Mercer Bears
2026: 6–2 (3–1 Southern). Last: won at Samford 31–21. Next: The Citadel, Saturday, Oct 31, 3 p.m. ET.
- W 23–15East Texas A&M
- W 62–3Presbyterian
- L 13–20Furman
- L 11–44at Georgia Tech
- W 34–17at Abilene Christian
- W 54–3at VMI
- W 17–14Western Carolina
- W 31–21at Samford
- Oct 31The Citadel
- Nov 7at Chattanooga
- Nov 14at Tennessee Tech
- Nov 21East Tennessee State
Mercer has played football since 1891 and is officially 210–227–14; 345 of its 451 games are in our file. They have won two Southern Conference titles (the last in 2025), counting shared titles. The College Football Hall of Fame holds 1 coach from Mercer. Charles C. Stroud (1910–1912) won more games here than any other coach: 15. The most-played rival is Chattanooga: 24 meetings, Mercer leads 12–11–1. This season, they’re 6–2.
Résumé
- All-time record
- 210–227–14 official; 156–179–10 on file; how we count
- Postseason
- 1–1 bowls, title games, playoff
- AP No. 1 finishes
- 0
- Weeks at No. 1
- 0 of 0 ranked
- Elo now
- 1433
- Computer rankings
- Massey No. 14 · Composite No. 20 in FCS, Oct 17; up 2 since Oct 11. From Massey Ratings
- Conference titles
- 2 last in 2025
- Seasons
- 47 since 1906, 345 games
2026 season 6–2
RosterFull 2026 season| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 29 | vs East Texas A&M | W 23–15 | 80% |
| Sep 5 | vs Presbyterian | W 62–3 | 63% |
| Sep 12 | vs Furman | L 13–20 | 77% |
| Sep 19 | at Georgia Tech | L 11–44 | 28% |
| Sep 26 | at Abilene Christian | W 34–17 | 47% |
| Oct 3 | at VMI | W 54–3 | 85% |
| Oct 10 | vs Western Carolina | W 17–14 | 65% |
| Oct 17 | at Samford | W 31–21 | 79% |
| Oct 31 | vs The Citadel | Preview | 84% |
| Nov 7 | at Chattanooga | Preview | 56% |
| Nov 14 | at Tennessee Tech | Preview | 42% |
| Nov 21 | vs East Tennessee State | Preview | 64% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
This season, game by game
Players
The 2026 rosterOn the 2026 team
- J.P. Pickles469 passing yards, 5 TD; 459 rushing yards, 8 TD (leads Mercer in rushing touchdowns)
- Zahmari Palode-Gary509 rushing yards, 1 TD
- Devon Caldwell567 rushing yards, 1 TD (leads Mercer in rushing yards)
- Jaylen King841 passing yards, 6 TD (leads Mercer in passing yards)
- Brayden Smith38 catches, 536 yards, 3 TD (leads Mercer in receiving yards)
- Jyarius Carter60 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 1 INT (leads Mercer in tackles)
Program strength since 1906
Best seasons everHead coaches
| Coach | Years | Record |
|---|---|---|
| Lake Russell | 1929–1930 | 0–4 |
| Bernie Moore | 1926–1928 | 3–8–1 |
| Stanley L. Robinson | 1923–1925 | 12–14–2 |
 Josh Cody | 1920–1922 | 10–19 |
| Maxwell James | 1919 | 0–2 |
| Jake Zellars | 1915 | 1–3 |
| Fred A. Robins | 1914 | 0–3 |
| Lewie Hardage | 1913 | 2–5–1 |
| Charles C. Stroud | 1910–1912 | 15–11–2 |
| Frank Blake | 1908–1909 | 3–7 |
 H.R. Schenker | 1907 | 1–3 |
| E.E. Tarr | 1906 | 0–1 |
Most-played series
All rivalries- Chattanooga
12–11–1 in 24
- 2016 L 31–52
- 2017 W 30–10
- 2018 W 13–9
- 2019 L 17–34
- 2020 W 35–28
- 2021 W 10–6
- 2022 L 21–41
- 2023 L 10–22
- 2024 W 10–3
- 2025 W 63–17
Won the last two.
Next: Nov 7
- Furman
9–12–2 † in 23
- 2017 L 21–28
- 2018 L 30–35
- 2019 L 10–45
- 2020 W 26–14
- 2021 W 24–3
- 2022 L 13–23
- 2023 L 14–38
- 2024 W 49–23
- 2025 W 52–28
- 2026 L 13–20
Lost the last one.
