2025 Mercer Bears football team

2025 Mercer Bears football
SoCon champion
ConferenceSouthern Conference
Ranking
STATSNo. 17
FCS CoachesNo. 18
Record9–3 (8–0 SoCon)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorAnthony Soto (2nd season)
Defensive coordinatorJahmal Brown (2nd season)
Home stadiumFive Star Stadium
2025 Southern Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 17 Mercer $^   8 – 0     9 – 3  
Western Carolina   6 – 2     7 – 5  
East Tennessee State   5 – 3     7 – 5  
Wofford   5 – 3     6 – 6  
Chattanooga   4 – 4     5 – 7  
Furman   4 – 4     6 – 6  
The Citadel   3 – 5     4 – 8  
Samford   1 – 7     1 – 11  
VMI   0 – 8     1 – 11  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2025 Mercer Bears football team represented Mercer University as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon) during the 2025 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Bears were led by second-year head coach Mike Jacobs and played at the Five Star Stadium in Macon, Georgia.

Schedule

On August 23, Mercer was set to play in the FCS Kickoff in their only nationally televised game of the season. With eight minutes left in the fourth quarter, the game was suspended due to lightning as UC Davis led 23–17. In the early morning hours of August 24, it was announced that the game would not resume, and that both teams had agreed to declare it a no contest.[1]

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
August 237:00 p.m.vs. No. 8 UC Davis*No. 11
ESPNNo contest
August 306:00 p.m.Presbyterian*No. 11
ESPN+L 10–158,149
September 136:00 p.m.Wofford
  • Five Star Stadium
  • Macon, GA
ESPN+W 22–217,404
September 202:00 p.m.at The Citadel
ESPN+W 38–011,339
September 275:30 p.m.at East Tennessee State
ESPN+W 38–3410,567
October 44:00 p.m.Samford
  • Five Star Stadium
  • Macon, GA
ESPN+W 45–219,461
October 111:00 p.m.at Princeton*No. 25
ESPN+W 38–142,970
October 253:00 p.m.VMINo. 17
  • Five Star Stadium
  • Macon, GA
ESPN+W 62–07,009
November 12:00 p.m.at FurmanNo. 15
ESPN+W 52–287,867
November 82:30 p.m.at No. 24 Western CarolinaNo. 12
ESPN+W 49–4714,510
November 153:00 p.m.ChattanoogaNo. 8
  • Five Star Stadium
  • Macon, GA
ESPN+W 63–179,289
November 222:00 p.m.at Auburn*No. 7
SECN+/ESPN+L 17–6288,043
December 612:00 p.m.No. 12 South Dakota*No. 7
ESPN+L 0–473,042
  • *Non-conference game
  • Homecoming
  • Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Eastern time

[2][3][4]

Game summaries

vs. No. 8 UC Davis

See also: 2025 UC Davis Aggies football team and FCS Kickoff
No. 8 UC Davis Aggies (0-0) vs. No. 11 Mercer Bears (0-0) – Game summary – NO CONTEST
Quarter 1 2 34Total
No. 8 Aggies - - --0
No. 11 Bears - - --0

at Cramton Bowl • Montgomery, AL

  • Date: August 23
  • Game time: 6:00 PM CDT
  • TV announcers (ESPN): Jay Alter (play-by-play) and Rocky Boiman (analyst)
Statistics UCD MER
First downs – –
Total yards – –
Rushing yards – –
Passing yards – –
Passing: Comp–Att–Int – –
Time of possession – –
Team Category Player Statistics
UC Davis Passing – –
Rushing – –
Receiving – –
Mercer Passing – –
Rushing – –
Receiving – –

