Mercer football (1-1, 1-0 Southern Conference) will take on The Citadel (1-2, 1-0 SoCon) in Charleston, S.C., at 2 p.m. Saturday.
After a shaky home opener against Presbyterian College which ended Mercer’s streak of home game victories stretching back to 2023, the Bears were able to turn things around in last week's matchup against Wofford College, coming from behind to beat the Terriers 22-21. After the match, Head Coach Mike Jacobs offered his thoughts on what the team could improve on.
“Things we have to do better is ball security,” head coach Mike Jacobs said in a press conference on Tuesday. “And then really just our red zone stuff. Especially in the five yard line, that’s a demeanor, so I take that personally."
Against The Citadel, Jacobs expects the young Mercer team, who faced significant player turnover since last year’s SoCon championship run, to face close competition. “With a bunch of young guys, we’re probably gonna be in dog fights every week,” Jacobs said.
The Bears made a change at quarterback before taking on Wofford, starting a true freshman in DJ Smith's ‘26 stead. Braden Atkinson ‘29 took over behind center and led Mercer to its first win of the season. Jacobs expects this change to remain, for now. “We were a bit stagnant on offense, it’s not exclusive to the quarterback position but it's a massive part,” Jacobs said. “Braden played really well, so I would expect him to continue to move forward.”
“There’s some execution things that we still need to get cleaned up. And again, that’ll come as we continue to put our kids in game-like situations," said Jacobs.
Mercer will have to tighten up on defense to compete against the Bulldogs, who boast a formidable wide receiver room, including graduate student Javonte Graves-Bilips, who tacked on 139 yards and two scores against Samford University on Sept. 6. This year, the Bears have struggled in their pass defense. The team, which led the FCS in multiple categories last year, has given up four passes that went for more than 30 yards. While the team, led by Brayden Zock '28, has been able to get after the quarterback in its first two games this season, it has not been able to force as many turnovers as it could last year.
Mercer bested The Citadel at home last year, 38-21, and haven't lost to the Bulldogs since 2019.
Pariss Nicholson ‘26 is majoring in Journalism and minoring in Media Studies at Mercer University. She hopes to report or write for ESPN after she graduates. Outside of her studies, she likes to read and watch sports games in her room.
