No. 21 Football Succumbs To No. 7 Furman In SoCon Opener

Saturday, September 23

Greenville, S.C.

1 p.m.

Mercer University

2-2 , 0-1

Furman

3-1 , 1-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Mercer

Furman

No. 21 Football Succumbs To No. 7 Furman In SoCon Opener

9/23/2023 11:27:00 AM | Football

Box Score Head Coach Drew Cronic Presser Photo Gallery

GREENVILLE, S.C. – Sophomore Carter Peevy accounted for both a passing and a rushing score, including an 8-yard scoring jaunt on the opening possession of the second half, but seventh-ranked and preseason Southern Conference favorite Furman tallied 387 total yards and used a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns to pull away from the Bears, 38-14, in the SoCon opener for both teams on Saturday afternoon at Paladin Stadium.

The setback marked just the second loss of the season for the Bears (2-2, 0-1 SoCon) who fell to 4-7 in conference openers since football returned to the Macon campus in 2013. It was the second-straight victory for the Paladins (3-1, 1-0) who finished Saturday's contest with 222 yards on the ground.

The Bears will be back at home again on September 30 when they welcome Southern Conference rival VMI to Macon for Family Weekend at Five Star Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. Purchase tickets ahead of time by visiting MercerBears.com/Tickets.

THE BASICS

SCORE: No. 7 Furman 38, No. 21 Mercer 14
RECORDS: Mercer 2-2, 0-1 SoCon; Furman 3-1, 1-0 SoCon
LOCATION: Greenville, S.C. (Paladin Stadium)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST QUARTER

No scoring.

Bears defense gets off the field on 3rd down after this tackle from @isaacd3_ #RaiseTheBar | #RoarTogether pic.twitter.com/v92BP81Rwb
— Mercer Football (@MercerFootball) September 23, 2023

2ND QUARTER

The Paladins bridged the first and second quarters with an 11-play, 79-yard possession that put the first points on the scoreboard. Tyler Huff's 19-yard quarterback scramble set Furman up in the red zone, but the drive stalled after that and the Paladins were forced to settle for a 31-yard field goal from Ian Williams. FU 3, MU 0

An ill-timed holding penalty on an otherwise blocked punt midway through the second quarter gave new life to a drive for the hosts. Furman drove 60 yards on seven plays after that, including a 9-yard touchdown scamper by Dominic Roberto that pushed the lead out to two scores. FU 10, MU 0

A muffed catch on a scheduled punt return set the Paladins deep in Mercer territory. Furman needed just one play to make the turnover sting more – a 13-yard touchdown run to far sideline by Wayne Anderson. FU 17, MU 0

The Bears put together a 5-play, 75-yard scoring drive right before the half to get back into the contest. Senior Ty James logged two big catches on the possession, including a 26-yard touchdown reception with seven ticks left on the game clock. FU 17, MU 7

Touchdown Bears!@Cpeev7 to @wr_james from 26-yards out for the @TruistNews TD with 7 seconds left in the half!

Bears go 75 yards in 1:11 to cut the deficit to 10.#RaiseTheBar | #RoarTogether pic.twitter.com/p3mkesqTeB
— Mercer Football (@MercerFootball) September 23, 2023

3RD QUARTER

Mercer went to work on the opening possession of the second half, and capped an 11-play, 74-yard touchdown drive with an 8-yard scoring jaunt from Carter Peevy. The drive was keyed by a pair of big 3^rd-down plays – a pass interference penalty near midfield on 3^rd-and-9, as well as Peevy's 19-yard run on 3^rd-and-13 at the Furman 38-yard line. FU 17, MU 14

Furman answered right back with a 14-play, 80-yard touchdown drive that drained more than seven minutes off of the game clock. The Bears appeared to have fended off a touchdown with a big stop on third down at the 3-yard line, but a crucial holding penalty kept the possession alive and was followed with a 1-yard scoring dive. FU 24, MU 14

Touchdown Bears!@Cpeev7 keeps it and scores from 8-yards out for the @TruistNews TD on Mercer's first possession of the second half!

Q3 | 8:02
Mercer 14, Furman 17#RaiseTheBar | #RoarTogether pic.twitter.com/8nEdor9sbK
— Mercer Football (@MercerFootball) September 23, 2023

4TH QUARTER

Furman's defense opened the fourth quarter by finishing off a big 3-and-out possession by the visitors, and the offense went to work after that. The Paladins rushed for 25 and 14 yards, respectively, after taking over at the MU 48-yard line, and Tyler Huff put an exclamation point on the drive with a 10-yard scoring strike to tight end Mason Pline. FU 31, MU 14

The Paladins benefited from a turnover on downs to tack up the last score of the afternoon. The hosts took over at the Mercer 28-yard line with just less than 10 minutes remaining in the game, and used a pair of short-gainers to set up a 20-yard touchdown run by Jayquan Smith. FU 38, MU 14

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Carter Peevy accounted for both a passing and rushing touchdown in Saturday's affair. The sophomore signal caller threw for 123 yards and a second quarter touchdown on 11-of-16 passing, while also logging a career rushing day for both attempts (13) and yards (66). He also added a ground score in the third quarter as well.
+ Senior Ty James led the Bears in both receptions (4) and receiving yards (83), while also hauling in a touchdown pass right before the halftime break. Saturday's performance pushed him across the 2,500 plateau (2,549) for career receiving yards.
+ Senior Lance Wise registered a dozen tackles (3 solo) to pace Mercer's defense, while junior Ken Standley added seven stops, including a sack and a assist on a tackle for loss.

NOTABLES

+ The Bears fell to 2-2 in Southern Conference openers under head coach Drew Cronic, and are now 2-2 against the Paladins under the fourth-year head coach as well.
+ Mercer fell to 5-1 under head coach Drew Cronic in the month of September, and are now 5-4 in the calendar year's ninth month. Three of Mercer's four losses in September have come at the hands of Southeastern Conference foes.
+ A blocked field goal in the first quarter spoiled an impressive streak for the Bears this season. The stuffed kick marked the first time in 2023 that Mercer had not gotten into the end zone on its opening possession of a contest. The Bears also scored a touchdown on their opening possession in the 2022 season finale at Samford.

UP NEXT

The Bears will be back at home again on September 30 when they welcome Southern Conference rival VMI to Macon for Family Weekend at Five Star Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. Purchase tickets ahead of time by visiting MercerBears.com/Tickets.

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