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2023 Mercer

9–⁠4 (6–⁠2 Southern Conference).

Schedule and results

Mercer in 2023, game by game: won vs. North Alabama 17–7; lost at No. 22 Ole Miss 7–73; won vs. Morehead State 48–22; lost at Furman 14–38; won vs. VMI 38–3; won at East Tennessee State 24–6; lost vs. Chattanooga 10–22; won vs. Wofford 31–17; won at Western Carolina 45–38; won at The Citadel 38–16; won vs. Samford 28–21; won vs. Gardner-Webb 17–7; lost at South Dakota State 0–41+35−66Won 17–7 vs. North Alabama+10North AlabamaLost 7–73 at No. 22 Ole Miss-66No. 22 Ole MissWon 48–22 vs. Morehead State+26Morehead StateLost 14–38 at Furman-24FurmanWon 38–3 vs. VMI+35VMIWon 24–6 at East Tennessee State+18East Tennessee …Lost 10–22 vs. Chattanooga-12ChattanoogaWon 31–17 vs. Wofford+14WoffordWon 45–38 at Western Carolina+7Western CarolinaWon 38–16 at The Citadel+22The CitadelWon 28–21 vs. Samford+7SamfordWon 17–7 vs. Gardner-Webb+10Gardner-WebbLost 0–41 at South Dakota State-41South Dakota St…
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 26vsNorth AlabamaW 17–⁠773%
Sep 2at22Ole MissL 7–⁠7321%
Sep 9vsMorehead StateW 48–⁠2277%
Sep 23atFurmanL 14–⁠3836%
Sep 30vsVMIW 38–⁠378%
Oct 7atEast Tennessee StateW 24–⁠660%
Oct 14vsChattanoogaL 10–⁠2258%
Oct 21vsWoffordW 31–⁠1785%
Oct 28atWestern CarolinaW 45–⁠3843%
Nov 4atThe CitadelW 38–⁠1680%
Nov 11vsSamfordW 28–⁠2162%
Nov 25Bowls & playoffvsGardner-WebbFCS Championship – First RoundW 17–⁠762%
Dec 2Bowls & playoffatSouth Dakota StateFCS Championship – Second RoundL 0–⁠4116%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to South Dakota State 41–⁠0 in the FCS Championship – Second Round; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Southern Conference.

In program history: The 11th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 47 on file).

Record
9–⁠4
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 2nd in Southern Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
317–⁠311
Coach
—
Elo
1428 +59 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
−22.2 No. 49 of 128 in FCS
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Bob Bodine
Defensive coordinator
Joel Taylor

Leaders

Passing yardsCarter Peevy QB2,275 yds
Passing touchdownsCarter Peevy QB11 TD
Rushing yardsAl Wooten II RB715 yds
Rushing touchdownsCarter Peevy QB12 TD
Receiving yardsTy James WR1,157 yds
Receiving touchdownsTy James WR7 TD
TacklesMarques Thomas LB7 tkl
InterceptionsLance Wise S5 INT

Transfers in 2

The 2023 portal
Gavin McKay TE★★★from Missouri
Micah Bell RB★★★from Charlotte

Transfers out 0

No transfers out.

2023 Southern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Furman7–⁠110–⁠3
Mercer6–⁠29–⁠4
Chattanooga6–⁠28–⁠5
Western Carolina5–⁠37–⁠4
Samford4–⁠46–⁠5
VMI4–⁠45–⁠6
East Tennessee State2–⁠63–⁠8
Wofford2–⁠62–⁠9
The Citadel0–⁠80–⁠11

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.