 316 yards, 3 TD)
-WR Chris Pierce (14 rec., 245 yards, 1 TD)
-RB Keyon Brooks (56 rushes, 252 yards, 1 TD)

TOP RETURNING DEFENSIVE PLAYERS
-LB Dimitri Moore (99 tackles, 6.0 TFL, 3 PBU, 1 QBH, 0.5 sacks)
-S Dashaun Jerkins (58 tackles, 2 PBU, 1 fumble recovery, 0.5 TFL)
-S Tae Daley (57 tackles, 3 INT, 2 PBU, 1 forced fumble)

VANDERBILT 2020 SCHEDULE
Sept. 5 vs. Mercer
Sept. 12 at Missouri
Sept. 19 at Kansas State
Sept. 26 vs. Colorado State
Oct. 3 at Georgia
Oct. 10 vs. Mississippi
Oct. 17 at Kentucky
Oct. 31 vs. South Carolina
Nov. 7 vs. Florida
Nov. 14 at Texas A&M
Nov. 21 vs. Louisiana Tech
Nov. 28 vs. Tennessee

THE SERIES
The Bears and Commodores meet for the fifth time on the gridiron in 2020. This will be the first matchup between these two programs since Sept. 24, 1932. Mercer dropped the last matchup, 20-7. The first matchup between these two programs came on Oct. 2, 1909.

GAME NOTES
-The season opener for the Bears marks the second time since the program was reinstated that they open up against an FBS school. The only other season that Mercer began a campaign against an FBS program was 2018 at Memphis.
-Since 2013, the contest against Vanderbilt marks the third time the Bears have played an SEC school. The first two matchups came during the 2017 season when they played at Auburn and at Alabama. Over the next three years, the Bears will play three more contests against SEC opponents.
-The September 5 kickoff at Vanderbilt will mark the third straight season Mercer has opened up on the road.

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.

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