Mercer football rolled to its fourth win of the season on Saturday, beating The Citadel, 38-21. The win improved the team to 4-0 on the season and 2-0 against Southern Conference teams.
Mercer’s offense churned out more than 400 yards of offense and the defense, which is off to a strong start this season, held off the Bulldogs, who entered the game 2-1.
Quarterback DJ Smith ‘26 and running back Dwayne McGee ‘25 combined for 165 yards on the ground. Smith added two touchdowns with his legs, including a 20-yard scamper late in the third quarter.
CJ Miller ‘26 tallied a career-long reception with a 37-yard catch that set up the Bears’ second touchdown in the first quarter. It was Smith’s longest pass of the game, but he was an efficient 19-of-25 for 253 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
The offense has continued to spread the ball well with eight separate Bears catching a pass in the game and no player getting more than five passes. Kelin Parsons ‘25 led the team with five catches for 75 yards, marking his best game since transferring to Mercer from Lenoir-Rhyne University this year.
Following the game, Head Coach Mike Jacobs praised Offensive Coordinator Anthony Soto’s ability to get the ball into many player’s hands.
“Coach Soto does a good job creating touches for some guys,” Jacobs said. “You’ve seen [Tyrell] Coard do a bunch for us out of the backfield, both running and blocking and catching the football.”
While there was improvement over last week’s game at Chattanooga, third downs continued to be a struggle for the team as Mercer went 2-for-10 and 0-for-1 on fourth-down conversions. When they found themselves in the red zone, however, they converted all four times. The team’s red zone conversion rate last year was just under 75 percent while this year, the team has failed to score just once in 16 trips to the red zone.
On defense, Mercer allowed a few chunk plays, among them were passes that went for 60 yards and 54 yards, and a 31-yard run from Garrison Johnson. Discluding those three plays and their 145 yards, The Citadel averaged less than four yards per play, most of which were through the air.
Individual efforts from TJ Moore ‘25, who recorded an interception returned for a touchdown and two pass breakups, and Arias Nash ‘26, who recorded four quarterback hurries, three solo tackles and a sack.
Christian Hanson ‘26 recovered his second career fumble during a goal line stand where The Citadel was first-and-goal at Mercer’s 4-yard line. After a botched handoff to a Bulldog running back, the defensive lineman fell on the ball at the Mercer 5-yard line.
The Bears are averaging 86 penalty yards and 10 flags per game this season while their opponents are averaging 31 yards and four calls in the same period.
“It’s unacceptable. We’re going to be aggressive, but the ones that are critical, we have to clean those up,” Jacobs said of the team’s 10 penalties against The Citadel. “It starts with daily discipline, it starts with practice habits, it starts with what we allow as coaches and what our leadership on the team allows in the locker room.”
For 15 minutes, however, the statlines and SoCon standings didn’t matter. Freshman cornerback Khalil Moody collapsed on the field after breaking up a pass late in the third quarter. The hush that fell over the stadium belied the crowd of more than 10,000. All were focused on the 15-yard line, holding their breath. Players, coaches and training staff enveloped Moody and the first responders who worked to stabilize him.
After Moody was transported via ambulance to Atrium Health Navicent, Head Coach Mike Jacobs, Athletic Director Jim Cole, University President Bill Underwood and representatives from The Citadel met on the field to decide whether to continue or suspend the contest. Ultimately, the decision was made to resume play.
On Sunday, Mercer Athletics announced that Moody was “in good spirits alongside his family as he remains under observation of the healthcare team at Atrium Health Navicent Medical Center.”
Mercer will travel to Spartanburg, S.C. for Saturday’s matchup against SoCon foe, No. 23 Wofford. The Terriers, 2-1, will come off of a bye week following a loss to No. 13 William and Mary. The team is much-improved after finishing last season with a 2-9 record, including a 31-17 loss to Mercer in Macon.
Gabriel Kopp '26 is majoring in Journalism and Law and Public Policy at Mercer University. He has written for The Cluster since he started at Mercer, and currently works as co-Editor-in-Chief. When he isn't studying, he enjoys going for runs and reading The New York Times or the AJC while sipping coffee.
