Mercer with positive takeaways on the road against Alabama, despite 48-14 loss

To begin, the positives.

• For the first five minutes of Alabama’s home opener against Mercer University, the Bears looked like they belonged. ‘Bama ran 11 plays for 7 total yards across two possessions, both which ended in punts. A third down sack by junior Solomon Zubairu punctuated a Mercer stop.
• Seven minutes into the third quarter, Mercer signal caller Fred Payton moved out of the pocket, drifted to his left... and drifted... and drifted... then launched a beautiful, arcing rainbow of a pass that crossed into the endzone, safely nested in the arms of wide receiver Devron Harper.
• Early in the fourth quarter, Payton threw another beauty, a 22-yard strike that Ty James snagged as he turned and backed into the end zone.

The result — ultimately a 48-14 Alabama victory — was never in doubt. Mercer beat Point University 69-0 last week, and the talent gap between Point and the Bears is perhaps less than the chasm that separates Alabama and Mercer football. But for an hour in Bryant-Denny Stadium Saturday afternoon, the Bears didn’t appear completely overwhelmed.

They looked like they belonged on that field... at least as much as most teams do against Alabama at home, including a ranked Miami team that lost 44-13 to the Tide last week.

What they said

“I think our kids competed... That was important for us moving forward. The problem has been, this program didn’t believe in itself, this program didn’t think they could win, they played hard when they wanted to. And now I think we’re building something, the glue is beginning to dry... we have kids who are going to play as hard as they can all the time, and we just need to execute better.” — Mercer head coach Drew Cronic on his team’s performance.

“It was the opposite end of the spectrum, wasn’t it? Our kids were going to be excited to play this game, it’s a blessing... I tell them the truth. They’re better than us, they’re the best team in the country. Can you go hang in there with them and show you belong on the same field as them?”— Cronic on going from playing Point University to Alabama.

“I think Mercer has got a good team. They’ve got a system on offense that is really difficult to prepare for because it’s not something you see all the time... I don’t know all the teams in their conference, I don’t see them all play. But I would say that this is a pretty good team at their level.” — Alabama head coach Nick Saban on Mercer’s performance.

Three stars

Jase McClellan, Alabama running back: McClellan was the beneficiary of the blocked punt early in the game as he managed to scoop it up for Alabama’s first score.

He rushed for another score in the second quarter to put the Tide up 28-0.

Finally, McClellan managed to find the end zone through the air as he caught a 21-yard touchdown in the third quarter. McClellan’s ability to impact in all facets of the game was on display against the Bears.

Fred Payton, Mercer quarterback: Twice, Payton showed Mercer fans a glimpse of what could be, especially against upcoming conference opponents. The deep ball to Harper and 22-yard touchdown pass to James demonstrated his ability. Mercer has used both Payton and Carter Peevy this season, and head coach Drew Croninc indicated that will continue moving forward.

Bryce Young, Alabama quarterback: In his second start at Alabama, Young was impressive... for the most part. The Tide got off to a slow start on offense, but Young bounced back to finish with three touchdowns and 227 yards. He completed 19 of his 27 attempts and he rushed for a key first down on third and long.

What’s next?

Mercer at Furman (Sept. 25)

The Bears have a bye week before heading on the road for their first conference game of the season. In the conference-only spring schedule, Mercer beat Furman 26-14, the first of three straight wins over ranked opponents for the Bears.

It is important for Mercer to get off to a hot start in conference play in order to maintain some momentum coming out of a game against Alabama in which the Bears were more competitive than many anticipated.