The No. 7 Bears were taken down on Saturday and handed their first loss of the season by unranked Samford University in a 55-35 loss in Birmingham, Ala. It was Mercer’s loss since falling to South Dakota State University in the second round of last year’s FCS Playoffs, and Head Coach Mike Jacob’s first loss since taking over the job in February.
On the surface, it appears that the game was a historically bad performance against a Southern Conference foe by what was a historically good defense heading into the game. However, Mercer’s defense had to face 17 total drives from Samford’s offense as a result of five total turnovers: three fumbles lost and two interceptions thrown. For their part, the defense forced three turnovers, led by Myles Redding '25, who caught two interceptions in the game, and recorded three sacks. Andrew Zock '28 now leads the team with 5.5 sacks after getting 1.5 against Samford.
To open the game, Mercer received the ball, but their opening drive consisted of a 2-yard loss, an incomplete pass, a quarterback sack for a loss of 5 yards and a 17-yard punt. Samford responded by making their way down the field, getting into the end zone with a 15-yard pass from quarterback Quincy Crittendon to wide receiver DJ Rias to make the score 7-0.
On the next offensive possession for Mercer, the drive started with a loss of three yards on a shotgun play, followed by a fumble recovery from the defense, forcing Mercer’s first turnover of the day.
Samford would capitalize off of this momentum, with Crittendon connecting with Rias for another touchdown, making the Bears' deficit 14-0. As Mercer regained offensive possession, the offense sputtered again as quarterback DJ Smith ‘26 was intercepted by linebacker Jaden Mosley for a 4-yard return before being pushed out of bounds at the Mercer 26-yard line.
Samford’s onslaught continued as they added more points to the scoreboard with another touchdown following Smith’s interception. A 24-yard pass from Crittendon to wide receiver E. Jai Mason made the lead 21-0. A 77-yard touchdown pass on their next drive gave Samford a 28-0 lead before seven full minutes had elapsed in the first quarter. By the end of the first half, Samford had tacked on two more touchdowns while Mercer scraped together just one scoring drive and a missed field goal, leaving the Bears down 42-7 at the half.
Coming out of halftime, the Bears looked like the No. 7 team in the country as they scored three touchdowns and held the Bulldogs scoreless in the quarter, making the score 28-42. The momentum would not last through the fourth quarter.
Following a strip sack that was recovered by Samford’s defense and taken 55 yards for a touchdown, Smith was pulled from the game due to injury, and Whitt Newbauer ‘28 took over. Despite gaining three first downs in his first drive, Newbauer fumbled the ball away in Samford’s half. A three-and-out from the Samford offense put the ball back into Newbauer’s hands at the Mercer 23-yard line, but the second play of the drive was a pick-six returned 26 yards for the Bulldog’s final touchdown of the game.
Newbauer led the offense down the field for a 75-yard touchdown drive in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, but it was too little and too late for the Bears. Three turnovers in the final 15 minutes doomed any chance of a comeback while the two touchdowns scored by the Bulldog’s defense were their only two of the season on that side of the ball so far.
The Bears will be on the road next week to take on Western Carolina University. The Bears are now 6-1 on the season and 3-1 in conference play. WCU now sits atop the SoCon with an unblemished record in three conference games.