Presbyterian

See also: 2025 Presbyterian Blue Hose football team
Presbyterian Blue Hose (0-0) vs. No. 11 Mercer Bears (0-0) – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Blue Hose 0 6 3615
No. 11 Bears 7 0 3010

at Five Star Stadium • Macon, GA

  • Date: August 30
  • Game time: 6:00 PM EDT
  • TV announcers (ESPN+): Frank Malloy and Phil Cox
Game information
First Quarter
  • 0:04 – MER – Adonis McDaniel 11 Yd pass from DJ Smith (Reice Griffith Kick). Mercer 0–7. Drive: 10 plays, 80 yards, 4:02
Second Quarter
  • 9:37 - PRE – Nathan Levicki 29 Yd pass from Collin Hurst (Jett Jackson PAT failed). Mercer 6–7 Drive: 11 plays, 75 yards, 5:27
Third Quarter
  • 8:53 – MER – Reice Griffith 22 Yd Field Goal. Mercer 6–10. Drive: 6 plays, 20 yards, 2:48
  • 3:54 – PRE – Jett Jackson 29 Yd Field Goal. Mercer 9–10. Drive: 11 plays, 61 yards, 4:53.
Fourth Quarter

0:56 – PRE – Zach Switzer 16 Yd Run (Two-Point Pass Conversion Failed). Presbyterian 15–10. Drive: 13 plays, 80 yards, 5:39

Statistics PRES MER
First downs 20 16
Total yards 416 241
Rushing yards 113 87
Passing yards 303 154
Passing: Comp–Att–Int 7–55–1 5–41–1
Time of possession 35:50 24:10
Team Category Player Statistics
Presbyterian Passing Collin Hurst 25/38, 303 yards, 1 INT, 1 TD
Rushing Zach Switzer 9 carries, 33 yards, 1 TD
Receiving Dominic Kibby 9 receptions, 114 yards
Mercer Passing DJ Smith 22/36, 154 yards, 1 INT, 1 TD
Rushing Micah Bell 4 carries, 32 yards
Receiving Brayden Smith 4 receptions, 56 yards

Wofford

See also: 2025 Wofford Terriers football team
Wofford Terriers (0-2) vs. Mercer Bears (0-1) – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Terriers - - --0
Bears - - --0

at Five Star Stadium • Macon, GA

  • Date: September 13
  • Game time: 6:00 p.m. EDT
  • TV announcers (ESPN+): Frank Malloy (play-by-play) and Phil Cox (analyst)
Statistics WOF MER
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession
Team Category Player Statistics
Wofford Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Mercer Passing
Rushing
Receiving

at The Citadel

See also: 2025 The Citadel Bulldogs football team
Mercer Bears (1-1) vs. The Citadel Bulldogs (1-2) – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Bears - - --0
Bulldogs - - --0

at Johnson Hagood Stadium • Charleston, SC

  • Date: September 20
  • Game time: 2:00 PM EDT
  • TV announcers (ESPN+): Dave Weinstein (play-by-play), Vad Lee (analyst) and Matison Little (sideline)
Statistics MER CIT
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession
Team Category Player Statistics
Mercer Passing
Rushing
Receiving
The Citadel Passing
Rushing
Receiving

at East Tennessee State

See also: 2025 East Tennessee State Buccaneers football team
Mercer Bears (2-1) vs. East Tennessee State Buccaneers (2-2) – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Bears 3 14 71438
Buccaneers 10 17 7034

