Mercer Football Hosts The Citadel In SoCon Opener

MACON, Ga. – It is the SoCon opener for the Bears as they welcome The Citadel to Five Star Stadium Saturday, Sept. 17. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.

GAME DAY INFORMATION
» Date | Time: Saturday, Sept. 17 | 6 p.m.
» Teams: The Citadel (1-1) at No. 20 Mercer (1-1)
» Location: Macon, Ga. | Five Star Stadium (10,200)
» Television: ESPN3 | Nexstar on WMUB (Macon)
» Television Talent: Pete Yanity (PxP), Jared Singleton (Analyst)
» 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

The game Saturday is the Ingles SoCon Game of the Week.
Mercer is 35-18 at Five Star Stadium.
This is the SoCon opener for the Bears.
This is the 20th meeting between the programs. The Citadel leads the series, 11-7-1.
The Bears have won each of the last two meetings, outscoring the Bulldogs 76-35 in those two games.
The Citadel is coming off an upset win at home against then No. 8 ETSU. The Citadel nailed a walk-off field goal to win 20-17.
Each team likes to run the ball; however, Mercer is more willing to pass. The Bears rank 34th in the country in passing yards per game, averaging 231.5 ypg, whereas the Bulldogs rank 113th in passing yards per game with 58.5 ypg

SCOUTING THE CITADEL

The Citadel is led by head coach Brent Thompson who is in his seventh season as head coach of The Citadel. The Bulldogs are coming off a 4-7, 3-5(SoCon) season in 2021.
The Citadel defeated No. 8 ETSU 20-17 last week. The win marked the highest ranked opponent the Bulldogs defeated since they beat No. 5 Chattanooga on Oct. 15, 2016.
The Bulldogs are a run-heavy team as they rank fifth in the country in rush attempts per game (53) and in doing so are ranked fourth in the country in time of possession (37 mpg).
Three different Bulldogs have at least 20 carries this season. Running back has been the most effective, averaging 6.6 yards per carry.
No receiver has more than five receptions for the Bulldogs and quarterback Derrick Payton has only attempted 17 passes through two games this season.

BEARS LOOKING TO START CONFERENCE PLAY STRONG

Mercer won its SoCon opener last year, defeating Furman 24-3 (Sept. 25).
The Bears hold a 29- 33 record in SoCon games. Under Coach Cronic, Mercer is 11-5 in conference play.
Last season the Mercer held The Citadel to 170 rushing yards in its 34-7 win.

LOOKING BACK AT AUBURN

Wide receiver Devron Harper hauled in two touchdown receptions of five and eight yards.
The Bears intercepted Auburn quarterback T.J. Finley twice in the game. Freshman safety, Chris Joines had his first career interception late in the second quarter which set up the first of Harper's two touchdowns. Sophomore cornerback, T.J. Moore had the other Bears interception, when he intercepted Finley on Auburn's opening possession of the second half.
Defensively, safety Myles Redding had a team-high 10 tackles in the game.

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 The Citadel In SoCon Opener

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Players Mentioned

Devron Harper

Chris Joines

Myles Redding

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Mercer University Athletics

Mercer Football Hosts The Citadel In SoCon Opener

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Devron Harper

Chris Joines

Myles Redding

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