No. 7 Mercer will face the No. 10 Rhode Island Rams at home on Satuday in the second round of the FCS Playoffs.
The Rams, 10-2 in the regular season, will be Mercer’s first competition in the playoffs this year after the Bears enjoyed a bye-week following their SoCon Championship. This is the first time that the two programs will meet. The Rams are coming off of a narrow win in their first round matchup, beating Central Connecticut State University, 21-17, last Saturday, Nov. 30.
The Rams finished second in their conference, the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA), that includes two other teams in the FCS playoffs, Villanova and Richmond. Like Mercer, the 11-2 Rams are continuing a historic run for their team, and they have reached the FCS Playoffs this year for the first time since 1985.
Rhode Island is led by 11th-year head coach Jim Fleming, and backup quarterback Hunter Helms will lead a Rams offense that lost its starting quarterback to a season-ending injury late in the season. Helms is a former walk-on at Clemson University, and is in his first season at Rhode Island as a redshirt senior.
Mercer's passing defense will have to put up with a 1,000-yard wide receiver, Marquis Buchanan, and Greg Gaines III who posted 522 yards and three touchdowns this season. The duo will stretch the field against the Bears, who lead the entire FCS with 22 interceptions. The second-string passer threw two picks in the first round of the playoffs and six interceptions in the last four games, but he is averaging a little more than 200 yards through the air per game in the last four contests.
Since the shakeup in the quarterback room, the team has relied heavily on its rushing attack that is headed by senior running back Malik Grant, who led the CAA in rushing yards this season. Grant also finished in the top five of all CAA rushers in touchdowns and top three in all-purpose yards. He averaged more than 100 yards a game, and nearly 5.5 yards per rush in 259 attempts. Grant will face a very tough battle against Mercer's rushing defense, which ranks first in the FCS in rush yards allowed, anchored by Southern Conference Defensive Player of the Year, Brayden Manley ‘27.
On the other side, the Mercer offense will look to dominate against a mid-ranked Rhode Island defense. The Bears have a star-studded offense, with starting running back Dwayne McGee ‘25 recently winning SoCon Offensive Player of the Year. Quarterback Whitt Newbaur ‘28 will lead the passing game, throwing primarily to Kelin Parsons ‘25 and Adjatay Dabbs ‘28. Dabbs is coming off of a monstrous performance against Furman University in which he totaled nearly 200 yards and caught two touchdowns. The Bears will have to rely on these receivers’ talent to get the offense going, being threatened by Rams linebacker A.J. Pena, who led the CAA in total tackles for loss and finishing top three in sacks, recording 20 and 12 this season, respectively.
Whichever team wins on Saturday will make program history as neither squad has gone further than the second round in the playoffs. The winner will likely face off against North Dakota State University, a perennial powerhouse.
Jacob Hossler '28 is majoring in Biology with a potential English minor. In his free time he enjoys photography, writing, and playing tennis and soccer.
