2018 Mercer Bears football team

The 2018 Mercer Bears football team represented Mercer University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by sixth-year head coach Bobby Lamb and played their home games at the Five Star Stadium. They were fifth year members of the Southern Conference (SoCon). They finished the season 5–6, 4–4 in SoCon play to finish in a three-way tie for fifth place.

2018 Mercer Bears football
ConferenceSouthern Conference
2018 record5–6 (4–4 SoCon)
Head coachBobby Lamb (6th season)
Offensive coordinatorJoe Pizzo
Defensive coordinatorMike Kolakowski
Home stadiumFive Star Stadium
(Capacity: 10,200)
2018 Southern Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
No. 13 Wofford +^  6 –2     9 –4  
No. 22 East Tennessee State +^  6 –2     8 –4  
Furman +  6 –2     6 –4  
Samford  5 –3     6 –5  
Chattanooga  4 –4     6 –5  
The Citadel  4 –4     5 –6  
Mercer  4 –4     5 –6  
Western Carolina  1 –7     3 –8  
VMI  0 –8     1 –10  
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
Rankings from STATS FCS Poll

Previous season

The Bears finished the 2017 season 5–6, 4–4 in SoCon play to finish in fifth place.

Preseason

Preseason media poll

The SoCon released their preseason media poll on July 25, 2018, with the Bears predicted to finish in fourth place.[1] The same day the coaches released their preseason poll with the Bears predicted to finish in sixth place.[2]

Media poll
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1Samford204 (20)
2Furman174 (2)
3Wofford163 (1)
4Mercer133
5Western Carolina114
6Chattanooga88
7The Citadel83
8East Tennessee State53
9VMI23
Coaches poll
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1Samford63 (7)
2Wofford53 (1)
3Furman52 (1)
4Western Carolina39
5Chattanooga34
6Mercer32
7The Citadel28
8East Tennessee State15
9VMI8

Preseason All-SoCon Teams

The Bears placed eight players on the preseason all-SoCon teams.

Schedule
DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
September 17:00 p.m.at Memphis*
ESPN3L 14–6633,697
September 86:00 p.m.Jacksonville*
ESPN3W 45–310,200
September 153:00 p.m.at No. 9 Samford
ESPN+W 30–248,717
September 224:00 p.m.The Citadel
  • Five Star Stadium
  • Macon, GA
ESPN+L 31–3811,772
September 291:30 p.m.at VMI
ESPN3W 48–383,251
October 131:00 p.m.at Yale*
ESPN+L 28–352,861
October 204:00 p.m.Western Carolina
  • Five Star Stadium
  • Macon, GA
ESPN+W 59–468,230
October 271:30 p.m.at No. 9 Wofford
ESPN3L 21–426,374
November 33:00 p.m.East Tennessee State
  • Five Star Stadium
  • Macon, GA
ESPN+L 18–2110,002
November 101:00 p.m.at Chattanooga
ESPN+W 13–98,014
November 173:00 p.m.Furman
  • Five Star Stadium
  • Macon, GA
ESPN+L 30–358,811
  • *Non-conference game
  • Homecoming
  • Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Eastern time

Game summaries

at Memphis
1 2 3 4 Total
Bears 0 0 0 14 14
Tigers 28 28 0 10 66
See also: 2018 Memphis Tigers football team
Overall record Last meeting Result
First meeting

Jacksonville
1 2 3 4 Total
Dolphins 0 0 0 3 3
Bears 7 24 14 0 45
See also: 2018 Jacksonville Dolphins football team
Overall record Last meeting Result
2–0 2017 MERC, 48–7

at Samford
1 2 3 4 Total
Bears 7 10 0 13 30
No. 9 Bulldogs 7 0 7 10 24
See also: 2018 Samford Bulldogs football team
Overall record Last meeting Result
10–13–1 2017 SAM, 20–3

The Citadel
1 2 3 4 Total
Bulldogs 7 7 3 21 38
Bears 7 10 7 7 31
See also: 2018 The Citadel Bulldogs football team
Overall record Last meeting Result
5–9–1 2017 MERC, 24–14

at VMI
1 2 3 4 Total
Bears 13 14 14 7 48
Keydets 7 13 0 18 38
See also: 2018 VMI Keydets football team
Overall record Last meeting Result
3–1 2017 MERC, 49–14

at Yale
1 2 3 4 Total
Bears 0 14 7 7 28
Bulldogs 14 14 0 7 35
See also: 2018 Yale Bulldogs football team
Overall record Last meeting Result
First meeting

Western Carolina
1 2 3 4 Total
Catamounts 7 20 6 13 46
Bears 0 28 17 14 59
See also: 2018 Western Carolina Catamounts football team
Overall record Last meeting Result
2–2 2017 MERC, 35–33

at Wofford
1 2 3 4 Total
Bears 0 0 7 14 21
No. 9 Terriers 0 14 14 14 42
See also: 2018 Wofford Terriers football team
Overall record Last meeting Result
6–4 2017 WOF, 28–27

East Tennessee State
1 2 3 4 Total
Buccaneers 0 14 7 0 21
Bears 7 3 5 3 18
See also: 2018 East Tennessee State Buccaneers football team
Overall record Last meeting Result
2–1 2017 ETSU, 26–23

at Chattanooga
1 2 3 4 Total
Bears 0 0 0 13 13
Mocs 0 0 3 6 9
See also: 2018 Chattanooga Mocs football team
Overall record Last meeting Result
8–19–1 2017 MERC, 30–10

Furman
1 2 3 4 Total
Paladins 7 13 9 6 35
Bears 7 3 14 6 30
See also: 2018 Furman Paladins football team
Overall record Last meeting Result
6–8–2 2017 FUR, 28–21

References
  1. http://www.soconsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=21895&SPID=1781&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211735859&DB_OEM_ID=4000
  2. http://www.soconsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=21895&SPID=1781&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211735863&DB_OEM_ID=4000


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