at William B. Greene Jr. Stadium • Johnson City, TN

  • Date: September 27
  • Game time: 5:30 p.m. EDT
  • Game weather: Cloudy • Temperature: 72 °F (22 °C) • Wind: E at 6 miles per hour (9.7 km/h)
  • Game attendance: 10,567
  • Referee: Jason Graham
  • TV announcers (ESPN+): Keith Brake (play-by-play), Mark Hutsell (analyst) and Kennedy Story (sideline)
Game information
First Quarter
  • (10:09) MER – Reice Griffith 49-yard field goal (Drive: 5 plays, 18 yards, 0:56; Mercer 3–0)
  • (8:59) ETSU – Hakeem Meggett 14-yard pass from Cade McNamara, Ewan Johnson kick (Drive: 3 plays, 71 yards, 1:03; East Tennessee State 7–3)
  • (1:41) ETSU – Ewan Johnson 21-yard field goal (Drive: 15 plays, 71 yards, 5:44; East Tennessee State 10–3)
Second Quarter
  • (11:10) MER – Adonis McDaniel 3-yard pass from Braden Atkinson, Reice Griffith kick (Drive: 11 plays, 75 yards, 5:31; Tied 10–10)
  • (7:52) ETSU – Charlie Browder 20-yard pass from Cade McNamara, Ewan Johnson kick (Drive: 8 plays, 86 yards, 3:12; East Tennessee State 17–10)
  • (5:54) MER – Adjatay Dabbs 29-yard pass from Braden Atkinson, Reice Griffith kick (Drive: 4 plays, 75 yards, 1:58; Tied 17–17)
  • (1:28) ETSU – Hakeem Meggett 35-yard pass from Cade McNamara, Ewan Johnson kick (Drive: 11 plays, 75 yards, 4:26; East Tennessee State 24–17)
  • (0:00) ETSU – Ewan Johnson 32-yard field goal (Drive: 6 plays, 16 yards, 0:26; East Tennessee State 27–17)
Third Quarter
  • (7:42) MER – CJ Miller 1-yard run, Reice Griffith kick (Drive: 9 plays, 61 yards, 5:11; East Tennessee State 27–24)
  • (5:29) ETSU – Hakeem Meggett 22-yard pass from Cade McNamara, Ewan Johnson kick (Drive: 6 plays, 75 yards, 2:13; East Tennessee State 34–24)
Fourth Quarter
  • (11:29) MER – Brayden Smith 17-yard pass from Braden Atkinson, Reice Griffith kick (Drive: 10 plays, 46 yards, 4:54; East Tennessee State 34–31)
  • (5:40) MER – CJ Miller 1-yard run, Reice Griffith kick (Drive: 8 plays, 65 yards, 4:22; Mercer 38–34)
Statistics MER ETSU
First downs 22 33
Total yards 421 467
Rushing yards 234 69
Passing yards 187 398
Passing: Comp–Att–Int 18–26–1 29–47–2
Time of possession 33:15 26:45
Team Category Player Statistics
Mercer Passing Braden Atkinson 18/26, 187 yards, 3 TD, INT
Rushing CJ Miller 29 carries, 172 yards, 2 TD
Receiving Adjatay Dabbs 3 receptions, 76 yards, TD
East Tennessee State Passing Cade McNamara 29/46, 398 yards, 4 TD, 2 INT
Rushing Jason Albritton 14 carries, 39 yards
Receiving Hakeem Meggett 5 receptions, 119 yards, 3 TD

Samford

See also: 2025 Samford Bulldogs football team
Samford Bulldogs (0-5) vs. Mercer Bears (3-1) – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Bulldogs 0 0 14721
Bears 14 14 14345

at Five Star Stadium • Macon, GA

  • Date: October 4
  • Game time: 4:00 p.m. EDT
  • Game weather: Cloudy • Temperature: 79 °F (26 °C) • Wind: NE at 9 miles per hour (14 km/h)
  • Game attendance: 9,461
  • Referee: Jeff Page
  • TV announcers (ESPN+): Frank Malloy (play-by-play) and Phil Cox (analyst)
Game information
First Quarter
  • (12:18) MER – Samuel Albee 64-yard pass from Braden Atkinson, Reice Griffith kick (Drive: 1 play, 64 yards, 0:09; Mercer 7–0)
  • (2:36) MER – Antonio Butts Jr. 1-yard run, Reice Griffith kick (Drive: 6 plays, 48 yards, 2:37; Mercer 14–0)
Second Quarter
  • (11:09) MER – Javarius George 3-yard pass from Braden Atkinson, Reice Griffith kick (Drive: 13 plays, 97 yards, 5:36; Mercer 21–0)
  • (6:00) MER – Brayden Smith 7-yard pass from Braden Atkinson, Reice Griffith kick (Drive: 9 plays, 63 yards, 4:01; Mercer 28–0)
Third Quarter
  • (12:50) SAM – Preston Bird 63-yard pass from Brady Stober, Jake Garner kick (Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards, 2:10; Mercer 28–7)
  • (10:57) MER – Brayden Smith 38-yard pass from Braden Atkinson, Reice Griffith kick (Drive: 5 plays, 76 yards, 1:47; Mercer 35–7)
  • (5:30) MER – Ty Doughty 66-yard pass from Braden Atkinson, Reice Griffith kick (Drive: 1 play, 66 yards, 0:10; Mercer 42–7)
  • (2:44) SAM – Cameron Bland 13-yard run, Jake Garner kick (Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards, 2:46; Mercer 42–14)
Fourth Quarter
  • (11:29) SAM – Samuel Pickett III 77-yard pass from Brady Stober, Jake Garner kick (Drive: 3 plays, 74 yards, 0:27; Mercer 42–21)
  • (5:36) MER – Reice Griffith 34-yard field goal (Drive: 4 plays, 1 yard, 1:26; Mercer 45–21)
Statistics SAM MER
First downs 14 24
Total yards 342 557
Rushing yards 61 192
Passing yards 281 365
Passing: Comp–Att–Int 22–33–1 22–37–1
Time of possession 28:19 31:41
Team Category Player Statistics
Samford Passing Brady Stober 14/22, 234 yards, 2 TD, INT
Rushing Cameron Bland 11 carries, 52 yards, TD
Receiving Samuel Pickett III 3 receptions, 112 yards, TD
Mercer Passing Braden Atkinson 22/35, 365 yards, 5 TD
Rushing Ty Doughty 19 carries, 105 yards
Receiving Ty Doughty 2 receptions, 77 yards, TD

