No. 17 Football Outdoes Gardner-Webb In Defensive Standoff

Saturday, November 25

Macon, Ga.

3 p.m.

Mercer University

9-3 , 6-2

Gardner-Webb

7-5 , 5-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Gardner-Webb

Mercer

No. 17 Football Outdoes Gardner-Webb In Defensive Standoff

11/25/2023 4:46:00 PM | Football

Box Score Highlights Postgame Press Conference Photo Gallery

By: Todd Anderson, anderson_t02@mercer.edu

MACON – Sophomore quarterback Carter Peevy tallied a pair of rushing touchdowns, including a 72-yard sprint in the second quarter, and the 17^th-ranked Mercer football team rode the tremors of a lockdown defense the rest of the way out on the way to a 17-7 win over Gardner-Webb in the opening round of the FCS Playoffs on Saturday evening at Five Star Stadium.

It is the fifth-straight win for the Bears (9-3) who will now head to Brookings, S.D., on December 2 to go toe-to-toe with top-ranked and defending national champion South Dakota State. The setback snapped a 5-game win streak for the Runnin' Bulldogs (7-5) who fell to 2-5 away from Boiling Springs, N.C., with the result as well.

THE BASICS

SCORE: Mercer 17, Gardner-Webb 7
RECORDS: Mercer 9-3, 6-2 SoCon; Gardner-Webb 7-5, 5-1 Big South-OVC
LOCATION: Macon, Ga. (Five Star Stadium)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST QUARTER

No scoring.

Defense comes up with a Fickling 4th Down Stop after a bad exchange in the backfield from Gardner-Webb!

Offense back to work!#RaiseTheBar | #RoarTogether pic.twitter.com/YXCwkyx4pR
— Mercer Football (@MercerFootball) November 25, 2023

2ND QUARTER

Mercer bridged the first and second quarters with an 8-play, 67-yard scoring drive that was ultimately capped on Carter Peevy's 2-yard dive up the middle. The Runnin' Bulldogs were flagged three times for 31 yards on the possession, but the Bears also got a pair of big plays to keep the drive intact, including a 15-yard pass to Ty James and a 13-yard run from Tyrell Coard. MU 7, GWU 0

The hosts used a big play to take a two-touchdown lead on their following possession, and Carter Peevy proved to be key again. Mercer opened the possession with a quartet of short plays, but Peevy did the rest after that, scampering 72 yards untouched down the far sideline before hitting paydirt. MU 14, GWU 0

The Runnin' Bulldogs broke through on the ensuing possession, and inevitably scored on Jaylen King's 3-yard pass to Karim Page in the back of the end zone. King found Ephraim Floyd on a 36-yard gainer on the second play of the possession, and found Jaylen Burns on a 26-yard pass-and-catch to convert a 3^rd-and-8 situation later in the drive. MU 14, GWU 7

Carter Peevy 72-yards to the house‼️ @TruistNews @Cpeev7 has wheels! 💨

Q2 | 9:18
Mercer 14, Gardner-Webb 0#RaiseTheBar | #RoarTogether pic.twitter.com/WUuW5L9MV1
— Mercer Football (@MercerFootball) November 25, 2023

3RD QUARTER

No scoring.

.@5langg with a big sack on the Fickling 4th Down! 😤#RaiseTheBar | #RoarTogether pic.twitter.com/plUdMH6pFb
— Mercer Football (@MercerFootball) November 25, 2023

4TH QUARTER

Mercer's stop unit registered a 3-and-out near the goal line to give the ball to its offense in good field position. The Bears used a 13-yard pass to Ty James, as well as a pair of short runs by Al Wooten II, to move all the way down to the Gardner-Webb 12-yard line before ultimately putting the game out of reach with a 29-yard field goal from Reice Griffith.

Interception!

Who else but @lancelwise with a HUGE INT with under three minutes to play in this one! 🔥🫡

5th interception of the season for Wise.

Q4 | 2:48
Mercer 17, Gardner-Webb 7#RaiseTheBar | #RoarTogether pic.twitter.com/jQLHCVjeCz
— Mercer Football (@MercerFootball) November 25, 2023

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Sophomore Carter Peevy threw for 122 yards on 16-of-26 passing, but did damage with his legs as well as evidenced by an 11-rush, 43-yard day that included a pair of rushing touchdowns.
+ Senior Ty James hauled in seven catches for 100 yards in his final game at Five Star Stadium to notch his 12^th carer 100-yard receiving day. James has now caught 61 passes for 1,102 yards and 30 touchdowns across his career in the Orange & Black.
+ Redshirt freshman Myles Weston logged his first two career interceptions, while also turning in a solo tackle. Senior Lance Wise Jr. also grabbed his 11^th career interception as well.
+ Freshman Reice Griffith logged 10 punts for 371 yards (37.1 yards/punt), and pinned the Runnin' Bulldogs inside their own 20-yard line four times.

NOTABLES

+ The Bears have now forced 21 turnovers over their last eight outings, including 18 (11 interceptions) over its current 5-game win streak. Saturday's performance marked the fourth time in the last five games that MU has logged multiple pickoffs.
+ Mercer has now captured seven of its last eight outings dating back to a Week 4 loss at nationally-ranked Furman. It now possesses a 5-game win streak for the second-straight season as well.
+ The Bears evened up their record at 15-15 in the month of November, while Saturday's win marked the first time since 2013 that MU has registered three or more wins in the calendar's 11^th month.
+ Mercer has now won 12 of its last 13 games against teams based in the state of North Carolina, including eight wins against Western Carolina and two more against Gardner-Webb.

UP NEXT

The Bears will head to Brookings, S.D., on December 2 to battle top-ranked and defending national champion South Dakota State (11-0, 8-0 MVFC) at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium. Kickoff has been scheduled for 2 p.m. ET (1 p.m. local).

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