Atkinson Rakes In Third SoCon Offensive Player Of The Week Honor

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Another high-level Saturday performance transitioned into another weekly honor for Braden Atkinson on Monday when the freshman raked in his third Southern Conference Offensive Player of the Week laurel in the last four weeks.

A product of Rolesville, N.C., Atkinson passed for four touchdowns and ran for another as the then-No. 13 Bears used a second half surge to post a 52-28 comeback victory over Furman on Saturday in Greenville, S.C. He threw for 426 yards on 28-of-49 passing with no interceptions to fuel Mercer to its first road win in the series since 2021, while also carrying the ball twice for eight yards.

It is the third league weekly honor in as many games for Atkinson who has logged 1,306 passing yards and a dozen touchdowns across that span, including a school-record 533 passing yards in MU's Week 10 home win over VMI.

The 10^th-ranked Bears (7-1, 6-0 SoCon) will close out the road portion of their league schedule on Saturday when they head to Cullowhee, N.C., to lock horns with 24^th-ranked Western Carolina (6-3, 5-0). Kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. at E.J. Whitmire Stadium.

Tickets for the game are still available and can be purchased by visiting WCU's athletic ticketing portal.

Atkinson Rakes In Third SoCon Offensive Player Of The Week Honor

Players Mentioned

Braden Atkinson

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