No. 23 Football Topples Samford In Regular Season Finale

Saturday, November 11

Macon, Ga.

3 p.m.

Mercer University

8-3 , 6-2

Samford

5-5 , 4-4

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Samford	0	7	7	7	21
Mercer	6	0	15	7	28

No. 23 Football Topples Samford In Regular Season Finale

11/11/2023 4:26:00 PM | Football

Box Score Photo Gallery

MACON – Sophomore Carter Peevy ran for a trio of touchdowns, and the 23^rd-ranked Mercer football team got a lights-out performance from its stop unit, to carry the Bears to a 28-21 victory over visiting Samford in the regular season finale for both teams on Saturday at Five Star Stadium.

It was the sixth win in the last seven outings for the Bears (8-3, 6-2 SoCon) who also tacked up their school-record eighth NCAA Division I victory in the process as well. The setback snapped a string of consecutive wins for Samford (5-5, 4-4) who has now come away empty-handed on three-straight trips to Middle Georgia.

THE BASICS

SCORE: Mercer 28, Samford 21
RECORDS: Mercer 8-3, 6-2 SoCon; Samford 5-5, 4-4 SoCon
LOCATION: Macon, Ga. (Five Star Stadium)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST QUARTER

A fumble near midfield foiled Mercer's attempt at a score on their opening possession of the afternoon, but the Bears more than made up for it on possession No. 2. Carter Peevy engineered a rush-heavy 13-play, 90-yard drive that was capped on his 5-yard scamper to the nearside pilon. A bad snap on the point-after attempt kept the score at a standstill, however. MU 6, SU 0

Touchdown Bears!@Cpeev7 takes it himself from 5-yards out for the @TruistNews TD! Extra point no good.

Q1 | 3:16
Mercer 6, Samford 0#RaiseTheBar | #RoarTogether pic.twitter.com/owLeyjsvCE
— Mercer Football (@MercerFootball) November 11, 2023

2ND QUARTER

Offense came at a premium in the second period, but Samford cashed in early to take a slight lead. The drive appeared to have stalled inside the 25-yard line, but Damonta Witherspoon raced through the middle of the pile on a 4th-and-1 situation and jaunted 21 yards for the go-ahead score. SU 7, MU 6

SACK ‼️@Jordanswain22 gets home for the sack to force a third and long for the Bulldogs!#RaiseTheBar | #RoarTogether pic.twitter.com/YnHpqSTBr5
— Mercer Football (@MercerFootball) November 11, 2023

3RD QUARTER

The Bears came out of the halftime gates firing on all cylinders, and put together a 12-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to take their second lead of the afternoon. Carter Peevy completed six of his seven pass attempts for 38 yards, but it was ultimately a 23-yard gallop by Devon Harper on a reverse that capped the drive. MU 14, SU 7

Samford needed just three plays on the ensuing drive to deliver the counterpunch. Micheal Hiers opened the possession with a 15-yard toss to D.J. Rias, then reeled off consecutive 30-yard strikes, including a scoring pass to Chandler Smith. MU 14, SU 14

Mercer used a sustained drive to deliver points again on the following possession, and culminated the 11-play, 78-yard scoring drive with a 6-yard power dive by Carter Peevy. Peevy was a perfect 3-for-3 passing on the drive, while also rushing twice for 11 yards. MU 21, SU 14

Touchdown Bears!!@Cpeev7 ➡️ @DevronHarper on the reverse for the 23-yd @TruistNews TD!

Peevy found @Samuel_Albee18 on the 2-pt conversion!

Q3 | 8:38
Mercer 14, Samford 7#RaiseTheBar | #RoarTogether pic.twitter.com/mObltqguo2
— Mercer Football (@MercerFootball) November 11, 2023

4TH QUARTER

Mercer made it a two-score game midway through the fourth quarter when Carter Peevy capped an 8-play, 87-yard touchdown drive with a 1-yard dive up the middle. Brayden Smith made an acrobatic 18-yard catch on a play near midfield, and Peevy found Travion Solomon on a 31-yard strike on the ensuing play to move the Orange & Black down to the 5-yard line. MU 28, SU 14

The visitors continued to exchange blows on the ensuing possession as Michael Hiers engineered a 10-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that, again, pulled the Bulldogs to within a lone score. Hiers threw for 51 yards on 5-of-6 passing on the drive, including a 32-yard pass to D.J. Rias on the opening play. MU 28, SU 21

Needed a big play from the defense and got it from our all-time interceptions leader @lancelwise! 🔥#RaiseTheBar | #RoarTogether pic.twitter.com/fuahDXbqiO
— Mercer Football (@MercerFootball) November 11, 2023

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Sophomore Carter Peevy threw for 137 yards on 18-of-25 passing, while also carrying the ball 13 times for 45 yards and a trio of touchdowns. He is the first Mercer player to rush for at least three touchdowns since Fred Davis accounted for five rushing scores against Samford in 2021.
+ Junior Al Wooten II led the ground attack for the Orange & Black with 16 carries for 81 yards. He was not tackles for lost yardage on any of his 16 carries on the afternoon.
+ Junior Marques Thomas posted a team-high eight tackles (5 solo) against the Bulldogs, while senior Lance Wise Jr. registered seven tackles and his 10^th career interception. Senior Solomon Zubairu turned in a pair of sacks for the second time in four games.

NOTABLES

+ The Bears stopped a 6-game skid in regular season finales with Saturday's result, and improved to 6-5 in such contests since the program returned to campus prior to the 2013 season. Mercer has now registered multiple wins in the month of November for the first time since the 2016 season as well.
+ Saturday's triumph marked the fourth-straight win for Mercer – the third time in four seasons under head coach Drew Cronic that the Bears have posted at least a 4-game win streak. The result also gave the program its school record eighth Division I victory as well.
+ Mercer is now 42-20 all-time in Five Star Stadium, and improved to 16-4 in Macon under head coach Drew Cronic. The Bears have tallied 4-1 records at home in each of the last four seasons, and have now captured 10 of their last 12 games in Macon. The Orange & Black has now logged wins in three of their last four regular season home finales as well.

UP NEXT

The Bears will enjoy a scheduled bye week next week. The NCAA FCS Playoff Selection Show is scheduled for November 19.

STAY CONNECTED

Follow Mercer Football on Twitter and Instagram and "Like" Mercer Football on Facebook.

SUPPORT THE BEARS

Fans can help support the Mercer athletics department by making a gift to the Mercer Athletic Foundation. To find out more information about the Mercer Athletic Foundation, visit S upportMAF.com or email maf@mercer.edu.