at Princeton

See also: 2025 Princeton Tigers football team
No. 25 Mercer Bears (4-1) vs. Princeton Tigers (2-1) – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
No. 25 Bears 14 7 14338
Tigers 0 7 0714

at Princeton Stadium • Princeton, NJ

  • Date: October 11
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
  • Game weather: Sunny • Wind: SW at 5 miles per hour (8.0 km/h)
  • Game attendance: 2,970
  • Referee: Henry Wimberg
  • TV announcers (ESPN+): Cody Chrusciel (play-by-play), Dave Giancola (analyst) and Steven Cusumano (sideline)
Game information
First Quarter
  • (9:31) MER – Malik Simmons 2-yard pass from Braden Atkinson, Reice Griffith kick (Drive: 13 plays, 72 yards, 5:29; Mercer 7–0)
  • (1:11) MER – CJ Miller 5-yard run, Reice Griffith kick (Drive: 9 plays, 47 yards, 4:20; Mercer 14–0)
Second Quarter
  • (7:49) MER – Samuel Albee 23-yard pass from Braden Atkinson, Reice Griffith kick (Drive: 3 plays, 84 yards, 0:58; Mercer 21–0)
  • (0:33) PRIN – Aidan Besselman 2-yard pass from Kai Colón, Esteban Nunez Perez kick (Drive: 6 plays, 43 yards, 2:56; Mercer 21–7)
Third Quarter
  • (10:33) MER – Brayden Smith 10-yard pass from Braden Atkinson, Reice Griffith kick (Drive: 7 plays, 46 yards, 2:56; Mercer 28–7)
  • (4:39) MER – Adjatay Dabbs 10-yard run, Reice Griffith kick (Drive: 7 plays, 81 yards, 3:48; Mercer 35–7)
Fourth Quarter
  • (14:04) MER – Reice Griffith 30-yard field goal (Drive: 7 plays, 52 yards, 1:23; Mercer 38–7)
  • (8:54) PRIN – Jackson Green 11-yard pass from Kai Colón, Esteban Nunez Perez kick (Drive: 11 plays, 75 yards, 5:10; Mercer 38–14)
Statistics MER PRIN
First downs 28 18
Total yards 503 257
Rushing yards 156 66
Passing yards 347 191
Passing: Comp–Att–Int 27–42–1 18–34–0
Time of possession 31:43 28:17
Team Category Player Statistics
Mercer Passing Braden Atkinson 27/42, 347 yards, 3 TD, INT
Rushing Tyrell Coard 7 carries, 54 yards
Receiving Adjatay Dabbs 3 receptions, 78 yards
Princeton Passing Kai Colón 13/21, 124 yards, 2 TD
Rushing Kai Honda 8 carries, 39 yards
Receiving Josh Robinson 6 receptions, 60 yards

