Mercer faces No. 1 Alabama in Tuscaloosa Saturday afternoon. Here’s how to watch
Mercer football is set to take on Alabama in Tuscaloosa on Saturday.
It’s not the first time the Bears and ‘Bama have squared off in recent memory: in 2017, Mercer lost 56-0 to a Crimson Tide team that included Jalen Hurts, Tua Tagovialoa and Heisman Trophy-winner Devonta Smith.
Since the program restarted in 2013, the Bears have battled six FBS opponents, including Alabama: Army, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Memphis and Auburn.
Mercer is 0-6 in those games but has provided a challenge on a couple of occasions, including a 24-10 loss to Auburn in 2017. The Bears managed to keep it to a one-score game until Auburn scored with 4:50 left in the fourth quarter.
This week, the Bears take on an Alabama team that lost several key pieces to the NFL including Smith, quarterback Mac Jones and wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, but dominated in a Week 1, 44-13 victory over a ranked Miami team.
The Tide did not miss a beat with a new freshman quarterback Bryce Young, who finished the game 27-of-38 for 344 yards and four touchdowns.
Young looks like an early contender for the Heisman Trophy, a chance for Alabama to have back-to-back winners following Smith last season.
Mercer rolls past Skyhawks in Week 1
Mercer dominated in its opener against Point University last week, as the Bears beat the Skyhawks 69-0. Mercer broke multiple records in the blowout win, including most points in a game and most yards in a game.
The Bears spread the ball around to various players as five different players rushed for more than 50 yards and six different guys caught passes for 25 yards or more on at least two catches.
In 2018, Alabama took on another SoCon team in the Citadel, the Bulldogs unorthodox offense caused problems for the Tide early in the game. The two teams went into halftime tied 10-10. Alabama would go on to win 50-17.
Mercer also runs an unorthodox offense that features elements of the Wing-T offense with more passing sets. In his press conference this week, Alabama coach Nick Saban talked about the Mercer offense.
“Mercer runs a little different kind of offense, which is a real challenge for our defense,” Saban said. “I think it’s important to prepare the right way. Obviously, being the home opener, we’re excited to be playing and having fans back in the stadium again and taking, hopefully, one more step to normal.”
Saban added, “This is totally unique to anything that we’ve played against and will play against the rest of the season.”
The consensus spread for the game is 56.5 points in favor of Alabama. But despite the odds being squarely on the Tide’s side, Cronic said the Bears will give it their all.
“We are getting ready to play the best college football team in the country,” Cronic said. “I have never gone to a game thinking I was going to get beat. We are going to prepare, go try to win a game and play like champions, do things right and I just want us to be the very best we can be.”
How to watch
- Who: Alabama (1-0) vs. Mercer (1-0)
- When: 4 p.m. ET
- Where: Bryant-Denny Stadium, Tuscaloosa, Alabama
- TV: The SEC Network (Channel 611 on DirecTV, 404/408 on DISH Network, 77 on Cox Cable)
- Stream: ESPN+ / WatchESPN
- Radio: Mercer Sports Network, 100.9 The Creek FM and SportsMic
- Line: Alabama -56.5