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 coach
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 SamfordESPN+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 VMIESPN3W 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 WoffordESPN3L 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 ChattanoogaESPN+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

Jacksonville

1 2 3 4 Total
Dolphins 0 0 0 3 3
Bears 7 24 14 0 45

at Samford

1 2 3 4 Total
Bears 7 10 0 13 30
No. 9 Bulldogs 7 0 7 10 24

The Citadel

1 2 3 4 Total
Bulldogs 7 7 3 21 38
Bears 7 10 7 7 31

at VMI

1 2 3 4 Total
Bears 13 14 14 7 48
Keydets 7 13 0 18 38

at Yale

1 2 3 4 Total
Bears 0 14 7 7 28
Bulldogs 14 14 0 7 35

Western Carolina

1 2 3 4 Total
Catamounts 7 20 6 13 46
Bears 0 28 17 14 59

at Wofford

1 2 3 4 Total
Bears 0 0 7 14 21
No. 9 Terriers 0 14 14 14 42

East Tennessee State

1 2 3 4 Total
Buccaneers 0 14 7 0 21
Bears 7 3 5 3 18

at Chattanooga

1 2 3 4 Total
Bears 0 0 0 13 13
Mocs 0 0 3 6 9

Furman

1 2 3 4 Total
Paladins 7 13 9 6 35
Bears 7 3 14 6 30

References

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