Mercer Football to Black Out Jacksonville in Pivotal PFL Matchup

MACON, Ga. (MERCER RELEASE) – After back-to-back road wins, the Mercer University football team returns home for an all-important conference game with Jacksonville as the Bears look to keep pace in the race for a Pioneer Football League Championship.

With a perfect 6-0 record at home, Mercer is now one of just 27 FCS teams with an unbeaten mark at home. The Bears will look to keep that perfection in place Saturday with a 3 p.m. kickoff against Jacksonville. Head coach Bobby Lamb and Mercer University are asking fans to wear black as the Bears black out Jacksonville for game 10 of the 2013 season.

Great seats, along with standing room only tickets and berm seating are still available for the contest by clicking here.

Gameday Lineup

Date: Sat. Nov. 9 | 3 p.m. EST
Teams: Mercer (8-1, 4-1 PFL) vs. Jacksonville (4-5, 3-3 PFL)
Location: Macon, Ga. | Mercer University Stadium (10,200)
TV: n/a
Radio: New Country 96.5 | iHeartRadio
Radio Talent: Rick Cameron (play-by-play), Roger Jackson (Analyst), Craig Lawson (Sideline)
Live Stats: MercerBears.com
Twitter: @MercerFootball | #BearTrax | #BlackOutJU

Tracking the Jacksonville Dolphins

Jacksonville sports one of the most prolific offenses in the league, averaging 41.4 points per game and racking up 498.7 yards per contest. The Dolphins have thrown for 2,917 yards and eclipsed the 50-point total four different times this season.

Jacksonville is just 1-4 in road games with its only victory away from home coming in a 52-45 shootout win at Campbell.

While Mercer is second in the PFL with a +8 turnover margin, JU is in the middle of the pack, sitting sixth at +1 and turning the ball over 20 times in nine games.

The Dolphins have struggled in the fourth quarter this season, scoring just 14-percent of their points in the final 15 minutes.

Story Lines

The Bears are in the midst of their second four-game winning streak of the season and remain a half game back of Butler, Marist and San Diego for the league lead and even in the loss column with all three teams.

The top two offenses in the PFL go head-to-head Saturday with Jacksonville leading the conference at 41.4 points per game and Mercer ranking second at 40.7.

The Bears are looking to pick up their fifth-straight victory Saturday and tie the program record for consecutive wins in a season. Mercer won five straight games in 1914, 1930 and 1932 and put together a six-game winning streak that spanned two seasons from 1910-1911.

With a perfect 6-0 record at home, the Bears are tied for the most FCS home wins in the country with Sam Houston State and James Madison, while Auburn, Ohio State and Michigan State are the only FBS programs with 6-0 marks on their home field.

Mercer is one of 11 FCS programs in the country with one loss or less and the only team in the PFL with less than three losses.

Ranking as the No. 3 red zone offense in the nation, John Russ has led Mercer to 36 scores in 39 trips in the red zone, including 27 touchdowns.

The Bears have scored 30 points or more in all eight of their wins, eclipsed the 40-point plateau four times and rank seventh in the country in scoring offense at 40.7 points per contest.

With an 8-1 record and just three games left on the schedule, Mercer has secured a winning record in its return to football after the program was disbanded in 1941.

Ranking No. 2 in the country in rushing yards per game at 292.3, Mercer has rushed for 300 or more yards in five games this season, including 397 last week against Davidson. The Bears are averaging 368.6 rush yards per contest over the last three games.

John Russ ranks No. 2 in the PFL with a 148.8 pass efficiency rating. He has 92 completions, 16 touchdowns and 1,484 passing yards, while throwing just three interceptions. He has the fewest interceptions of any starting quarterback in the league.

Mike Gray’s PFL Defensive Player of the Week honor on Nov. 3 marked the fourth weekly award for the Bears this season. Gray joins teammates Alex Avant, JT Palmer and Josh Shutter to win honors from the league office. His three interceptions on the year are tied for third-best in the PFL.

JeTarii Donald continues to turn heads after rushing for 202 yards and two touchdowns against Davidson and adding 59 yards receiving, including a 51 yard touchdown reception.

John Russ ranks No. 3 in the country in passing yards per completion at 16.13. Russ has eight pass completions of 40 or more yards, including a 93-yard touchdown pass for the longest FCS completion of the year.

John Russ and Payton Usher have landed on the watch list for the nation’s top freshman according to the College Football Performance Awards. The list is the second for Usher after being named to the Jerry Rice Award watch list as the top FCS Freshman in the land.

Currently averaging 8,876 fans per game through six home games, Mercer is on pace to record the largest single-season attendance average of any team in the PFL over the last five years. Morehead State’s mark of 6,166 fans per game for five contests in 2011 leads the league over the last five seasons.

Josh Jones’ 93-yard touchdown reception from John Russ in the second quarter against Valparaiso marked the longest pass reception at the FCS level in 2013.

Alex Avant’s interception return for a touchdown to give Mercer a 17-0 lead on Drake made national headlines and earned the top play on ESPN SportsCenter’s Top 10. The highlight was also featured on Yahoo Sports and garnered 30,000 views on You Tube in less than 48 hours.

Alex Avant’s national attention for his interception return is only a glimpse into his performance over the last three weeks. He has 19 total tackles in the last three games, one tackle for loss, an interception and 35-yard return for a score.

Straight from the Lamb – Head Coach Bobby Lamb’s Game Week Quotes

Looking back at the win over Davidson…

“I was real pleased with how we handled the road trip to Davidson. It was close early, but our kids stayed focused and Lendall Arnold tips a pass and Mike Gray gets the interception and runs it back in for a touchdown to put us up 21-8 at the half. That was probably the turning point of the game. And let me say this about Mike Gray, he was elected as the PFL Defensive Player of the Week, so we are certainly happy about that as well.”

On Jacksonville’s dynamic offense…

“Going into the season Jacksonville was one of the teams you target to win the league and they’ve had success in this league the last five or six years. Here’s the thing about Jacksonville, they lead the league in points scored and if you want to see a lot of passing they are going to throw it all over the place. They’ve got some really good receivers, so we’ve got a tremendous challenge on our hands, especially on the defensive side of the ball.”

On Mercer’s offensive scheme…

“One of the things I wanted to do when I came into this league is be a little bit different than everyone else. And if you look at our stats we are way ahead of everybody in the rushing statistic and time of possession. We’re a spread team that likes to run the football first to set up our play-action pass game. Everybody else is throwing it all over the field and their stats are very high on the other end. So we want to be a little different and I think we’ve accomplished that. It’s going to be key for us Saturday to keep the ball out of their hands, maintain some drives and score touchdowns in the red zone.”

On the mentality of the young team…

“Every time we win a game these kids don’t know any different. They just think this is the way it’s supposed to be. We traveled again last week with 52 freshman and 4 sophomores, so it’s just remarkable what these young men have been able to accomplish. We’ve got two more games after Jacksonville but we’re in the hunt for the PFL title which is really unheard of in year one.”

On needing support from the fans…

“We need all the support we can get this week. We’re going to black out JU this week and we are going to wear black on black. We need everyone in Macon to show up wearing black and support this team in our quest to win a championship for this town and university.”