No. 23 Bears Rally Late, Then Hold Off East Tennessee State

Saturday, September 27

Johnson City, Tenn.

5:30 p.m.

Mercer University

3-1 , 3-0

East Tennessee State

2-3 , 0-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Mercer

ETSU

No. 23 Bears Rally Late, Then Hold Off East Tennessee State

9/27/2025 7:35:00 PM | Football

Box Score

By: Todd Anderson, anderson_t02@mercer.edu

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Junior CJ Miller ran for 172 yards and two touchdowns, including the go-ahead score with 5:40 left to play, and 23^rd-ranked Mercer used a pair of late defensive stops to cement a 38-34 comeback victory over East Tennessee State on Saturday evening at William B. Greene Jr. Stadium.

It was the seventh-straight victory over a Southern Conference opponent for the Bears (3-1, 3-0 SoCon) who have now taken five of the last six in the series with their league rivals. Saturday's setback served as the SoCon opener for the Bucs (2-3, 0-1) who registered a double-digit home win over Elon last week.

THE BASICS

SCORE: Mercer 38, East Tennessee State 34
RECORDS: Mercer 3-1 (3-0 SoCon); East Tennessee State 2-3 (0-1 SoCon)
LOCATION: Johnson City, Tenn. (Johnson Hagood Stadium)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST QUARTER

The Bears used a field position chess match to set themselves up at midfield for their second possession of the evening. CJ Miller provided a spark with an 18-yard scamper on the initial play, but the drive stalled after that and the Bears were forced to settle for a 49-yard field goal from Reice Griffith. MU 3, ETSU 0

The Buccaneers answered back quickly, and drove 71 yards in just three plays to take their first lead of the ballgame. Cade McNamara hooked up Jeremiah Harrison on a 55-yard gainer to open the drive, and then found Hakeem Meggett in the endzone on a 14-yard touchdown pass to cap the possession. ETSU 7, MU 3

East Tennessee State went to work again on their next possession and made it a one-touchdown game with a 15-play, 71 yard scoring drive. An ill-timed personal foul gave the Bucs a fresh set of downs at the 1-yard line, but the Bears held tough and eventually forced a 21-yard field goal try by Ewan Johnson. ETSU 10, MU 3

A gain of 18 for @_cj2m to for a @CadenceBank 1st Down!#WeOverMe pic.twitter.com/u8l7J93yE4
— Mercer Football (@MercerFootball) September 27, 2025

2ND QUARTER

Mercer bridged the first and second periods with an 11-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that knotted things back up again. Braden Atkinson threw a 23-yard strike to Kendall Harris to convert a key 3^rd-and-11 situation at the MU 24-yard line, and Mercer hit found paydirt on Atkinson's 3-yard scoring strike to Adonis McDaniel eight plays later. ETSU 10, MU 10

The hosts retook the lead on the ensuing possession, capping an 8-play, 86-yard touchdown drive on Cade McNamara's 20-yard pass to Charlie Browder. McNamara went 4-for-4 for 50 yards on the possession, including three completions for 10 or more yards. ETSU 17, MU 10

Mercer scratched the scoreboard again on its next possession, driving 75 yards on just four plays to tie things back up again. CJ Miller opened the possession with a 15-yard run, then moved the Bears all the way down to the ETSU 30-yard line with a 30-yard reception on the ensuing play. Braden Atkinson's 29-yard touchdown pass to Adjatay Dabbs two plays later capped the drive. ETSU 17, MU 17

The Buccaneers needed just more than four minutes to take the lead again, this time capping an 11-play, 75-yard scoring drive with Cade McNamara's 35-yard touchdown pass to Hakeem Meggett. ETSU converted a pair of third down situations on the possession, and used a costly offsides penalty midway through the drive to convert a 4^th-and-1 as well. ETSU 24, MU 17

An ill-timed fumble on the third play of the ensuing possession for the Bears gave the Bucs prime field position at the 31-yard line. The Bears stiffened up again, however, and forced ETSU to settle for a 32-yard field goal from Ewan Johnson that gave the hosts a 10-point lead at intermission. ETSU 27, MU 17

A gain of 18 for @_cj2m to for a @CadenceBank 1st Down!#WeOverMe pic.twitter.com/u8l7J93yE4
— Mercer Football (@MercerFootball) September 27, 2025

3RD QUARTER

Mercer put together a 9-play, 61-yard drive on its opening possession of the second half, and climbed back into the game on CJ Miller's 1-yard dive up the middle. Braden Atkinson completed a pair of 20+-yard passes on the possession, including a 21-yard strike to Adjatay Dabbs that moved the Bears inside the red zone. ETSU 27, MU 24

East Tennessee State punched back again on the ensuing possession, capping a 6-play, 75-yard drive with Cade McNamara's 22-yard touchdown pass to Hakeem Meggett. McNamara was 4-for-4 for 64 yards on the possession, including consecutive 22-yard passes late in the drive. ETSU 34, MU 24

Interception for @BliTommy 💪#WeOverMe pic.twitter.com/rO2pZmsQdN
— Mercer Football (@MercerFootball) September 27, 2025

4TH QUARTER

Tommy Bliss's interception late in the third quarter gave the Bears possession at midfield and set the stage for 14 unanswered points. CJ Miller logged 16 rushing yards on the ensuing scoring drive, but it was Braden Atkinson's 17-yard touchdown pass to Brayden Smith that ultimately did the damage. ETSU 34, MU 31

Mercer went to work again on its next possession, driving 64 yards in seven plays before CJ Miller punched it in on 3^rd-and-Goal from the 1-yard line. Miller carried the ball four times for 41 yards on the eventual game-winning drive, including a 36-yard jaunt that moved the Orange & Black into the red zone. MU 38, ETSU 34

Tough run @_cj2m 😤#WeOverMe pic.twitter.com/42kepiuFEK
— Mercer Football (@MercerFootball) September 28, 2025

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Junior CJ Miller accounted for 202 all-purpose yards on Saturday, including 172 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 29 carries. It is the eighth-highest rushing total in program history, and marked the most rushing yards for an MU back since Dwayne McGee ran for 223 yards against Western Carolina last season.
+ Freshman Braden Atkinson threw for 187 yards and three touchdowns on 18-for-26 passing with one interception. It is the second-straight game that the newcomer has registered three or more touchdown passes.
+ Redshirt junior Kaleb Hutchinson and sophomore Carmelo O'neal both tallied a career-best and team-leading 11 tackles on Saturday, while Hutchinson also added an interception and a stop behind the line. Sophomore Andrew Zock added two sacks and a pair of quarterback hurries.

NOTABLES

+ The Bears racked up 421 offensive yards on Saturday – the third-straight game that MU has accounted for 400 or more yards. The season-best 234 rushing yards is the most for the program since turning in 290 yards against Furman in last year's regular season finale.
+ Saturday's result gave Mercer its seventh-straight win against a Southern Conference opponent dating back to a 44-34 triumph over Western Carolina on Oct. 26, 2024. MU has now captured 16 of its last 18 games against SoCon opponents dating back to a 38-3 win over VMI on Sept. 30, 2023.
+ Mercer has now won five of the last six matchups (4-game win streak) with East Tennessee State. Eight of the last 11 series meetings have been decided by eight or fewer points.

UP NEXT

Mercer will make a long-awaited home appearance on October 4 when the Bears return to Five Star Stadium to take on Southern Conference nemesis Samford. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by visiting MercerBears.com/Tickets.

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