2024 Mercer Bears football team

2024 Mercer Bears football
2024 Mercer Bears football
Conference	Southern Conference
Ranking
STATS	No. 10
FCS Coaches	No. 13
Record	8–1 (5–1 SoCon)
Head coach	Mike Jacobs (1st season);
Offensive coordinator	Anthony Soto (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Jahmal Brown (1st season)
Home stadium	Five Star Stadium
	Seasons ← 2023 2025 →

The 2024 Mercer Bears football team represents Mercer University as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon) during the 2024 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Bears are coached by first-year head coach Mike Jacobs and play at Five Star Stadium in Macon, Georgia.

2024 Southern Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 10 Mercer	5	–	1	8	–	1
No. 22 Western Carolina	4	–	1	5	–	4
No. 23 Chattanooga	4	–	2	5	–	4
East Tennessee State	3	–	2	5	–	4
Samford	2	–	3	3	–	5
The Citadel	2	–	4	4	–	5
Wofford	2	–	4	4	–	5
Furman	1	–	3	2	–	6
VMI	1	–	4	1	–	8

As of November 4, 2024 Rankings from STATS Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 29	7:00 p.m.	Presbyterian*		Five Star Stadium Macon, GA	ESPN+	W 63–10	7,219
September 7	3:00 p.m.	at Bethune–Cookman*		Daytona Stadium Daytona Beach, FL	SWAC Digital	W 31–2	8,484
September 14	6:00 p.m.	at No. 14 Chattanooga	No. 23	Finley Stadium Chattanooga, TN	ESPN+	W 10–3	7,671
September 21	6:00 p.m.	The Citadel	No. 14	Five Star Stadium Macon, GA	ESPN+	W 38–21	10,489
September 28	1:30 p.m.	at No. 23 Wofford	No. 12	Gibbs Stadium Spartanburg, SC	ESPN+	W 22–3	1,219
October 12	3:30 p.m.	Princeton*	No. 8	Five Star Stadium Macon, GA	ESPN+	W 34–7	8,143
October 19	3:00 p.m.	at Samford	No. 7	Pete Hanna Stadium Homewood, AL	ESPN+	L 35–55	4,216
October 26	3:30 p.m.	No. 24 Western Carolina	No. 14	Five Star Stadium Macon, GA	ESPN+	W 44–34	7,389
November 2	3:00 p.m.	No. 23 East Tennessee State	No. 12	Five Star Stadium Macon, GA	ESPN+	W 37–31	8,692
November 9	1:30 p.m.	at VMI	No. 10	Alumni Memorial Field Lexington, VA	ESPN+
November 16	2:00 p.m.	at Alabama*		Bryant–Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL	SECN+/ESPN+
November 23	3:00 p.m.	Furman		Five Star Stadium Macon, GA	ESPN+
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

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Game summaries

vs. Presbyterian

Game One – Presbyterian Blue Hose (0–0) at Mercer Bears (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Presbyterian	3	0	7	0	10
Mercer	14	14	14	21	63

at Five Star Stadium • Macon, GA

Date: Thursday August 29, 2024
Game time: 7:00 p.m.
Game weather: Cloudy • Temperature: 91 °F (33 °C) • Wind: S at 6 miles per hour (9.7 km/h)
Game attendance: 7,219
Referee: Michael Farmer
TV announcers (FloSports): TBD

Game information

First quarter

(11:42) MER – Dwayne McGee 3-yard run, Reice Griffith kick (Drive: 5 plays, 64 yards, 1:45; Mercer 7–0)
(5:17) PRE – Mack Mikko 24-yard field goal (Drive: 6 plays, 54 yards, 2:14; Mercer 7–3)
(1:08) MER – Kelin Parsons 13-yard pass from DJ Smith, Reice Griffith kick (Drive: 8 plays, 62 yards, 4:02; Mercer 14–3)

Second quarter

(8:40) MER – DJ Smith 1-yard run, Reice Griffith kick (Drive: 4 plays, 47 yards, 1:45; Mercer 21–3)
(1:16) MER – Tyrell Coard 4-yard run, Reice Griffith kick (Drive: 10 plays, 71 yards, 4:00; Mercer 28–3)

Third quarter

(13:45) MER – Brayden Smith 68-yard pass from DJ Smith, Reice Griffith kick (Drive: 3 plays, 77 yards, 1:10; Mercer 35–3)
(4:57) MER – Tyrell Coard 9-yard pass from DJ Smith, Reice Griffith kick (Drive: 13 plays, 83 yards, 7:37; Mercer 42–3)
(3:34) PRE – Cincere Gill 24-yard pass from Ty Englehart, Mack Mikko kick (Drive: 5 plays, 75 yards, 1:23; Mercer 42–10)

Fourth quarter

(10:48) MER – Parker Wroble 7-yard pass from Hess Horne, Reice Griffith kick (Drive: 8 plays, 37 yards, 4:05; Mercer 49–10)
(3:58) MER – Chris Joines 0-yard fumble recovery, Reice Griffith kick (Mercer 56–10)
(1:39) MER – Brayden Smith 75-yard punt return, Reice Griffith kick (Mercer 63–10)