- Samford
11–9–1 in 21
- 2017 L 3–20
- 2018 W 30–24
- 2019 W 36–33
- 2020 L 20–44
- 2021 W 45–42
- 2022 L 44–50
- 2023 W 28–21
- 2024 L 35–55
- 2025 W 45–21
- 2026 W 31–21
Won the last two.
| Opponent | Games | MER record |
|---|---|---|
| Chattanooga | 24 | 12–11–1 |
| Furman | 23 | 9–12–2 † |
| Samford | 21 | 11–9–1 |
| Georgia | 21 | 0–21 |
| The Citadel | 16 | 8–7–1 |
| Florida | 14 | 3–10–1 |
| Wofford | 14 | 7–7 |
| VMI | 13 | 10–3 |
Official records. † Without wins the NCAA vacated. ‡ The rivalry’s own count, where it differs from the games on file. Each series page gives both.
Every opponent (85)
Every program Mercer has played, A to Z, with Mercer’s record against it. Each links to the series, game by game.
- 10th District A.C. 1–0
- Abilene Christian 1–1
- Alabama 0–5
- Alabama Presbyterian 1–0
- Army 0–2
- Auburn 0–12
- Austin Peay 3–1
- Ave Maria University 1–0
- Berry 1–0
- Bethune-Cookman 1–0
- Birmingham-Southern 4–2–1
- Campbell 1–1
- Carnegie Mellon 1–0
- Carson Newman 0–2
- Centre 0–1
- Chattanooga 12–11–1
- Clemson 3–4
- Columbia College 1–0–1
- Davidson 1–0
- Drake 1–0
- Duke 0–2
- East Tennessee State 7–4
- East Texas A&M 1–0
- Erskine 0–1
- Florida 3–10–1
- Fort Benning 1–2
- Furman 9–12–2 †
- Gardner-Webb 2–0
- Georgia 0–21
- Georgia Medical 1–0
- Georgia Southern 1–0
- Georgia Tech 0–13
- Gordon 2–1
- Jacksonville 3–0
- Jacksonville State 0–1
- Lanier 1–0
- Locust Grove 2–0
- Loyola (LA) 0–1–1
- LSU 0–1
- Marist 0–1
- Marquette 1–0
- Maryville (TN) 1–0
- Memphis 0–1
- Miami 0–1
- Mississippi College 0–1–1
- Mississippi State 0–3
- Morehead State 2–0
- Navy 0–2
- Norman Park 1–0
- North Alabama 1–0
- North Carolina 0–2
- North Dakota State 0–1
- North Georgia 1–0
- Oglethorpe 6–5
- Ole Miss 0–2
- Piedmont 1–0
- Point University 1–0
- Presbyterian 5–2
- Princeton 2–0
- Reinhardt 2–0
- Rhode Island 1–0
- Rollins 1–0
- Samford 11–9–1
- San Diego 0–1
- South Carolina 1–1
- South Dakota 0–1
- South Dakota State 0–1
- Spring Hill 1–0
- Stetson 7–1
- Syracuse 0–1
- Tennessee 1–2
- Tennessee Tech 1–1
- The Citadel 8–7–1
- Troy 1–0
- Tulane 0–1
- Valparaiso 1–0
- Vanderbilt 0–4
- VMI 10–3
- Wake Forest 2–2
- Wake Forest Freshmen 0–1
- Warner 2–0
- Washington & Jefferson 1–0
- Western Carolina 11–2
- Wofford 7–7
- Yale 0–1
Official records. † Without wins the NCAA vacated, or with forfeits counted. ‡ The rivalry’s own count, where it differs from the games on file.
Conference titles
2, counting shared titlesAs the program counts them in its Wikipedia article, shared titles included, and listed under each conference’s current name (a Western Conference title of the 1900s counts as a Big Ten title); season pages use the name the conference had that year. A title the article files under a conference the team wasn’t in that season is listed under the one it was. Division titles include years the team tied for its division.
