FCS Playoffs - Gardner-Webb @ Mercer, Saturday, 11/25 3PM

Absolutely!!!

FUBeAR is proud of them AND of everyone that has had anything to do with the re-birth and development of Mercer Football, going back to 2010 for sure…and probably before that.

Y’all give yourselves and each other some big ol’ pats on the back and raise a glass or 7.

Celebrate this achievement!!!!

The current Players and Staff have to worry about winning the game and the on to the next one. Fans, Alumni, Supporters, etc. get to and should celebrate every minute of this moment and all aspects of this accomplishment.

CONGRATULATIONS!! ENJOY!!!

Congratulation to the Mercer Bears on the playoff invitation! I'll be pulling for the Bears for the remainder of 2023 - go beat GW and then shock the world!

SB Nation / Underdog Dynasty Write-Up

The Opening Round
Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs (7-4) at Mercer Bears (8-3)

Gardner-Webb is back in the bracket for the second consecutive year after locking up the Big South-OVC title. Running back Narii Gaither, who made a name for himself in last year’s playoff run, is back and still tearing up the turf while Jaylen King has been lighting it up at quarterback. The Runnin’ Bulldogs will square off with Mercer. Bears fans have longed to hear it; they are in the playoffs for the first time ever. Drew Cronic’s team is at last over the postseason hump thanks to arguably the most talented team in program history. All-Americans dot both sides of the ball with receiver Ty James and DB Lance Wise. Carter Peevy has been a steady force at QB while Devron Harper is arguably the best return specialist in the country. It’ll ne a good one in Macon.

Watched a bit of G-W video last night. That FR QB is a ‘problem.’ Harkens back to maybe what we saw when WCU had Tyrie Adams. May need to ‘spy’ him as the Bears LB Tripp Patterson did so successfully with Adams one year in Cullowhee. Need to make him regret his decision every time he thinks about running the Football. Don’t think there are any of that type of QB in the SoCon presently, though there certainly have been over the years. May take the Bears D a minute to adjust to it. O will need to possess the ball and put up TD’s early - urgency to SCORE early needs to be part of the game plan.

Gardner-Webb Game Notes

GARDNER-WEBB FOOTBALL RV GARDNER-WEBB ( 7-4, 5-1 BIG SOUTH-OVC ) at #17/20 MERCER (8-3, 6-2 SOCON) SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 25 | 3:00 PM | MACON, GA | FIVE STAR STADIUM (10,200)

DEPTH CHART | AT MERCER

OFFENSE: AIR RAID
WR #0 AJ JOHNSON (6-0, 180, So.-1L)
#9 Maleek Huggins (5-11, 170,R-So.-1L)

RT #55 WILL MCCRAW (6-4, 275, So.-1L)
#79 Andrew Threatt (6-5, 290, RFr.-HS)

RG #78 KYLE SCHNEIDER (6-4, 291, Gr.-2L)
#50 Sam Blackshear (6-0, 253, Gr.-TR)

C #65 GABE THOMPSON (6-3, 304, Sr.-3L)
#59 Evan Ferguson (6-2, 290, FR)

LG #69 CHANCE REID (6-4, 290, So.-1L)
#56 Aaron McIver (6-2, 265, RFR.-HS)

LT #77 JAQUAN ADAMS (6-5, 285, RFr.-TR)
#72 Jack Hassard (6-5, 300, Sr.-2L)

QB #17 JAYLEN KING (6-4, 200, Fr.-HS)
#11 Gino English (6-1, 195, Gr-TR)

RB #22 NARII GAITHER (5-10, 181, Sr.-3L)
#7 Jayden Brown (5-9, 170, So-1L)

TE #82 JONATHAN BURNS (6-4, 240, R-So.-2L)
#86 Anthony Herock (6-3, 238, Sr.-3L)

WR #12 EPHRAIM FLOYD (5-10, 180, So.-1L)
#3 Caleb Borders (5-10, 165, RSo.-HS)

WR #5 KARIM PAGE (6-0, 180, So.-1L)
#2 Brennen McGuire (5-10, 185, Gr.-1L)


DEFENSE: 4-3
DE #15 BRICE BASS (6-4, 250, Sr.-4L)
#35 Nick Hunter (6-5, 215, Fr-RS)

