No. 14 Bears Welcome SoCon Rival Furman To Macon On Saturday
9/11/2026 9:20:00 PM | Football
Kickoff Is Slated For 6 p.m. ET On ESPN+
MACON – Nationally-ranked Mercer (2-0, 0-0 SoCon) will close out its season-opening three-game home stand on Saturday evening when the Bears open up Southern Conference play against league rival Furman (1-1, 0-0 SoCon) under the lights of Five Star Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:02 p.m. and the game will be broadcast live on MercerVision/ESPN+ with Frank Malloy (pxp) and Phil Cox (commentary) calling all of the action.
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| Â ABOUT THE GAME | |||
| Date: Saturday, September 5 Time: 6 p.m. ET Location: Macon, Ga. I Five Star Stadium TV: ESPN+ Listen Live: 100.9 The Creek I Sportsmic Network Live Statistics: MercerBears.com/Live Twitter Updates: @MercerFootball |
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| Â GAME NOTES (PDF) | |||
| Mercer Game Notes | Furman Game Notes | SoCon Weekly Release | |
| Â TICKETS | |||
| Tickets are still available for Saturday's game and can be purchased by visiting MercerBears.com/Tickets. | |||
| Â MERCER/FURMANÂ SERIES | |||
| Saturday's contest will mark the 25th meeting between Mercer and Furman in a series that dates all the way back to the 1914 season. The Bears are 6-5 against Furman in Macon, including a 49-23 rout of the Paladins in the 2024 regular season finale for both teams at Five Star Stadium. Four out of the last six series matchups in Middle Georgia have been decided by 10 or fewer points. | |||
| Â SCOUTING THE PALADINS | |||
| Furman returns 10 starters (2 offense, 8 defense) off of last year's squad that registered a 6-6 record, including a 4-4 mark (T-6th) among the nine-team Southern Conference. The Paladins also welcomed back a pair of special teamers to their roster as well. Furman's most experienced and deepest position group this season is its defensive line where 16 players representing the four positions of nose guard, defensive tackle, defensive end and bandit include 10 lettermen and seven performers who now own a combined 65 starts. Eight Paladins were selected to the 2026 Preseason All-Southern Conference squad in July, including SoCon Preseason Defensive Player of the Year Joshua Stoneking. | |||
| Â THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME | |||
| Mercer is now 56-22 (.718) all-time in Five Star Stadium after last week's victory over Presbyterian. The Bears have captured 22 of their last 26 home games heading into Saturday's matchup with Furman. | |||
| Â MERCER VS. SOCON OPPONENTS | |||
| Mercer is 32-8 (.800) against Southern Conference teams over the last five seasons (2021-25), and will bring a 12-game win streak against SoCon squads into Saturday's game at Five Star Stadium. MU has captured 21 of its last 23 games against SoCon opponents dating back to a 38-3 win over VMI on Sept. 30, 2023. | |||
| Â NEXT WEEK FOR THE BEARS | |||
| Mercer will open up a 3-game road trip on September 12 when it makes the short hop to Atlanta to go head-to-head with FBS rival Georgia Tech (0-1). Kickoff is scheduled for noon ET at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field and tickets can be purchased by visiting the Georgia Tech athletics ticketing portal. | |||
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