Football Opens 2022 Season at Home Against Morehead State

MACON, Ga. – Mercer football kicks off its 2022 season on Saturday, Aug. 27 at 7 p.m. The Bears welcome the Morehead State Eagles to Five Star Stadium in the first ever matchup between the two schools.

GAMEDAY INFORMATION
» Date | Time: Saturday, Aug. 27 | 7 p.m.
» Teams: Morehead State (0-0) at Mercer (0-0)
» Location: Macon, Ga. | Five Star Stadium (10, 200)
» Television: ESPN+
» Television Talent: Frank Malloy (PxP), Phil Cox (Color), Megan Birdsong (Sideline)
» Radio: Mercer Sports Network | 100.9 The Creek FM | SportsMic
» Radio Talent: Rick Cameron (PxP), Bryce Koon (Analyst), Charles Davis (Sideline)
» Live Stats: StatBroadcast
» Twitter Updates: @MercerFootball

QUICK FACTS

Mercer is 34-18 at Five Star Stadium.
The matchup between the Bears and Eagles will be the first game between the two programs.
Mercer is coming off a 2021 season in which it finished second in the SoCon, with a record of 7-3, 6-2 SoCon.
Morehead State finished the 2021 season tied for third in the Pioneer Football league, with a record of 7-4, 6-2 PFL.
Mercer is returning 15 starters from last year's team, (8 - OFF, 7 - DEF).
The game is the only DI college football game in the state of Georgia scheduled for Week 0 of the college football season.

SCOUTING MOREHEAD STATE

With its 7-4 record last fall, Morehead State secured its first back-to-back above .500 seasons since 2002 and 2003. Their seven victories marked the most since a 7-4 finish in 2015. The Eagles finished in a tie for second place in the Pioneer Football League (PFL) with St. Thomas.
Mercer and Morehead State were both in the PFL at the same time. In 2013, when Mercer reinstated its program for the first time since 1941, the Bears competed for one season in the PFL before moving to the Southern Conference in 2014. The Bears and Eagles, however, did not meet that year and have not met in any other year.
Eight Eagles were tabbed Preseason All-PFL by college football analyst, Phil Steele.

RAISE THE BAR

"Raise the Bar" continued to be reality for the Bears in Coach Cronic's second season in the fall 2021. Mercer battled ETSU in the final regular reason game in which the outcome would determine the 2021 SoCon champion. Mercer (7-3, 6-2 SoCon) fell to ETSU (10-1, 7-1 SoCon) by a 38-35 score.
The Bears were highlighted by a record-breaking receiving effort by Ty James, catching eight passes for 224 yards. The fourth quarter was a back-and-forth thriller. ETSU tied things up early, but Mercer responded just a minute and a half later, when quarterback Fred Payton found James for a 48-yard touchdown pass to give Mercer a 35-28 lead. ETSU scored the final 10 points of the game to take the lead and claim the victory.

IN THE POLLS

Mercer football's anticipation for the 2022 season continued to build in August at the annual Southern Conference Football Media Days in Asheville, North Carolina. Mercer was projected to finish second by the media and third by the league's coaches. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their teams.

2022 PRESEASON SOUTHERN CONFERENCE MEDIA POLL
TEAM (1ST-PLACE VOTES)                                TOTAL
1. Chattanooga (18)                                                256
t2. ETSU (7)                                                            226
t2. Mercer (5)                                                          226
4. Furman                                                                175
5. Western Carolina                                                 125
6. VMI                                                                      119
7. Samford                                                               106
8. Wofford                                                                60
9. The Citadel                                                            57
 
2022 PRESEASON SOUTHERN CONFERENCE COACHES POLL
TEAM (1ST-PLACE VOTES)                                  TOTAL
1. Chattanooga (5)                                                    60
2. ETSU (2)                                                                 54
3. Mercer (1)                                                            53
4. Furman (1)                                                            43
5. Western Carolina                                                  38
6. Samford                                                               26
7. VMI                                                                       23
8. The Citadel                                                           14
9. Wofford                                                                 13 

Six Bears Tabbed with Preseason All-league Honors

Six Mercer football student-athletes were voted onto the 2022 Preseason All-Southern Conference teams, as announced by the league office at its annual Media Day.
A pair – John Thomas (OL) and Lance Wise (DB) – were selected to the First Team while four – Isaac Dowling (LB), Ty James (WR), Trey Turk (P) and Solomon Zubairu (DL) – were tabbed to the Second Team.

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.

Football Opens 2022 Season at Home Against Morehead State

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Isaac Dowling

Ty James

Fred Payton

John Thomas

Lance Wise Jr.

Solomon Zubairu

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Mercer University Athletics

Football Opens 2022 Season at Home Against Morehead State

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Isaac Dowling

Ty James

Fred Payton

John Thomas

Lance Wise Jr.

Solomon Zubairu

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