DT #99 BRANDON WILSON (6-2, 290, Sr.-3L)
#8 Rashad Whitehead (6-2, 275, RJr.-TR)

NG #9 CHARLIE JACKSON (6-4, 323, Sr.-3L)
#98 Jai Barnes (6-2, 300, So.-1L)

DE #47 TY FRENCH (6-3, 230, Sr.-3L)
#19 Justin Isler (6-2, 225, RJr.-2L)

WILL #42 WILLIAM McRAINEY (6-0, 219, Sr.-3L)
#32 Christian Wright (5-11, 234, Gr.-4L)

MIKE #1 BRENDAN JACKSON (6-2, 210, Jr.-1L)
#26 Keeath Magee (6-0, 240, Gr.-3L)

SAM #10 TY ANDERSON (6-1, 210, So.-1L)
#0 Tray Dunson (6-2, 221, Gr.-3L)

CB #21 JA’KAI YOUNG (6-0, 175, RSo.-TR)
#20 Tywan Royal (6-0, 180, FR-HS)

SS #30 JOSIAH WRIGHT (6-0, 190, Gr.-1L)
#7 Jordan Blackmon (5-10, 156, R-So.-TR)

FS #3 JAMARI BROWN (5-11, 198, Gr.-4L)
#14 AJ Thomas (6-1, 190, Gr.-4L)

CB #6 RAEQUAN OUSLEY (5-11, 170, Sr.-2L)
#5 Jimmy Bowdry (5-11, 180, So.-1L)


SPECIALISTS
Placekicker: #40 Jay Billingsley (5-11, 160, So.-1L)
Kickoffs: #44 Ian Sauter (6-2, 215, Gr.-TR)
Holder: #11 Gino English (6-1, 195, Gr.-TR)
Punter: #45 Austin Hendley (6-2, 220, Gr.SQ)
FG Snap: #53 AJ Covan (6-0, 220, Gr.-1L)
Punt Snap: #52 Jamie Wilson (6-2, 225, Jr.-1L)
Kickoff Return: #7 Jayden Brown (5-9, 170, So.-1L) AND #12 Ephraim Floyd (5-10, 180, So..-1L)
Punt Return: #9 Maleek Huggins (5-11, 170, R-So.-1L)

FCS First-Round Playoff Preview and Predictions: Top Half of the Bracket -NOV 22, 2023 - CRAIG HALEY

Gardner-Webb (7-4) at Mercer (8-3)

Kickoff – 3 p.m. ET at Five Star Stadium in Macon, Georgia (ESPN+)

Series – Mercer leads 1-0 (only meeting: Mercer won 45-14 at Garder-Webb on Sept. 24, 2022)

Coaches – Gardner-Webb: Tre Lamb (20-19, fourth season); Mercer: Drew Cronic (27-16, fourth season; 74-22 overall)

3 Players to Watch – Gardner-Webb: RB Narii Gaither (139 carries, 684 yards, 2 TD), RB Jayden Brown (110 carries, 646 yards, 5 TDs; 5 TD receptions), DE Ty French (53 tackles, 17.5 TFL, 17 QB hurries); Mercer: WR Ty James (54 receptions, 1,002 yards, 7 TDs), WR Devron Harper (50 receptions, 522 yards, 2 TDs, 2 punt return TDs), S Lance Wise Jr. (72 tackles, 4 INTs, 1 forced fumble)

Notable – This marks Mercer’s first playoff game, while Gardner-Webb debuted last year and won a first-round game at Eastern Kentucky. Each team has a strong offensive combo, the visiting Runnin’ Bulldogs with their running backs and Mercer its receivers. In the only previous meeting, Harper fueled the Bears’ win with 173 yards and three TDs from scrimmage. G-W redshirt freshman QB Jaylen King has gone 5-1 and accounted for 15 TDs in six starts, but he’s been sacked 20 times. Mercer has pass rushers in defensive end Solomon Zubairu (15 TFL, 7.5 sacks) and linebacker Ken Standley (80 tackles, 13 TFL, four sacks). G-W LB William McRainey is 10 tackles shy of reaching 100 for the third straight season.

Up Next – The winner advances to a second-round game at No. 1 seed South Dakota State (11-0) on Dec. 2 (2 p.m. ET).

Prediction – Mercer 35, Gardner-Webb 28