# 2023 Mercer Bears football team

The 2023 Mercer Bears football team represented Mercer University as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon) during the 2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Bears were led by fourth-year head coach Drew Cronic and played home games at Moye Complex in Macon, Georgia.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 26 | 3:30 p.m. | vs. North Alabama* | No. 20 | Cramton BowlMontgomery, AL (FCS Kickoff) | ESPN | W 17–7 | 5,566 |
| September 2 | 2:00 p.m. | at No. 22 (FBS) Ole Miss* | No. 20 | Vaught–Hemingway StadiumOxford, MS | SECN+/ESPN+ | L 7–73 | 60,097 |
| September 9 | 7:00 p.m. | Morehead State* | No. 20 | Five Star StadiumMacon, GA | ESPN+ | W 48–22 | 10,722 |
| September 23 | 1:00 p.m. | at No. 8 Furman | No. 21 | Paladin StadiumGreenville, SC | ESPN+ | L 14–38 | 9,387 |
| September 30 | 4:00 p.m. | VMI | | Five Star StadiumMacon, GA | ESPN+ | W 38–3 | 10,769 |
| October 7 | 3:30 p.m. | at East Tennessee State | | William B. Greene Jr. StadiumJohnson City, TN | ESPN+ | W 24–6 | 9,756 |
| October 14 | 4:00 p.m. | No. 25 Chattanooga | | Five Star StadiumMacon, GA | ESPN+ | L 10–22 | 8,729 |
| October 21 | 4:00 p.m. | Wofford | | Five Star StadiumMacon, GA | ESPN+ | W 31–17 | 8,711 |
| October 28 | 2:30 p.m. | at No. 10 Western Carolina | | Bob Waters Field at E. J. Whitmire StadiumCullowhee, NC | ESPN+ | W 45–38 | 12,154 |
| November 4 | 2:00 p.m. | at The Citadel | No. 25 | Johnson Hagood StadiumCharleston, SC | ESPN+ | W 38–16 | 11,721 |
| November 11 | 3:00 p.m. | Samford | No. 23 | Five Star StadiumMacon, GA | ESPN+ | W 28–21 | 9,772 |
| November 25 | 3:00 p.m. | Gardner–Webb* | No. 17 | Five Star StadiumMacon, GA (NCAA Division I First Round) | ESPN+ | W 17–7 | 4,500 |
| December 2 | 2:00 p.m. | at No. 1 South Dakota State* | No. 17 | Dana J. Dykhouse StadiumBrookings, SD (NCAA Division I Second Round) | ESPN+ | L 0–41 | 10,171 |
| *Non-conference gameRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time ||||||||

## Game summaries
### vs. North Alabama

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| North Alabama | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| • Mercer | 7 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
| Statistics | Mercer | UNA |
| First downs | 21 | 12 |
| Total yards | 286 | 248 |
| Rushing yards | 170 | 156 |
| Passing yards | 92 | 115 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 0 |
| Time of possession | 32:35 | 27:25 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Mercer | Passing | Carter Peevy | 12/17, 115 yards, 1 TD |
| Mercer | Rushing | Micah Bell | 20 carries, 73 yards |
| Mercer | Receiving | Ty James | 4 receptions, 57 yards, 1 TD |
| UNA | Passing | Noah Walters | 10/17, 65 yards |
| UNA | Rushing | Jalyn Daniels | 3 carries, 49 yards |
| UNA | Receiving | Kobe Warren | 6 receptions, 37 yards |
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | North Alabama | #20 Mercer |
| 1st | 10:06 | 9 | 49 | 4:54 | MER | Ty James 14-yard touchdown reception from Carter Peevy, Reice Griffith kick good | 0 | 7 |
| 1st | 1:44 | 6 | 51 | 3:18 | UNA | TJ Smith 3-yard touchdown run, Sam Contorno kick good | 7 | 7 |
| 2nd | 4:40 | 11 | 59 | 3:19 | MER | 24-yard field goal by Riece Griffith | 7 | 10 |
| 4th | 11:45 | 8 | 41 | 3:44 | MER | Micah Bell 3-yard touchdown run, Riece Griffith kick good | 7 | 17 |
| "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 7 | 17 |

