The No. 8-ranked Bears are coming off of a bye week as they host Ivy League school Princeton University, at Five Star Stadium on Oct. 12, at 3:30 p.m. The Bears will go into the game with an unblemished overall record through five games while the Princeton Tigers travel to Macon with a 1-2 overall record.
The two programs have not faced each other, even before Mercer’s football program was reinstated in 2013. Mercer has faced one Ivy League school in recent seasons, though, losing to Yale in 2018, but most of their opponents since then are schools in the Southeast.
Princeton’s passing yard leader for the season is junior quarterback Blaine Hipa with 383 passing yards, three touchdowns and five interceptions on the season. Their rushing yard leader is senior running back John Volker, who has 35 carries, 177 yards and two touchdowns through three games.The receiving yard leader is senior wide receiver Luke Colella with 10 receptions, 166 yards and touchdowns on the season.
Mercer’s passing yard leader for the season is quarterback DJ Smith ‘26 with 970 pass yards, eight touchdowns and five interceptions on the season. Smith was pulled from the Bears’ last game, a 22-3 win against Wofford, in the first quarter with an injury, but he practiced with the team this week. Wide receiver Brayden Smith ‘27 leads the team with 17 receptions, 240 yards and three touchdowns on the season. Rushing yard leader is running back Dwayne McGee ‘25 with 94 carries, 366 yards and two touchdowns on the season. McGee is averaging slightly more than 77 yards a game while Smith is leading the team with five total touchdowns this season.
Overall, the Tigers are averaging just over 22 points a game and giving up just over 27. The Bears’ offense, which has been held to less than 22 points just once this season, a 10-3 win against then-No. 14 Chattanooga, will hope to have a field day. Mercer’s defense, too, is ranked in the top five of all FCS teams in multiple categories, including yards per play allowed (3.92) third-down conversion percentage allowed (16.4 percent) and defensive touchdowns (three).
For the Tigers, they will need to find a way to stop the passing game and stack up on the defensive line to get past the Mercer offensive line and to Smith. The Bears are looking to extend their winning streak to 6-0 while the Tigers are hoping to get back to .500 on the season and shock a top-10 team in the FCS.