VMI

See also: 2025 VMI Keydets football team
VMI Keydets (1-6) vs. No. 17 Mercer Bears (5-1) – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Keydets 0 0 000
No. 17 Bears 31 10 71462

at Five Star Stadium • Macon, GA

  • Date: October 25
  • Game time: 3:00 p.m. EDT
  • Game weather: Sunny • Temperature: 76 °F (24 °C) • Wind: E at 8 miles per hour (13 km/h)
  • Game attendance: 7,009
  • Referee: Michael Farmer
  • TV announcers (ESPN+): Frank Malloy (play-by-play) and Phil Cox (analyst)
  • Box Score
Game information
First Quarter
  • (14:50) MER – Brayden Smith 2-yard pass from Braden Atkinson, Reice Griffith kick (Drive: 1 play, 75 yards, 0:10; Mercer 7–0)
  • (10:28) MER – Brayden Smith 32-yard pass from Braden Atkinson, Reice Griffith kick (Drive: 5 plays, 80 yards, 1:57; Mercer 14–0)
  • (7:46) MER – CJ Miller 59-yard pass from Braden Atkinson, Reice Griffith kick (Drive: 5 plays, 80 yards, 1:54; Mercer 21–0)
  • (2:56) MER – Reice Griffith 25-yard field goal (Drive: 8 plays, 60 yards, 3:39; Mercer 24–0)
  • (1:39) MER – CJ Miller 75-yard run, Reice Griffith kick (Drive: 1 play, 75 yards, 0:13; Mercer 31–0)
Second Quarter
  • (4:22) MER – Adjatay Dabbs 84-yard pass from Braden Atkinson, Reice Griffith kick (Drive: 2 plays, 86 yards, 0:43; Mercer 38–0)
  • (0:00) MER – Reice Griffith 50-yard field goal (Drive: 6 plays, 46 yards, 0:54; Mercer 41–0)
Third Quarter
  • (0:53) MER – Adonis McDaniel 51-yard pass from Braden Atkinson, Reice Griffith kick (Drive: 4 plays, 76 yards, 1:45; Mercer 48–0)
Fourth Quarter
  • (8:16) MER – Ty Doughty 15-yard run, Reice Griffith kick (Drive: 10 plays, 94 yards, 5:50; Mercer 55–0)
  • (3:52) MER – Carlos Benjamin 58-yard run, Reice Griffith kick (Drive: 5 plays, 73 yards, 3:01; Mercer 62–0)
Statistics VMI MER
First downs 7 30
Total yards 155 829
Rushing yards 50 248
Passing yards 105 581
Passing: Comp–Att–Int 11–29–0 33–39–0
Time of possession 25:47 34:13
Team Category Player Statistics
VMI Passing Collin Shannon 10/25, 104 yards
Rushing Aslin Shipe 8 carries, 57 yards
Receiving Owen Sweeney 3 receptions, 56 yards
Mercer Passing Braden Atkinson 29/35, 533 yards, 5 TD
Rushing CJ Miller 9 carries, 102 yards, TD
Receiving Brayden Smith 9 receptions, 150 yards, 2 TD

at Furman

See also: 2025 Furman Paladins football team
No. 15 Mercer Bears (6-1) vs. Furman Paladins (5-3) – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
No. 15 Bears 7 17 21752
Paladins 13 0 15028