### at No. 22 (FBS) Ole Miss

Uniform Combination :
| Helmet | Jersey | Pants |
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 20 Bears | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| No. 22 (FBS) Rebels | 28 | 10 | 28 | 7 | 73 |
at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium • Oxford, MS
* Date: Saturday, September 2, 2023
* Game time: 2:00 p.m. EST
* Game weather: Cloudy • Temperature: 81 °F (27 °C)
* Game attendance: 60,097
* Referee: Ted Pitts
* TV announcers (ESPN+/SECN+): Justin Kutcher (play-by-play) Dave Steckel (color)
* Pregame line: Ole Miss –35.5 • O/U: 58.5
| Statistics | MER | MISS |
| First downs | 15 | 32 |
| Total yards | 235 | 667 |
| Passing yards | 142 | 524 |
| Rushes/yards | 37/93 | 33/143 |
| Penalties/yards | 7/50 | 7/65 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 35:10 | 24:50 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Mercer | Passing | Carter Peevy | 16/29, 138 yards, 1 INT |
| Mercer | Rushing | Carter Peevy | 7 carries, 49 yards, 1 TD |
| Mercer | Receiving | Devron Harper | 4 receptions, 47 yards |
| Ole Miss | Passing | Jaxson Dart | 18/23, 334 yards, 4 TD |
| Ole Miss | Rushing | Quinshon Judkins | 13 carries, 60 yards, 2 TD |
| Ole Miss | Receiving | Tre Harris | 6 receptions, 133 yards, 4 TD |

### Morehead State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Eagles | 3 | 12 | 7 | 0 | 22 |
| Bears | 14 | 7 | 9 | 18 | 48 |

### at No. 8 Furman

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bears | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
| No. 8 Paladins | 0 | 17 | 7 | 14 | 38 |

### VMI

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Keydets | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Bears | 7 | 14 | 14 | 3 | 38 |

### at East Tennessee State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bears | 0 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 24 |
| Buccaneers | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 |

### No. 25 Chattanooga

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 25 Mocs' | 6 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 22 |
| Bears | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 10 |

### Wofford

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Terriers | 0 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 17 |
| Bears | 7 | 3 | 0 | 21 | 31 |

### at No. 10 Western Carolina

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Mercer | 21 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 45 |
| No. 10 Western Carolina | 7 | 7 | 7 | 17 | 38 |
at E.J. Whitmire Stadium • Cullowhee, North Carolina
* Date: Saturday, October 28, 2023
* Game time: 2:30 p.m. EST
* Game weather: Sunny • Temperature: 75 °F (24 °C) • Wind: S 2 mph
* Game attendance: 12,154
* Referee: Jeff Page
* TV: ESPN+
| Statistics | MER | WCU |
| First downs | 26 | 24 |
| Plays–yards | 76–422 | 71–474 |
| Rushes–yards | 48–210 | 19–86 |
| Passing yards | 212 | 388 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 18–28–1 | 32–52–3 |
| Time of possession | 33:35 | 26:25 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Mercer | Passing | Carter Peevy | 18/28, 212 yards, TD, INT |
| Mercer | Rushing | Al Wooten II | 15 carries, 68 yards, TD |
| Mercer | Receiving | Ty James | 6 receptions, 115 yards, TD |
| Western Carolina | Passing | Cole Gonzales | 32/51, 388 yards, 5 TD, 3 INT |
| Western Carolina | Rushing | Branson Adams | 9 carries, 46 yards |
| Western Carolina | Receiving | David White | 5 receptions, 113 yards, TD |

### at The Citadel

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bears | 7 | 7 | 10 | 14 | 38 |
| Bulldogs | 3 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 16 |

### Samford

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bulldogs | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
| Bears | 6 | 0 | 15 | 7 | 28 |

## FCS Playoffs
### Gardner–Webb – First Round

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Runnin' Bulldogs | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Bears | 0 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 17 |

### at No. 1 South Dakota State – Second Round

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 17 Bears | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| • No. 1 Jackrabbits | 3 | 21 | 7 | 10 | 41 |
| Statistics | MER | SDSU |
| First downs | 6 | 24 |
| Total yards | 151 | 571 |
| Rushing yards | 76 | 346 |
| Passing yards | 75 | 225 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 24:34 | 35:26 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Mercer | Passing | Carter Peevy | 14/22, 75 yards, 2 INT |
| Mercer | Rushing | Chris Hill | 1 carry, 24 yards |
| Mercer | Receiving | Ty James | 2 receptions, 28 yards |
| South Dakota State | Passing | Mark Gronowski | 11/16, 158 yards, TD, INT |
| South Dakota State | Rushing | Isaiah Davis | 16 carries, 117 yards, 3 TD |
| South Dakota State | Receiving | Jaxon Janke | 7 receptions, 106 yards, TD |