# 2020 Mercer Bears football team

The 2020 Mercer Bears football team represented Mercer University as a member the Southern Conference (SoCon) during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by first-year head coach Drew Cronic and played their home games at the Five Star Stadium in Macon, Georgia. Mercer finished the season 5–6 overall and 5–3 in SoCon play to place fourth.

## Schedule

Mercer had a game scheduled against Vanderbilt, which was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| October 10 | 3:00 p.m. | at Jacksonville State* | | JSU StadiumJacksonville, AL | ESPN3 | L 28–34 | 5,870 |
| October 24 | 12:00 p.m. | at Army* | | Michie StadiumWest Point, NY | CBSSN | L 3–49 | 5,181 |
| October 31 | 3:00 p.m. | Abilene Christian* | | Five Star StadiumMacon, GA | ESPN3 | L 17–20 | 2,372 |
| February 20 | 1:00 p.m. | at No. 16 Wofford | | Gibbs StadiumSpartanburg, SC | ESPN+ | L 14–31 | 1,078 |
| February 27 | 3:30 p.m. | The Citadel | | Five Star StadiumMacon, GA | ESPN+ | W 42–28 | 3,372 |
| March 13 | 1:30 p.m. | at VMI | | Alumni Memorial FieldLexington, VA | ESPN+ | L 14–41 | 1,000 |
| March 20 | 3:30 p.m. | Western Carolina | | Five Star StadiumMacon, GA | ESPN+ | W 45–28 | 3,527 |
| March 27 | 12:00 p.m. | at No. 9 Chattanooga | | Finley StadiumChattanooga, TN | ESPN+ | W 35–28 | 3,144 |
| April 3 | 3:30 p.m. | No. 21 Furman | | Five Star StadiumMacon, GA | ESPN+ | W 26–14 | 3,627 |
| April 10 | 6:00 p.m. | No. 20 East Tennessee State | | Five Star StadiumMacon, GA | | W 21–13 | 3,273 |
| April 17 | 1:00 p.m. | at Samford | No. 23 | Seibert StadiumHomewood, AL | ESPN+ | L 20–44 | 1,176 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time ||||||||

## Game summaries
### At Jacksonville State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bears | 14 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 28 |
| Gamecocks | 3 | 24 | 0 | 7 | 34 |

### At Army

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bears | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Black Knights | 7 | 14 | 21 | 7 | 49 |
at Michie Stadium, West Point, NY
* Date: October 24, 2020
* Game time: 12:00 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Temperature: 66 °F (19 °C) • Wind: WNW 8 mph • Weather: Cloudy
* Game attendance: 5,181
* Referee: Mike Roche
* TV announcers (CBSSN): Ben Holden (play-by-play), Ross Tucker (analyst) & Tina Cervasio (sideline)
* ESPN – Mercer Bears at Army Black Knights /// Pregame Notes /// Postgame Notes
Game information :
First Quarter
(08:08) MER FG – Caleb Dowden 36-yard field goal Drive: 15 plays, 56 yards, 6:52; Mercer 3–0
(04:34) ARMY TD – Tyrell Robinson 53-yard pass from Cade Ballard, Landon Salyers kick Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards, 3:34; Army 7–3
Second Quarter
(13:12) ARMY TD – Sandon McCoy 1-yard rush, Landon Salyers kick Drive: 11 plays, 39 yards, 5:36; Army 14–3
(01:05) ARMY TD – Sandon McCoy 1-yard rush, Landon Salyers kick Drive: 8 plays, 38 yards, 3:55; Army 21–3
Third Quarter
(10:39) ARMY TD – Cade Barnard 3-yard rush, Landon Salyers kick Drive: 8 plays, 40 yards, 4:13; Army 28–3
(05:13) ARMY TD – Sandon McCoy 1-yard rush, Landon Salyers kick Drive: 9 plays, 59 yards, 3:57; Army 35–3
(04:39) ARMY TD – Jabari Moore 29-yard interception return, Quinn Maretzki kick Drive: 0 plays, 0 yards, 0:00; Army 42–3
Fourth Quarter
(01:00) ARMY TD – Jordan Blackman 6-yard rush, Quinn Maretzki kick Drive: 17 plays, 91 yards, 10:03; Army 49–3
Passing
MER – Harrison Frost: 14/22, 94 yards, 3 INT
ARMY – Cade Ballard: 1/1, 53 yards, 1 TD
Rushing
MER – Tyray Devezin: 11 carries, 71 yards
ARMY – Tyhier Tyler: 10 carries, 77 yards
Receiving
MER – Zacch Davis: 2 receptions, 32 yards
ARMY – Tyrell Robinson: 1 reception, 53 yards, 1 TD
Defense
MER – Isaac Dowling: 16 total tackles (7 solo, 9 assisted), 2 sacks, 2 tackles for loss
ARMY – Spencer Jones: 7 total tackles (3 solo, 4 assisted), 1.5 tackles for loss :
| Statistics | MER | ARMY |
| First downs | 14 | 21 |
| 3rd down efficiency | 6–13 | 8–14 |
| 4th down efficiency | 0–0 | 4–4 |
| Plays–yards | 57–221 | 66–360 |
| Rushes–yards | 33–113 | 63–297 |
| Passing yards | 108 | 63 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 16–24–3 | 2–3–0 |
| Penalties–yards | 3–40 | 4–29 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 0 |
| Time of possession | 24:50 | 35:10 |

### Abilene Christian

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Wildcats | 7 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 20 |
| Bears | 0 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 17 |

### At No. 16 Wofford

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bears | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
| No. 16 Terriers | 7 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 31 |