2023 Southern Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 7 Furman $^   7 – 1     10 – 3  
No. 14 Chattanooga ^   6 – 2     8 – 5  
No. 17 Mercer ^   6 – 2     9 – 4  
No. 23 Western Carolina   5 – 3     7 – 4  
Samford   4 – 4     6 – 5  
VMI   4 – 4     5 – 6  
East Tennessee State   2 – 6     3 – 8  
Wofford   2 – 6     2 – 9  
The Citadel   0 – 8     0 – 11  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
Rankings from STATS Poll

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

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
August 263:30 p.m.vs. North Alabama*No. 20
ESPNW 17–75,566
September 22:00 p.m.at No. 22 (FBS) Ole Miss*No. 20
SECN+/ESPN+L 7–7360,097
September 97:00 p.m.Morehead State*No. 20
ESPN+W 48–2210,722
September 231:00 p.m.at No. 8 FurmanNo. 21
ESPN+L 14–389,387
September 304:00 p.m.VMI
  • Five Star Stadium
  • Macon, GA
ESPN+W 38–310,769
October 73:30 p.m.at East Tennessee State
ESPN+W 24–69,756
October 144:00 p.m.No. 25 Chattanooga
  • Five Star Stadium
  • Macon, GA
ESPN+L 10–228,729
October 214:00 p.m.Wofford
  • Five Star Stadium
  • Macon, GA
ESPN+W 31–178,711
October 282:30 p.m.at No. 10 Western Carolina
ESPN+W 45–3812,154
November 42:00 p.m.at The CitadelNo. 25
ESPN+W 38–1611,721
November 113:00 p.m.SamfordNo. 23
  • Five Star Stadium
  • Macon, GA
ESPN+W 28–219,772
November 253:00 p.m.Gardner–Webb*No. 17
ESPN+W 17–74,500
December 22:00 p.m.at No. 1 South Dakota State*No. 17
ESPN+L 0–4110,171

[1][2]

Game summaries

vs. North Alabama

See also: 2023 North Alabama Lions football team
1 234Total
North Alabama 7 000 7
• Mercer 7 307 17
  • Date: August 26
  • Location: Cramton Bowl
  • Game start: 3:36 p.m. EST
  • Game attendance: 5,566
  • Game weather: 102, Sunny, Wind S @ 7 mph
  • Referee: Brian Holland
  • TV announcers (ESPN): Roy Philpott (play-by-play), Roddy Jones (color), and Taylor McGregor (sideline)
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
Rushing Micah Bell 20 carries, 73 yards
Receiving Ty James 4 receptions, 57 yards, 1 TD
UNA Passing Noah Walters 10/17, 65 yards
Rushing Jalyn Daniels 3 carries, 49 yards
Receiving Kobe Warren 6 receptions, 37 yards

at No. 22 (FBS) Ole Miss

See also: 2023 Ole Miss Rebels football team
Uniform Combination
Helmet Jersey Pants
No. 20 Mercer Bears (1–0) at No. 22 (FBS) Ole Miss Rebels (0–0)
Quarter 1 2 34Total
No. 20 Bears 7 0 007
No. 22 (FBS) Rebels 28 10 28773

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
Game information
First Quarter
  • (14:05) Ole Miss – Tre Harris 38 Yd pass from Jaxson Dart (Caden Davis Kick)
    Ole Miss 7–0; 3 plays, 72 yards, 0:51
  • (13:53) Mercer – Carter Peevy 75 Yd Run (Reice Griffith Kick)
    Tied 7–7; 1 play, 75 yards, 0:12
  • (12:26) Ole Miss – Tre Harris 28 Yd pass from Jaxson Dart (Caden Costa Kick)
    Ole Miss 14–7; 5 plays, 69 yards, 1:21
  • (11:45) Ole Miss – Tre Harris 20 Yd pass from Jaxson Dart (Caden Davis Kick)
    Ole Miss 21–7; 2 plays, 20 yards, 0:34
  • (5:45) Ole Miss – Quinshon Judkins 1 Yd Run (Caden Costa Kick)
    Ole Miss 28–7; 7 plays, 77 yards, 0:51
Second Quarter
  • (6:25) Ole Miss – Caden Davis 31 Yd Field Goal
    Ole Miss 31–7; 9 plays, 20 yards, 2:51
  • (0:32) Ole Miss – Quinshon Judkins 3 Yd Run (Caden Davis Kick)
    Ole Miss 38–7; 10 plays, 84 yards, 2:33
Third Quarter
  • (13:07) Ole Miss – Jordan Watkins 70 Yd Punt Return (Caden Costa Kick)
    Ole Miss 45–7
  • (9:45) Ole Miss – Tre Harris 16 Yd pass from Jaxson Dart (Caden Davis Kick)
    Ole Miss 52–7; 3 plays, 27 yards, 1:15
  • (5:27) Ole Miss – Ulysses Bentley IV 6 Yd pass from Spencer Sanders (Caden Costa Kick)
    Ole Miss 59–7; 10 plays, 76 yards, 2:41
  • (3:09) Ole Miss – Cayden Lee 34 Yd pass from Spencer Sanders (Caden Davis Kick)
    Ole Miss 66–7; 6 plays, 66 yards, 1:25
Fourth Quarter
  • (3:21) Ole Miss – Matt Jones 1 Yd Run (Caden Costa Kick)
    Ole Miss 73–7; 12 plays, 65 yards, 5:25
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
Rushing Carter Peevy 7 carries, 49 yards, 1 TD
Receiving Devron Harper 4 receptions, 47 yards
Ole Miss Passing Jaxson Dart 18/23, 334 yards, 4 TD
Rushing Quinshon Judkins 13 carries, 60 yards, 2 TD
Receiving Tre Harris 6 receptions, 133 yards, 4 TD

