After a well-earned week off, Mercer football is back at it Saturday afternoon, ready to defend its Southern Conference title as the stretch run begins. The Bears host Virginia Military Institute (1-6) at Five Star Stadium, with kickoff set for 3 p.m.
At 4-0 in league play and sitting atop the SoCon standings, Mercer controls its own destiny. But Head Coach Mike Jacobs knows that mental sharpness will be the key over the final month.
“As the season wanes, and things become tough and you’re a little bit beat up, the team that shows up ready to play most often wins,” Jacobs said. “It’s not always the best team—it’s the team that’s most mentally ready to do the physical things necessary.”
After VMI, Mercer’s closing stretch reads like a championship gauntlet: road trips to Furman (Nov. 1) and Western Carolina (Nov. 8), followed by a home showdown with Chattanooga (Nov. 15). The Bears close the regular season at Auburn on Nov. 22 before turning attention to the FCS playoffs.
VMI arrives in Macon after a tough 24-22 home loss to Samford, a game the Keydets could’ve won if not for a missed field goal in the final minute. Quarterback Collin Shannon threw for a career-high 419 yards, while receiver Owen Sweeney caught 13 passes for 208 yards—just the sixth 200-yard receiving game in school history. Despite outgaining Samford 522-398, three missed field goals proved costly.
Mercer owns an 8-3 advantage in the all-time series, including last year’s 34-0 shutout in Lexington on the way to the SoCon crown. VMI’s previous win in the matchup came in 2019, also in Macon, when the Keydets rolled 45-7.
With playoff positioning beginning to take shape, Saturday’s game marks Mercer’s chance to fine-tune before the toughest stretch of the season.