No. 7 Bears Drop Road Finale At No. 9 Alabama

Saturday, November 16

Tuscaloosa, Ala.

2 p.m.

Mercer University

9-2 , 6-1

Alabama

8-2 , 4-2

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Mercer

Alabama

No. 7 Bears Drop Road Finale At No. 9 Alabama

11/16/2024 2:26:00 PM | Football

Box Score

By: Todd Anderson, anderson_t02@mercer.edu

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Ninth-ranked Alabama amassed more than 500 yards of total offense and scored 21 points off of a trio of turnovers by seventh-ranked Mercer on the way to a 52-7 victory over the visiting Bears on Saturday afternoon at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

The setback snapped a three-game win streak for the Orange & Black (9-2) who still managed to put the finishing touches on their best road record (4-2) in 93 years. It was the third-straight win for the Crimson Tide (8-2) who moved to 5-0 all-time in the series with Mercer.

THE BASICS

SCORE: Alabama 52, Mercer 7
RECORDS: Mercer (9-2, 6-2 SoCon); Alabama (8-2, 4-2 SEC)
LOCATION: Tuscaloosa, Ala. (Bryant-Denny Stadium)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST QUARTER

A Mercer fumble near the midfield stripe gave Alabama a kickstart, and the Crimson Tide culminated a 4-play, 52-yard scoring drive on a 29-yard run by Ryan Williams. Jamarion Miller carried the ball twice for 16 yards to open the possession. UA 7, MU 0

Alabama went to work again on their following possession, using a personal foul and an overturned turnover, to fuel a 9-play, 85-yard touchdown drive that was capped on a 14-yard pass from Jalen Milroe to Ryan Williams. The Bears appeared to have stuffed Alabama near midfield, but Andrew Zock's forced fumble was overturned on video replay. UA 14, MU 0

.@_cj2m picks up the @CadenceBank first down👉 pic.twitter.com/QhrJAqqkw5
— Mercer Football (@MercerFootball) November 16, 2024

2ND QUARTER

Alabama converted another turnover into points, bridging the first and second quarters with a 7-play, 68-yard touchdown drive that ended on Jalen Milroe's 44-yard touchdown pass to Robbie Ouzts. The Crimson Tide converted a 4^th-and-1 from their own 41-yard line two plays earlier. UA 21, MU 0

The Crimson Tide forced its fourth turnover of the afternoon, but the defense finished off the conversion into points this time around. Parker Wroble had the ball punched loose after a 25-yard reception, and Zabien Brown picked up the loose ball and scampered 68 yards for a touchdown. UA 28, MU 0

A shanked punt by the Crimson Tide gave Mercer good field position midway through the second period, and the Bears delivered this time. Whitt Newbauer completed both pass attempts for 42 yards on the 4-play, 52-yard scoring drive, including a 31-yard touchdown strike to Kendall Harris. UA 28, MU 7

Alabama used big plays to answer on the ensuing possession, but ultimately had to settle for a 45-yard field goal from Graham Nicholson. Jalen Milroe opened the drive with a 45-yard pass to Germie Bernard that moved the hosts all the way down to the 30-yard line, but the Bears held tough after that. UA 31, MU 7

TOUCHDOWN BEARS‼️

.@Kendall_Harris7 pulls it in off of a dime pass from @whitt_newbauer 😤 pic.twitter.com/ik8mMxEPqs
— Mercer Football (@MercerFootball) November 16, 2024

3RD QUARTER

Alabama provided the only points of the third quarter with a 10-play, 67-yard touchdown drive on its opening possession of the second half. Jalen Milroe completed both of his pass attempts for 28 yards, but finished off the possession with a 3-yard run. UA 38, MU 7

4TH QUARTER

Alabama bridged the third and fourth quarters with a run-heavy 10-play, 62-yard touchdown drive that was eventually fueled with a deep pass down the middle. Josh Cuevas made an acrobatic catch on a 43-yard gainer that successfully converted a 3^rd-and-15 situation for the Crimson Tide, and Richard Young punched it in from 1-yard out. UA 45, MU 7

The Crimson Tide put the final points of the afternoon on the scoreboard with a time-consuming 16-play, 79-yard drive that drained nearly eight minutes off of the game clock. Alabama completed seven of its nine passing attempts for 56 yards on the touchdown drive, including Austin Mack's 31-yard touchdown pass to Rico Scott. UA 52, MU 7

.@MarquesThomas10 breaks up the pass for a @BurgerKing third down stop‼️ pic.twitter.com/okf0kec7xh
— Mercer Football (@MercerFootball) November 16, 2024

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Freshman Whitt Newbauer threw for 140 yards and one touchdown on 15-of-22 passing with one interception.
+ Redshirt sophomore CJ Miller ran for 44 yards on eight carries to lead the Mercer ground game, while senior Kelin Parsons caught six passes for 39 yards. Redshirt freshman Kendall Harris (2 catches, 32 yards) also logged his first touchdown reception of the season.
+ Seniors TJ Moore and Ken Standley both turned in a team-best nine tackles. Moore also turned in a pass break-up.

NOTABLES

+ Mercer closed out its road schedule with a 4-2 clip – its best record away from home since the 1932 squad tallied a 4-1 mark in road outings.
+ Signal caller Whitt Newbauer completed 14 of his first 16 pass attempts against the Crimson Tide for 111 yards.
+ The Bears did not win the time of possession battle for the first time this season, possessing the ball for 26:12 against Alabama. The Crimson Tide finished with a 33:48 count in the time of possession column.

UP NEXT

The Bears will snap the lid on their regular schedule on November 23 when they take on Southern Conference rival Furman (3-7, 2-4 SoCon) at Five Star Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET. Tickets are still available, and can be purchased by visiting MercerBears.com/Tickets.

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SUPPORT THE BEARS

maf@mercer.edu.Support the Mercer athletics department by making a gift to the Mercer Athletic Foundation. To find out more information about the Mercer Athletic Foundation, email