Mercer football (4-1, 4-0 Southern Conference) looks to extend their winning streak to five in a game at Princeton University (2-1, 1-0 Ivy League) this Saturday, Oct. 11, after cruising past Samford University (0-6, 0-4 SoCon) last Saturday, 45-21.
The Bears looked unstoppable at home against the winless Bulldogs, racking up more than 550 yards of offense on the play of quarterback Braden Atkinson '29, who threw for 365 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions. The freshman has looked electric this season after taking the starting job in Mercer's third game. Since then, the Bears are undefeated, have averaged over 35 points a game, and have taken the No. 1 spot in the SoCon table and are No. 19 in the FCS.
"Atkinson again continues to play at an elite level," head coach Mike Jacobs said about the quarterback's performance in Monday's press conference. "He played really well, he executed."
The matchup against Samford got off to a slow start near the beginning of the first quarter, with two back-to-back punts, but the Bears bounced back right in their second drive. Atkinson delivered a 64-yard strike to tight end Samuel Albee '27 on the first play of the drive to open up the scoring. It was Albee's only catch of the game and fourth catch of the entire 2025 season. This gave the Bears plenty of momentum, and the team was able to drive in another score before the end of the quarter, bringing the score to 14-0. Atkinson led slow, methodical drives in the second quarter, using nearly 10 minutes of game clock across two drives, scoring both times to bring the score to 28-0.
The third quarter saw a heavyweight battle between the offenses as both teams scored two touchdowns. Atkinson again excelled at the deep ball, capping off the scoring drives with 38- and 66-yard scores to wide receiver Brayden Smith '27 and Ty Doughty '29, respectively. Doughty, a dual-threat running receiver, had a breakout game due to the absence of usual bell cow CJ Miller '27. In the game, Doughty totaled 105 rushing yards on 19 attempts, as well as 77 receiving yards, all leading the team, and flashed his ability to make plays both outside and in the backfield.
"Ty really stepped up in a big way," Jacobs said, "[He] showed great ball skills and an aptitude to play running back ... he played at a really high level."
The Bears defense was able to hold off Samford in the fourth, even after the Bulldogs capitalized off of an interception by backup quarterback JP Pickles '29, ending the game with a score of 45-21. The Bears are now 4-0 in the SoCon for only the second time in program history.
Next, the Bears take on a Tigers team who they blew out in last year's SoCon-winning season, 34-7.
"They're going to be really well coached," said Jacobs about Princeton's team. "They don't make a lot of penalties, they don't beat themselves. You've got to be ready to play because if you're not, anybody can get after you."
The Bears' offense, coming off three-straight 38+ point performances, will try to capitalize on Princeton's weak defensive front, who has given up the most yards and touchdowns in the Ivy League this season. Atkinson, who is undefeated as a starter this season, will look to keep his passing volume high against a Princeton defensive line that only has one sack this season. Mercer's defense will have to deal with a highly efficient Tigers offense who is second in the Ivy League in passing yards and rushing touchdowns.
The game will kick off at noon in Princeton, N.J.
Jacob Hossler '28 is an English and Law and Public Policy double major at Mercer University. While not serving as the Sports Editor at The Cluster, he enjoys running, writing and photography.