Statistics	PC	MERC
First downs	8	25
Total yards	137	500
Rushing yards	-7	139
Passing yards	144	361
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	10–23–2	25–30–1
Time of possession	27:47	32:13

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Presbyterian	Passing	Ty Englehart	7/19, 84 yards, TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Denim Edwards	6 carries, 15 yards
	Receiving	Nathan Levicki	1 reception, 57 yards
Mercer	Passing	DJ Smith	20/24, 331 yards, 3 TD, INT
	Rushing	Dwayne McGee	16 carries, 57 yards, TD
	Receiving	Brayden Smith	3 receptions, 83 yards, TD

at Bethune–Cookman

Game Two – Mercer Bears (1–0) at Bethune–Cookman Wildcats (0–1) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Mercer	0	21	7	3	31
Bethune–Cookman	0	0	2	0	2

at Daytona Stadium • Daytona Beach, FL

Date: Saturday September 7, 2024
Game time: 3:00 p.m.
Game weather: 0 °F (−18 °C)
TV: SWAC Digital

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter

Statistics	MER	BCU
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Mercer	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Bethune–Cookman	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at No. 14 Chattanooga

Game Three – No. 23 Mercer Bears (2–0) at No. 14 Chattanooga Mocs (0–2) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 23 Mercer	0	7	0	3	10
No. 14 Chattanooga	0	3	0	0	3

at Finley Stadium • Chattanooga, TN

Date: Saturday September 14, 2024
Game time: 6:00 p.m.
Game weather: 0 °F (−18 °C)
TV: ESPN+

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter

Statistics	MER	UTC
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Mercer	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Chattanooga	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

vs. The Citadel

Game Four – The Citadel Bulldogs (2–1) vs No. 14 Mercer Bears (3–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
The Citadel	0	14	7	0	21
No. 14 Mercer	14	14	7	3	38

at Five Star Stadium • Macon, GA

Date: Saturday September 21, 2024
Game time: 6:00 p.m.
TV announcers (ESPN+): TBD

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter

Statistics	CIT	MER
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
The Citadel	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Mercer	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at No. 23 Wofford

Game Five – No. 12 Mercer Bears (4–0) at No. 23 Wofford Terriers (2–1) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 12 Mercer	3	3	2	14	22
No. 23 Wofford	3	0	0	0	3

at Gibbs Stadium • Spartanburg, SC

Date: Saturday September 28, 2024
Game time: 1:30 p.m.
Game weather: 0 °F (−18 °C)
TV announcers (ESPN+): TBD

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter

Statistics	MER	WOFF
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Mercer	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Wofford	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

Princeton

Game Six – Princeton Tigers (1–2) at No. 8 Mercer Bears (5–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Princeton	0	7	0	0	7
No. 8 Mercer	17	3	0	14	34

at Five Star Stadium, Macon, GA

Date: Saturday October 12, 2024
Game time: 3:30 p.m.
TV: ESPN+

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter

Statistics	PRI	MER
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Princeton	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Mercer	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at Samford

Game Seven – No. 7 Mercer Bears (6–0) at Samford Bulldogs (2–3) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 7 Mercer	0	0	0	0	0
Samford	0	0	0	0	0

at Pete Hanna Stadium, Homewood, AL

Date: Saturday October 19, 2024
Game time: 3:30 p.m.
TV: ESPN+

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter

Statistics	MER	SAM
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Mercer	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Samford	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

No. 24 Western Carolina

Game Eight – No. 24 Western Carolina Catamounts (4–3) vs No. 14 Mercer Bears (6–1) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 24 Western Carolina	0	0	0	0	0
No. 14 Mercer	0	0	0	0	0

at Five Star Stadium, Macon, GA

Date: Saturday October 26, 2024
Game time: 3:30 PM
TV: ESPN+

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter

Statistics	WCU	MER
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Western Carolina	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Mercer	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

No. 23 East Tennessee State

Game Nine – No. 23 East Tennessee State Buccaneers (5–3) vs No. 12 Mercer Bears (7–1) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 23 East Tennessee State	0	0	0	0	0
No. 12 Mercer	0	0	0	0	0

at Five Star Stadium • Macon, GA

Date: Saturday November 2, 2024
Game time: 3:00 p.m.
TV announcers (ESPN+): TBD

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter

Statistics	ETSU	MERC
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
East Tennessee State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Mercer	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

References

^ Kelley, Kevin (December 19, 2023). "Mercer Bears 2024 football schedule". FBSchedules. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
^ Anderson, Todd (December 17, 2023). "Six Home Games, Road Trip To Alabama Highlight 2024 Football Schedule". Mercer University, Department of Athletics. Retrieved March 25, 2024.

[1] Kelley, Kevin (December 19, 2023). "Mercer Bears 2024 football schedule". FBSchedules. Retrieved March 25, 2024.

[2] Anderson, Todd (December 17, 2023). "Six Home Games, Road Trip To Alabama Highlight 2024 Football Schedule". Mercer University, Department of Athletics. Retrieved March 25, 2024.

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