No. 22 Mercer Drops Road Opener At Georgia Tech

Saturday, September 19

Atlanta, Ga.

Noon

Mercer University

2-2 , 0-1

Georgia Tech

1-2 , 0-0

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Mercer	0	3	8	0	11
Georgia Tech	7	17	13	7	44

No. 22 Mercer Drops Road Opener At Georgia Tech

9/19/2026 10:46:00 AM | Football

Box Score

By: Todd Anderson, anderson_t02@mercer.edu

ATLANTA – Visiting Mercer racked up nearly 190 rushing yards on the afternoon, but Georgia Tech scored points on seven of its first nine drives to key a 44-11 win over the 22^nd-ranked Bears on Saturday afternoon at Bobby Dodd Stadium/Hyundai Field.

It was the second-straight loss for the Bears (2-2) who finished the outing with nearly 300 yards of total offense. The result marked the first win of the season for the Yellow Jackets (1-2) who opened the 2026 campaign with home setbacks to Colorado and 18^th-ranked Tennessee.

THE BASICS

SCORE: Georgia Tech 44, Mercer 11
RECORDS: Mercer 2-2 (0-1 SoCon); Georgia Tech 1-2 (0-0 ACC)
LOCATION: Atlanta, Ga. (Bobby Dodd Stadium)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST QUARTER

Georgia Tech used its second possession of the afternoon to get the scoring started, culminating a 7-play, 67-yard scoring drive with Alberto Mendoza's 1-yard touchdown pass to Justice Haynes. Haynes rushed for 10 yards on the possession, while also catching two passes for 26 yards. GT 7, MU 0

2ND QUARTER

Taje McCoy's strip-sack near the end of the first quarter set the Yellow Jackets up in good field position at the Mercer 37-yard line. Georgia Tech followed with an 8-play, 37-yard scoring drive, including a 1-yard scoring plunge by Justice Haynes on fourth down. GT 14, MU 0

Mercer got on the board near the midway point of the second period, capping a 71-yard scoring drive on a 21-yard field goal from Simon Zeidan. The Bears appeared to score a touchdown two plays earlier when Devon Caldwell caught the pylon on a dive to the goalline, but official replay showed him step out of bounds three yards shy of paydirt. GT 14, MU 3

The Yellow Jackets answered immediately, driving 61 yards in 15 plays before settling for a 32-yard field goal from Aidan Barr. Georgia Tech used an offsides penalty on fourth down at the Mercer 27-yard line to keep the drive alive, but were unable to muster a touchdown despite a 1^st-and-Goal situation at the 3-yard line later in the possession. GT 17, MU 3

A quick 3-and-out by the Bears, as well as a 31-yard punt, set the Yellow Jackets up near midfield with less than a minute left before the break. Alberto Mendoza found Kevin Roche on a 23-yard gainer on the first play of the drive, and then connected with Jaiven Plummer on a 37-yard touchdown strike moments later. GT 24, MU 3

3RD QUARTER

The Bears came out of the halftime gates and immediately put some points on the scoreboard with a 10-play, 53-yard scoring drive. Mercer called runs on its first seven plays of the possession and managed to eat up 40 yards, but the drive eventually stalled at the 22-yard line before a 40-yard field goal from Simon Zeidan. GT 24, MU 6

Justin Haynes put on a show on the ensuing possession for the hosts, carrying the ball three times for 65 yards, including a 31-yard jaunt down the near sideline to cap the drive. Mercer still mustered some positives, however, as Javious Bond blocked the point-after attempt at Cameron Goggins scooped up the loose ball and returned it 88 yards for two points. GT 30, MU 8

The Bears punched back again on the following possession, capping a 10-play, 62-yard drive with a 31-yard field goal from Simon Zeidan. The visitors converted a key 3^rd-and-9 situation with a 37-yard pass-and-catch from JP Pickles and Brayden Smith, and then moved inside the red zone when Pickles found Jackson Kostmayer on a 20-yard gainer. GT 30, MU 11

A 41-yard kickoff return minutes later set Georgia Tech up at their own 48-yard line, and the hosts eventually tacked up another touchdown before the end of the third period. The Yellow Jackets moved into Mercer territory via a 19-yard pass from Alberto Mendoza to Isaiah Fuhrmann, and then finished off the possession with Mendoza's 33-yard touchdown pass to Debron Gatling. GT 37, MU 11

4TH QUARTER

CJ Gamble's interception at the Mercer 40-yard line set the Yellow Jackets up for the final scoring drive of the afternoon. The hosts converted a key 4^th-and-1 situation midway through to keep the possession alive, and eventually tacked the final points of the afternoon on the scoreboard thanks to a 1-yard touchdown dive from Chad Alexander. GT 44, MU 11

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ 5^th year Zahmari Palode-Gary carried the ball 15 times for 71 yards to lead Mercer's offensive attack, while JP Pickles added 53 rushing yards (11 carries) and Devon Caldwell pitched in 28 rushing yards (7 carries).
+ Senior Brayden Smith hauled in four catches for 58 yards, including a 37-yard reception in the third period. He also had an 8-yard run in the second quarter.
+ Sophomore Jyarius Carter led the Bears in tackles (12) for the fourth time in as many games, but was joined atop the tackles leaderboard by freshman Ronin Dangler who registered 12 stops in his first career start. Dangler also added a sack and a quarterback hurry to his statistics line.
+ Sophomore Simon Zeidan connected on all three of his field goal attempts on the afternoon, including a 40-yarder in the third quarter. Freshman Senin Seymour averaged 42.3 yards on six punts, including a 50+-yard boot for the second-straight week.

NOTABLES

+ The Bears registered a season-high 46 rushing attempts (188 yards) against the Yellow Jackets – the most rushing attempts by the Orange & Black since posting 46 carries (152 yards) in a home win over Wofford on Sept. 13, 2025.
+ Mercer fell to 1-17-1 all-time in the series with its in-state FBS rivals. Georgia Tech extended its series unbeaten streak out to 18 with Saturday's win. It was the first matchup between the two Peach State squads since 2016.
+ Mercer's blocked extra point try (Javious Bond) and ensuing return for a score (Cameron Goggins) marked the first time since 2013 that the Bears have scored points off of a failed point-after attempt by their opponent. Sebastian Hicks picked up a fumble on a 2-point conversion rushing attempt and scored against Davidson on Nov. 2, 2013.

UP NEXT

Mercer will continue its 3-game road trip next weekend when the Bears pack up their show and head to West Texas to take on United Athletic Conference rival Abilene Christian (1-3). Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET at Wildcat Stadium in Abilene, Texas. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by visiting ACU's athletic ticketing portal.

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