at Paladin Stadium • Greenville, SC

  • Date: November 1
  • Game time: 2:00 p.m. EDT
  • Game weather: Sunny • Temperature: 62 °F (17 °C) • Wind: S at 3 miles per hour (4.8 km/h)
  • Game attendance: 7,867
  • Referee: Jason Graham
  • TV announcers (ESPN+): Dan Scott (play-by-play), David Cobb (analyst) and Tom Van Hoy (sideline)
Game information
First Quarter
  • (11:32) FUR - Evan James 14-yard pass from Trey Hedden, Jayquan Smith rush failed (Drive: 3 plays, 20 yards, 1:20; Furman 6-0)
  • (7:33) FUR - CJ Nettles 67-yard run, Ian Williams kick (Drive: 3 plays, 85 yards, 4:52; Furman 13-0)
  • (2:34) MER - Malik Simmons 21-yard pass from Braden Atkinson, Reice Griffith kick (Drive: 12 plays, 88 yards, 4:52; Furman 13-7)
Second Quarter
  • (13:14) MER - CJ Miller 18-yard pass from Braden Atkinson, Reice Griffith kick (Drive: 8 plays, 72 yards, 2:25; Mercer 14-13)
  • (6:45) MER - CJ Miller 6-yard run, Reice Griffith kick (Drive: 11 plays, 73 yards, 4:18; Mercer 21-13)
  • (1:09) MER - Reice Griffith 44-yard field goal (Drive: 7 plays, 34 yards, 1:10; Mercer 24-13)
Third Quarter
  • (14:47) FUR - Caleb Easterling 100-yard kickoff return, Ian Williams kick (Mercer 21-16)
  • (13:34) MER - Adjatay Dabbs 63-yard pass from Braden Atkinson, Reice Griffith kick (Drive: 3 plays, 75 yards, 1:13; Mercer 28-16)
  • (12:41) FUR - Ja'Keith Hamilton 64-yard pass from Trey Hedden, Kerry King pass (Drive: 3 plays, 66 yards, 0:48; Mercer 31-28)
  • (8:45) MER - Braden Atkinson 1-yard run, Reice Griffith kick (Drive: 7 plays, 79 yards, 3:52; Mercer 38-28)
  • (5:46) MER - CJ Miller 1-yard run, Reice Griffith kick (Drive: 3 plays, 45 yards, 0:47; Mercer 45-28)
Fourth Quarter
  • (13:43) MER - Adonis McDaniel 37-yard pass from Braden Atkinson, Reice Griffith kick (Drive: 12 plays, 85 yards, 5:21; Mercer 52-28)
Statistics MER FUR
First downs 36 8
Total yards 628 227
Rushing yards 202 72
Passing yards 426 155
Passing: Comp–Att–Int 28-49-0 12-18-1
Time of possession 37:59 22:01
Team Category Player Statistics
Mercer Passing Braden Atkinson 28/49, 426 yards, 4 TD
Rushing CJ Miller 20 carries, 111 yards, 2 TD
Receiving Adonis McDaniel 7 receptions, 139 yards, TD
Furman Passing Trey Hedden 12/18, 155 yards, 2 TD, INT
Rushing CJ Nettles 15 carries, 105 yards, TD
Receiving Ja'Keith Hamilton 1 reception, 64 yards, TD

at No. 24 Western Carolina

See also: 2025 Western Carolina Catamounts football team
No. 12 Mercer Bears (7-1) vs. No. 24 Western Carolina Catamounts (6-3) – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
No. 12 Bears 7 11 211049
No. 24 Catamounts 7 14 62047