Conferences
- Independent 1891–1892 and 1894
- SIAA 1896–1897, 1903, 1906–1916 and 1919–1930
- Dixie Conference 1931–1941
- Pioneer Conference 2013
- Southern Conference since 2014
- 2013Joined the Pioneer Conference from the No team in football. Source
- 2014Joined the Southern Conference from the Pioneer Conference in football, announced May 30, 2013. Source
Mercer’s football conferences by season, from CollegeFootballData.com’s memberships (renamed conferences keep the name of the time). The moves and their announcement dates from Wikipedia’s lists of NCAA Division I conference changes; the year is the first season in the new conference. Conference realignment: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
In the Hall of Fame
Every inductee- Players
- 0
- Coaches
- 1
| 1954 | Bernie Moore coach here, 1926–1928 |
Season by season
National champions| Season | Record | Conf. | AP pre | AP final | Coach | Elo | SP+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 6–2 | 3–1 | 1433 | ||||
| 2025 | 9–3 | 8–0 | 1434 | ||||
| 2024 | 11–3 | 7–1 | 1475 | ||||
| 2023 | 9–4 | 6–2 | 1428 | ||||
| 2022 | 7–4 | 5–3 | 1402 | ||||
| 2021 | 7–3 | 6–2 | 1370 | ||||
| 2020 | 5–6 | 1281 | |||||
| 2019 | 4–8 | 3–5 | 1210 | ||||
| 2018 | 5–6 | 4–4 | 1321 | ||||
| 2017 | 5–6 | 4–4 | 1338 | ||||
| 2016 | 6–5 | 4–4 | 1307 | ||||
| 2015 | 5–6 | 2–5 | 1270 | ||||
| 2014 | 6–5 | 1–5 | 1275 | ||||
| 2013 | 10–2 | 6–2 | 1298 | ||||
| 1941 | 0–1 | 1089 | |||||
| 1940 | 0–3 | 1098 | |||||
| 1939 | 0–3 | 1109 | |||||
| 1938 | 0–3 | 1124 | |||||
| 1937 | 0–2 | 1149 | |||||
| 1936 | 3–6–1 | 0–1–1 | 1185 | ||||
| 1935 | 4–5 | 0–1 | 1257 | ||||
| 1934 | 3–6–1 | 0–0–1 | 1259 | ||||
| 1933 | 4–3–2 | 1–0 | 1377 | ||||
| 1932 | 0–1 | 1413 | |||||
| 1930 | 0–2 | Lake Russell | 1387 |
Every season back to 1906 (22 more)
| Season | Record | Conf. | AP pre | AP final | Coach | Elo | SP+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1929 | 0–2 | Lake Russell | 1388 | ||||
| 1928 | 1–3 | Bernie Moore | 1410 | ||||
| 1927 | 1–3 | 0–1 | Bernie Moore | 1455 | |||
| 1926 | 1–2–1 | 0–1–1 | Bernie Moore | 1459 | |||
| 1925 | 4–5 | 1–2 | Stanley L. Robinson | 1454 | |||
| 1924 | 5–3–2 | 4–0 | Stanley L. Robinson | 1441 | |||
| 1923 | 3–6 | 1–1 | Stanley L. Robinson | 1333 | |||
| 1922 | 5–6 | 0–1 | Josh Cody | 1314 | |||
| 1921 | 3–6 | 1–4 | Josh Cody | 1277 | |||
| 1920 | 2–7 | 0–3 | Josh Cody | 1173 | |||
| 1919few games on file | 0–2 | 0–1 | Maxwell James | 1307 | |||
| 1916few games on file | 0–3 | 0–2 | 1342 | ||||
| 1915few games on file | 1–3 | 1–2 | Jake Zellars | 1356 | |||
| 1914few games on file | 0–3 | 0–2 | Fred A. Robins | 1354 | |||
| 1913 | 2–5–1 | 0–3–1 | Lewie Hardage | 1350 | |||
| 1912 | 5–3–1 | 2–2–1 | Charles C. Stroud | 1441 | |||
| 1911 | 4–5–1 | 2–4 | Charles C. Stroud | 1424 | |||
| 1910 | 6–3 | 3–1 | Charles C. Stroud | 1438 | |||
| 1909 | 3–4 | 0–3 | Frank Blake | 1372 | |||
| 1908few games on file | 0–3 | 0–2 | Frank Blake | 1358 | |||
| 1907few games on file | 1–3 | 1–3 | H.R. Schenker | 1364 | |||
| 1906few games on file | 0–1 | 0–1 | E.E. Tarr | 1431 |
Officially 210–227–14 since 1891 (per Wikipedia, rechecked weekly); game by game here, 156–179–10 (345 of its 451 games are on file). Our file starts in 1906; the program began in 1891. Some games are missing from our source.
No season on file for 1917–18, 1931, 1942–2012: the program may not have played, or our source may be missing them.
Records are computed from every game on file at CollegeFootballData.com, whose coverage of the earliest seasons can be incomplete. Elo is this site’s own rating; see how it works on the records page.