Morehead State

See also: 2023 Morehead State Eagles football team
1 2 3 4 Total
Eagles 3 12 7 0 22
Bears 14 7 9 18 48

at No. 8 Furman

See also: 2023 Furman Paladins football team
1 2 3 4 Total
Bears 0 7 7 0 14
No. 8 Paladins 0 17 7 14 38

VMI

See also: 2023 VMI Keydets football team
1 2 3 4 Total
Keydets 0 0 3 0 3
Bears 7 14 14 3 38

at East Tennessee State

See also: 2023 East Tennessee State Buccaneers football team
1 2 3 4 Total
Bears 0 17 0 7 24
Buccaneers 0 0 6 0 6

No. 25 Chattanooga

See also: 2023 Chattanooga Mocs football team
1 2 3 4 Total
No. 25 Mocs' 6 6 7 3 22
Bears 0 0 10 0 10

Wofford

See also: 2023 Wofford Terriers football team
1 2 3 4 Total
Terriers 0 7 0 10 17
Bears 7 3 0 21 31

at No. 10 Western Carolina

See also: 2023 Western Carolina Catamounts football team
Game Nine – No. 10 Western Carolina Catamounts (5–2) vs Mercer Bears (5–3)
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Mercer 21 7 71045
No. 10 Western Carolina 7 7 71738

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+
Game information
First quarter
  • (13:21) MER – Carter Peevy 2-yard run, Reice Griffith kick (Drive: 4 plays, 28 yards, 1:29; Mercer 7–0)
  • (10:00) WCU – David White 18-yard pass from Cole Gonzales, Richard McCollum kick (Drive: 2 plays, 18 yards, 0:13; Tied 7–7)
  • (8:04) MER – Ty James 18-yard pass from Carter Peevy, Reice Griffith kick (Drive: 5 plays, 65 yards, 1:56; Mercer 14–7)
  • (7:51) MER – Mic Wasson 24-yard fumble recovery, Reice Griffith kick (Mercer 21–7)
Second quarter
  • (14:50) MER – Carter Peevy 4-yard run, Reice Griffith kick (Drive: 13 plays, 76 yards, 6:35; Mercer 28–7)
  • (2:40) WCU – Branson Adams 12-yard pass from Cole Gonzales, Richard McCollum kick (Drive: 9 plays, 80 yards, 3:15; Mercer 28–14)
Third quarter
  • (9:04) MER – Lance Wise 9-yard interception, Reice Griffith kick (Mercer 35–14)
  • (2:58) WCU – Ajay Belanger 4-yard pass from Cole Gonzales, Richard McCollum kick (Drive: 13 plays, 92 yards, 5:57; Mercer 35–21)
Fourth quarter
  • (14:52) WCU – Ajay Belanger 7-yard pass from Cole Gonzales, Richard McCollum kick (Drive: 4 plays, 51 yards, 1:20; Mercer 35–28)
  • (12:02) MER – Reice Griffith 44-yard field goal (Drive: 8 plays, 48 yards, 2:50; Mercer 38–28)
  • (8:08) WCU – Calvin Jones 20-yard pass from Cole Gonzales, Richard McCollum kick (Drive: 10 plays, 54 yards, 3:43; Mercer 38–35)
  • (6:29) MER – Al Wooten II 17-yard run, Reice Griffith kick (Drive: 4 plays, 55 yards, 1:28; Mercer 45–35)
  • (0:07) WCU – Richard McCollum 27-yard field goal (Drive: 9 plays, 60 yards, 1:28; Mercer 45–38)
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
Rushing Al Wooten II 15 carries, 68 yards, TD
Receiving Ty James 6 receptions, 115 yards, TD
Western Carolina Passing Cole Gonzales 32/51, 388 yards, 5 TD, 3 INT
Rushing Branson Adams 9 carries, 46 yards
Receiving David White 5 receptions, 113 yards, TD

at The Citadel

See also: 2023 The Citadel Bulldogs football team
1 2 3 4 Total
Bears 7 7 10 14 38
Bulldogs 3 7 0 6 16

Samford

See also: 2023 Samford Bulldogs football team
1 2 3 4 Total
Bulldogs 0 7 7 7 21
Bears 6 0 15 7 28

FCS Playoffs

Gardner–Webb – First Round

See also: 2023 Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs football team
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

See also: 2023 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team
No. 17 Mercer at No. 1 South Dakota State
NCAA Division I Second Round
1 234Total
No. 17 Bears 0 000 0
• No. 1 Jackrabbits 3 21710 41
  • Date: December 2
  • Location:
    Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium
    Brookings, SD
  • Game start: 2:02 p.m. EST
  • Elapsed time: 2:39
  • Game attendance: 10,171
  • Game weather: 37 °F (3 °C), Sunny, Wind S 20 mph (32 km/h)
  • Referee: Gary Leeper
  • Television network: ESPN+

[4]

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
Rushing Chris Hill 1 carry, 24 yards
Receiving Ty James 2 receptions, 28 yards
South Dakota State Passing Mark Gronowski 11/16, 158 yards, TD, INT
Rushing Isaiah Davis 16 carries, 117 yards, 3 TD
Receiving Jaxon Janke 7 receptions, 106 yards, TD

References

  1. ^ "2023 Mercer Football Schedule". FBSchedules. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
  2. ^ "2023 Football Schedule". Mercer Bears. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
  3. ^ "Football vs North Alabama on 8/26/2023 - Box Score". Mercer University Athletics. Retrieved August 26, 2023.
  4. ^ "No. 17 Football Has Historic Season Ended At No. 1 South Dakota State". Mercer University Athletics. December 2, 2023. Retrieved March 6, 2025.
Allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_Mercer_Bears_football_team
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