2019 Mercer Bears football team

The 2019 Mercer Bears football team represented Mercer University as a member the Southern Conference (SoCon) during the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by seventh-year head coach Bobby Lamb and played their home games at the Five Star Stadium in Macon, Georgia. Mercer finished the season 4–8 overall and 3–5 in SoCon play to place seventh.

2019 Mercer Bears football
ConferenceSouthern Conference
Record4–8 (3–5 SoCon)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorBill Legg (1st season)
Defensive coordinatorMike Adams (1st season)
Home stadiumFive Star Stadium
Seasons
← 2018
2020 →
2019 Southern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 16 Wofford $^   7 1     8 3  
No. 21 Furman ^   6 2     8 4  
Chattanooga   5 3     6 6  
The Citadel   4 4     6 6  
Samford   4 4     5 7  
VMI   4 4     5 7  
Mercer   3 5     4 8  
Western Carolina   2 6     3 9  
East Tennessee State   1 7     3 9  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
Rankings from STATS Poll

Preseason

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Preseason media poll

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The SoCon released their preseason media poll and coaches poll on July 22, 2019. The Bears were picked to finish in fourth place by the media and in fifth place by the coaches.[1][2]

Media poll
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1 Wofford 253 (21)
2 Furman 229 (6)
3 East Tennessee State 187 (2)
4 Mercer 146
5 Chattanooga 134
6 Samford 125
7 The Citadel 111
8 Western Carolina 88
9 VMI 32
Coaches poll
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1 Wofford 63 (7)
2 Furman 55 (1)
3 East Tennessee State 44 (1)
4 Chattanooga 40
5 Mercer 34
6 Samford 33
7 The Citadel 22
8 Western Carolina 21
9 VMI 12

Preseason All-SoCon Teams

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The Bears placed seven different players on the preseason all-SoCon teams.[2]

Schedule

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DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
August 31 6:00 p.m. at Western Carolina Nexstar/ESPN+ W 49–27 10,542
September 7[a] 2:00 p.m. at Presbyterian* ESPN+ W 45–7 1,264
September 14 7:00 p.m. Austin Peay* ESPN+ L 34–48 11,478
September 21 1:00 p.m. at No. 17 Furman Nexstar/ESPN+ L 10–45 7,667
September 28 7:00 p.m. Campbell*
  • Five Star Stadium
  • Macon, GA
ESPN3 L 27–34 11,272
October 5 4:00 p.m. Chattanooga
  • Five Star Stadium
  • Macon, GA
ESPN+ L 17–34 8,972
October 19 3:00 p.m. VMI
  • Five Star Stadium
  • Macon, GA
ESPN+ W 34–27 5,714
October 26 2:00 p.m. at The Citadel ESPN+ L 24–35 11,439
November 2 7:00 p.m. Samford
  • Five Star Stadium
  • Macon, GA
ESPN+ W 36–33 3OT 8,272
November 9 3:00 p.m. No. 24 Wofford
  • Five Star Stadium
  • Macon, GA
ESPN+ L 7–41 10,729
November 16 1:00 p.m. at East Tennessee State ESPN3 L 33–38 7,121
November 23 3:30 p.m. at North Carolina* ACCRSN L 7–56 50,500

[4][5]

  1. ^ On September 2, it was announced that Mercer had added an away game against Presbyterian; the date was originally a bye week for Mercer and was scheduled after Presbyterian's week 1 game against Stetson was cancelled.[3]

Game summaries

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At Western Carolina

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1 2 3 4 Total
Bears 14 28 7 0 49
Catamounts 7 7 7 6 27

At Presbyterian

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1 2 3 4 Total
Bears 21 7 14 3 45
Blue Hose 0 0 0 7 7

Austin Peay

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1 2 3 4 Total
Governors 7 6 14 21 48
Bears 10 3 7 14 34

At Furman

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1 2 3 4 Total
Bears 0 10 0 0 10
No. 17 Paladins 14 14 17 0 45

Campbell

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1 2 3 4 Total
Fighting Camels 6 7 7 14 34
Bears 0 6 7 14 27

Chattanooga

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1 2 3 4 Total
Mocs 7 10 10 7 34
Bears 14 0 0 3 17
1 2 3 4 Total
Keydets 3 3 0 21 27
Bears 3 10 14 7 34

At The Citadel

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1 2 3 4 Total
Bears 0 10 14 0 24
Bulldogs 7 7 7 14 35

Samford

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1 2 3 4OT2OT3OT Total
Bulldogs 7 3 7 6730 33
Bears 3 7 6 7733 36

Wofford

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1 2 3 4 Total
Terriers 3 17 14 7 41
Bears 0 7 0 0 7

At East Tennessee State

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1 2 3 4 Total
Bears 7 7 6 13 33
Buccaneers 10 21 0 7 38

At North Carolina

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1 2 3 4 Total
Bears 0 0 0 7 7
Tar Heels 21 21 14 0 56

Ranking movements

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Ranking movements
Legend: RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre123456789101112Final
STATS FCSRV
Coaches

References

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  1. ^ "SoCon Media Tab Wofford Preseason Favorite". July 22, 2019. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Football Coaches Select Preseason Teams, Poll". July 22, 2019. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
  3. ^ "Football Adds Home Game With Mercer". gobluehose.com. Presbyterian College Athletics. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
  4. ^ "2019 Mercer Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved August 19, 2019.
  5. ^ "2019 Football Schedule". Mercer University Athletics. Retrieved August 19, 2019.