at Bob Waters Field at E. J. Whitmire Stadium • Cullowhee, NC

  • Date: November 8
  • Game time: 2:30 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: Cloudy • Temperature: 65 °F (18 °C) • Wind: NW at 5 miles per hour (8.0 km/h)
  • Game attendance: 14,510
  • Referee: Jake Grombach
  • TV announcers (ESPN+): Daniel Hooker (play-by-play) and John Brannon III (analyst)
Game information
First Quarter
  • (11:40) WCU – Michael Rossin 27-yard pass from Taron Dickens, Marcus Trout kick (Drive: 9 plays, 65 yards, 3:20; Western Carolina 7–0)
  • (3:31) MER – CJ Miller 7-yard run, Reice Griffith kick (Drive: 5 plays, 68 yards, 2:24; Tied 7–7)
Second Quarter
  • (14:55) WCU – Patrick Boyd Jr. 21-yard pass from Taron Dickens, Marcus Trout kick (Drive: 6 plays, 54 yards, 1:36; Western Carolina 14–7)
  • (13:06) MER – Jordan Swain safety (Western Carolina 14–9)
  • (10:18) MER – Kendall Harris 6-yard pass from Braden Atkinson (Drive: 7 plays, 69 yards, 2:42; Mercer 15–14)
  • (5:25) WCU – Michael Rossin 25-yard pass from Taron Dickens, Marcus Trout kick (Drive: 11 plays, 79 yards, 4:48; Western Carolina 21–15)
  • (1:43) MER – Reice Griffith 24-yard field goal (Drive: 10 plays, 68 yards, 3:42; Western Carolina 21–18)
Third Quarter
  • (12:09) MER – CJ Miller 5-yard run, Reice Griffith kick (Drive: 5 plays, 75 yards, 2:51; Mercer 25–21)
  • (5:12) MER – Kendall Harris 24-yard pass from Braden Atkinson, Reice Griffith kick (Drive: 4 plays, 35 yards, 1:31; Mercer 32–21)
  • (2:56) WCU – Malik Knight 32-yard pass from Taron Dickens (Drive: 6 plays, 75 yards, 2:16; Mercer 32–27)
  • (0:24) MER – CJ Miller 26-yard run, Reice Griffith kick (Drive: 6 plays, 75 yards, 2:32; Mercer 39–27)
Fourth Quarter
  • (14:28) WCU – Malik Knight 54-yard pass from Taron Dickens, Marcus Trout kick (Drive: 3 plays, 64 yards, 0:49; Mercer 39–34)
  • (13:24) MER – Adjatay Dabbs 81-yard pass from Braden Atkinson, Reice Griffith kick (Drive: 3 plays, 82 yards, 0:58; Mercer 46–34)
  • (6:13) WCU – Jai Boyd 10-yard pass from Taron Dickens, Marcus Trout kick (Drive: 8 plays, 73 yards, 2:43; Mercer 46–41)
  • (3:13) WCU – James Tyre 42-yard pass from Taron Dickens (Drive: 3 plays, 82 yards, 1:23; Western Carolina 47–46)
  • (1:30) MER – Reice Griffith 37-yard field goal (Drive: 6 plays, 45 yards, 1:43; Mercer 49–47)
Statistics MER WCU
First downs 23 33
Total yards 568 599
Rushing yards 125 48
Passing yards 443 551
Passing: Comp–Att–Int 23–39–0 33–49–1
Time of possession 30:32 29:28
Team Category Player Statistics
Mercer Passing Braden Atkinson 23/39, 443 yards, 3 TD
Rushing CJ Miller 21 carries, 91 yards, 3 TD
Receiving Adjatay Dabbs 4 receptions, 147 yards, TD
Western Carolina Passing Taron Dickens 33/49, 551 yards, 7 TD, INT
Rushing Patrick Boyd Jr. 12 carries, 17 yards
Receiving Malik Knight 5 receptions, 141 yards, 2 TD

Chattanooga

See also: 2025 Chattanooga Mocs football team
Chattanooga Mocs (5-5) vs. No. 8 Mercer Bears (8-1) – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Mocs - - --0
No. 8 Bears - - --0

at Five Star Stadium • Macon, GA

  • Date: November 15
  • Game time: 3:00 PM EST
  • TV: ESPN+
Statistics UTC MER
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession
Team Category Player Statistics
Chattanooga Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Mercer Passing
Rushing
Receiving

at Auburn (FBS)

See also: 2025 Auburn Tigers football team
No. 7 Mercer Bears (9-1) vs. Auburn Tigers (FBS) (4-6) – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
No. 7 Bears 14 3 0017
Tigers (FBS) 14 21 141362

at Jordan–Hare Stadium • Auburn, AL

  • Date: November 22
  • Game time: 1:00 PM CST
  • Game weather: Cloudy • Temperature: 75 °F (24 °C) • Wind: W 9 mph
  • Game attendance: 88,043
  • Referee: James Carter
  • TV announcers (SECN+/ESPN+): Richard Cross (play-by-play) and Charles Arbuckle (analyst)
Statistics MER AUB
First downs 19 21
Plays–yards 77–338 56–547
Rushing yards 115 277
Passing yards 223 270
Passing: Comp–Att–Int 21–36–2 18–25–0
Turnovers 3 0
Time of possession 37:20 22:40
Team Category Player Statistics
Mercer Passing Braden Atkinson 20/33, 210 yards, TD, 2 INT
Rushing CJ Miller 14 rushes, 38 yards, TD
Receiving Adjatay Dabbs 6 receptions, 74 yards, TD
Auburn Passing Deuce Knight 15/20, 239 yards, 2 TD
Rushing Deuce Knight 9 rushes, 162 yards, 4 TD
Receiving Malcolm Simmons 5 receptions, 149 yards, TD

