No. 7 Mercer clinched a spot in the NCAA FCS Playoffs after their first shutout of the season, defeating the Virginia Military Institute 34-0. The win was their ninth of the year, equalling their total number of wins compared to last season with two games left to go before playoffs begin.
Quarterback Whitt Newbauer ‘28 led the team in passing with 282 yards while completing 15 of his 30 attempted passes. The true freshman passer had four passes that went for more than 25 yards, two of which were 55 yards or more. The large chunk plays made up about two thirds of his passing yards in the game as the offense recorded 518 total yards, 18 first downs and had no turnovers.
Running back Micah Bell ‘27 led the team in rushing yards with 12 carries for 69 yards, but it was CJ Miller ‘27 who made the start in the game. On Mercer’s first play of the game on offense, Miller took the ball 75 yards to the house, but a penalty by Sam Albee ‘27 brought the Bears back to the 25-yard line where they were forced to punt three plays later.
During the first quarter, both defenses were able to contain the other offense as each team was forced into back to back punts until Myles Redding ‘25 intercepted a VMI pass at Mercer’s 24-yard line late in the first quarter. A 61-yard rush from Dwayne McGee ‘26 on the first play of Mercer’s drive set up the Bears at VMI’s 15-yard line. Mercer was unable to capitalize on the field position, however, and settled for a field goal with 23 seconds left in the first quarter.
Mercer’s momentum shift trickled into the second quarter as the Bears would score two touchdown downs to make the deficit 17-0 before halftime. A 36-yard reception from Kendall Harris ‘27 set Mercer up deep in VMI’s territory. Then, an 11-yard run from Newbauer on a long third down play put the Bears within four yards of the end zone. After his touchdown run that was called back in the first quarter, Miller was the first to get into the endzone for Mercer with a 4-yard rushing touchdown.
Two drives later, the Bears were given the ball at their own 12-yard line 3:17 left in the second quarter. The team, who last week went 1-for-16 on third downs, converted three times on third down in the 13-play drive that lasted three minutes. Following his first sack of the game, Newbauer completed a 27-yard pass to Kelin Parson ‘25, then escaped another third down conversion with a 13-yard pass to Harris. With less than a minute to go in the half, Newbauer took off on his longest career rush for 37 yards to the VMI 5-yard line. Parsons caught his fourth touchdown of the season on a 4-yard pass from Newbauer, who threw for three scores in the game.
Newbauer has been praised by Head Coach Mike Jacobs in press conferences this season for his arm strength, and with the help of Parker Wroble ‘25, he was able to make good on that praise with a 69-yard pass to Wroble. The reception was Wroble’s longest of his career.
The Bears would get into the endzone one last time during the fourth quarter as Newbauer connected with Wroble again for another touchdown. The 28-yard touchdown pass made the final score 34-0.
Mercer will play No. 9 Alabama Crimson Tide this week in Tuscaloosa, Al. The Bears have not played Alabama since 2021, when they lost 48-14, and are 0-4 all time against the SEC team in a series that dates back to 1939. Since then, however, Alabama and Mercer have each seen a new head coach come to the program, and Mercer is a high-ranked FCS team going into the game.
