Once again, Mercer faces tough test against third-ranked Chattanooga
The situation is quite familiar for the Mercer Bears.
Last season, Mercer entered its game against Chattanooga preparing for the No. 3 team in the country.
The Bears and Mocs face off at 4 p.m. on Saturday in Chattanooga, and once again, the Mocs are ranked third in FCS play. Chattanooga is 5-0 overall and 3-0 in Southern Conference play, while Mercer is 2-2 and 1-1.
“You know, (Chattanooga head coach) Russ Huesman is a defensive guy. People always ask me, ‘How has Chattanooga got so good?’ And I say, ‘Well, they hired the right guy at the right time,’ ” Mercer head coach Bobby Lamb said. “Russ is a Chattanooga graduate, a defensive guy. They play hard-nosed defense, they like to run the ball on offense, and he’s done a great job of taking talent, recruiting high school talent and developing it. That’s why they’re three-time SoCon champions and looking like they’re on their way to having another great year.”
Chattanooga beat Mercer by seven points two seasons ago, while Mercer returned the favor last year with a three-point win at Five Star Stadium.
“We understand what we’re up against this week. They’re definitely not intimidated by us or scared of us,” Huesman said. “All you have to do is look at the last two games we played against them. Two years ago, they’re throwing the ball in the end zone to tie it up. Then last year, they beat us pretty soundly at their place. I thought they had a great game plan on both sides of the ball against us. Their kids played hard, and we got handled pretty well. I think they’ll come in here with a lot of confidence and be ready to go.
“We’re excited. Two good teams will be playing, and it should be a great football game.”
Chattanooga leads the conference in total offense (428.0 yards per game) and total defense (202.8 yards), while ranking second in scoring offense (39.8 points) and first in scoring defense (8.4). Mercer is fifth in total offense (389.2 yards), fourth in total defense (357.5 yards), fifth in scoring offense (25.0 points) and tied for sixth in scoring defense (29.0).
Chattanooga’s Derrick Craine is second in the conference with 104.0 rushing yards per game, while Alejandro Bennifield has thrown for 195.2 yards per game.
“The most difficult thing about Chattanooga is their offensive line and defensive line,” Lamb said. “I would argue there isn’t a better front four and front five in all of FCS football. They do a tremendous job of controlling both lines of scrimmage. We’ve got to do a great job of rushing the ball on offense and pick the times we can get the ball down the field because they rush the passer so well. Defensively, we’ve got to try to contain them and do what we do. We’re playing very hard on defense, making a lot of plays, but against this type of offense, we’ve got to be gap-sound because Craine will hurt you as a running back. It’s a big challenge.”
Chattanooga’s Keionta Davis leads the conference with five sacks, while Vantrel McMillan is tied for second with four, and Dale Warren is sixth with three.
“I’ve watched a bit of tape, and I can tell you, they don’t blitz because they don’t need to,” Mercer quarterback John Russ said. “They have a really good front four that gets to the quarterback, so if you drop back to pass, those two defensive ends will get to you. I remember two years ago as a sophomore; Davis Tull was there ... it seems like they just keep breeding defensive linemen at Chattanooga. We’ve just got to do a good job of trying to get them guessing. That’s what hopefully our game plan will do to throw a little bit, quick game and then head down at them in the run game.”
This story was originally published October 7, 2016 at 10:52 AM with the headline "Once again, Mercer faces tough test against third-ranked Chattanooga."