No. 12 South Dakota

See also: 2025 South Dakota Coyotes football team and 2025 NCAA Division I FCS football season § NCAA Division I playoff bracket
2025 NCAA Division I FCS Playoffs Second Round
No. 12 South Dakota (9-4) vs. No. 7 Mercer Bears (9-2) – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
No. 11 Coyotes 14 10 16747
No. 7 Bears 0 0 000

at Five Star Stadium • Macon, GA

  • Date: December 6
  • Game time: 12:00 PM EST
  • Game weather: Rain • Temperature: 49 °F (9 °C) • Wind: W 6 mph
  • Game attendance: 3,042
  • Referee: James Brookhart
  • TV announcers (ESPN+): Kelsie Kasper (play-by-play) and Forrest Conoly (analyst)
Game information
First Quarter
  • (9:13) SDAK – Reid Watkins 8-yard run, Will Leyland kick (Drive: 7 plays, 80 yards, 3:18; South Dakota 7–0)
  • (3:58) SDAK – L.J. Phillips Jr. 16-yard run, Will Leyland kick (Drive: 7 plays, 47 yards, 4:03; South Dakota 14–0)
Second Quarter
  • (8:18) SDAK – L.J. Phillips Jr. 15-yard run, Will Leyland kick (Drive: 5 plays, 80 yards, 3:20; South Dakota 21–0)
  • (3:07) SDAK – Will Leyland 40-yard field goal (Drive: 7 plays, 42 yards, 3:13; South Dakota 24–0)
Third Quarter
  • (14:03) SDAK – Larenzo Fenner 66-yard pass from Aidan Bouman, Will Leyland kick (Drive: 3 plays, 68 yards, 0:51; South Dakota 31–0)
  • (10:41) SDAK – Tysen Boze 63-yard pass from Aidan Bouman, Will Leyland kick (Drive: 1 play, 63 yards, 0:11; South Dakota 38–0)
  • (1:34) SDAK – Safety (South Dakota 40–0)
Fourth Quarter
  • (9:27) SDAK – Tennel Bryant 26-yard run, Will Leyland kick (Drive: 6 plays, 42 yards, 3:32; South Dakota 47–0)
Statistics SDAK MER
First downs 20 20
Total yards 549 277
Rushing yards 308 129
Passing yards 241 148
Passing: Comp–Att–Int 13–18–0 18–39–4
Time of possession 31:28 28:32
Team Category Player Statistics
South Dakota Passing Aidan Bouman 13/18, 241 yards, 2 TD
Rushing L.J. Phillips Jr. 15 rushes, 159 yards, 2 TD
Receiving Tysen Boze 2 receptions, 108 yards, TD
Mercer Passing Braden Atkinson 18/39, 148 yards, 4 INT
Rushing CJ Miller 18 rushes, 105 yards
Receiving Travion Solomon 4 receptions, 52 yards

Ranking movements

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
RV = Received votes т = Tied with team above or below
Week
PollPre12345678910111213Final
STATS FCS1123RVRVRVRV252417151287717
Coaches1121222523221916161310т86818

References

  1. ^ "UC Davis-Mercer deemed no contest after delay". ESPN.com. August 24, 2025. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
  2. ^ Kelley, Kevin (January 10, 2025). "Mercer announces 2025 football schedule". FBSchedules. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
  3. ^ Wilson, Nevaeh (January 25, 2025). "2025 Mercer football schedule announced". The Mercer Cluster. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
  4. ^ "Mercer and UC-Davis set to play in the 2025 FCS Kickoff Game". WAKA (TV). February 26, 2025. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
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