Three Things You Need to Know about Mercer

Saturday morning, the top ranked Alabama will host Mercer for the final home game of the season.

While the Crimson Tide will celebrate the final game inside Bryant-Denny Stadium for 24 seniors, the Mercer Bears will close out the season Saturday.

Saturday’s contests marks the second SEC opponent for Mercer and their third game against an FBS opponent sine resurrecting their football program in 2013.

Mercer and Alabama have played before with the Crimson Tide winning back-to-back 20-0 contests in 1939 and 1940.

Prior to Saturday’s 11 AM kickoff, discover three things that you need to know about the Mercer Bears.

Head Coach Bobby Lamb

In 2013, the Mercer Bears brought back football under the direction of head coach Bobby Lamb and are about to complete their fifth season with Lamb guiding the program.

Lamb has a 30-22 record in five seasons as Mercer’s head coach and is 99-64 in 14 seasons as a head coach. A win on Saturday would give him 100 wins in his career.

Prior to Mercer, Lamb took Furman to four FCS Playoff appearances in nine season as the head coach of the Paladins.

Opportunistic Defense

Among FCS teams, the Mercer Bears are one of the most opportunistic defenses in the country.

Coming into Saturday, Mercer has recovered the most fumbles (14) and have the 12^th highest amount of takeaways (23) in the FCS ranks.

In their 24-10 loss to Auburn back in September, the Bears forced five turnovers which was the most for the Tigers since a loss to Arkansas in 2012.

Including the auburn game, Mercer has forced at least three turnovers in five of their 10 games this season.

They have also been successful in keeping teams out of the end zone. Out of 33 red zone opportunities, opposing offense have managed only 19 touchdowns.

Efficiency on Offense

On the other side of the football, Mercer has been the most efficient offense in the red zone of any FCS team this season.

Out of 34 appearances inside the 20-yard line, the Bears have scored a total of 32 times including 25 touchdowns.

In addition to the red zone, the offensive line has done a solid job of protecting the quarterback. Mercer has given up 13 sacks in 10 games.

In their loss to Auburn, quarterback Kaelan Riley was not sacked during the game.