Mercer isn’t finished with its goals this season

Before last week’s game against Wofford, there was talk about Mercer having a chance to finish strong and get into the FCS playoffs.

Even after his team’s 31-21 loss to the Terriers, Mercer head coach Bobby Lamb isn’t ready to give up on such goals.

The Bears are 4-4 overall and 2-3 in the Southern Conference, and they are tied for fifth in the conference with Furman, a game behind Wofford. Mercer hosts East Tennessee State (3-5, 1-5) at 3 p.m. on Saturday at Five Star Stadium.

Twenty-four teams qualify for the FCS playoffs, which have been expanded this season.

“My philosophy has always been that you play the entire season and let the chips fall where they may,” Lamb said. “I still think in a 24-team field that 7-4 teams will get in. I think several did last year. But right now, we’re trying to win one game, and we’re trying to be 1-0 at the end of this week versus East Tennessee State. That’s all we’re focusing on right now, and at the end of the season, we’ll add them up and see where we fall.”

Saturday’s game is just the Bears’ fourth this season at Five Star Stadium. After losing to The Citadel in the season opener, Mercer has won its past two home games. Four of the team’s previous five games have been on the road, and Saturday is Mercer’s homecoming.

“It’s a good feeling. You don’t have the same amount of crowd support on an away game that you usually do at home,” Mercer senior safety Zach Jackson said. “It’s a good feeling to know the fans will be there to welcome us back. It’s homecoming, so there will be a lot of people with a lot of stuff going on. I’m looking forward to Saturday and know it will be a crazy environment as it always is at Five Star Stadium.”

The Bears have three remaining games, and two of them are at home. After Saturday, Mercer travels to Samford and then hosts Furman in the regular-season finale.

“I think at this point in the season … we’re 4-4 and .500, so obviously we want to win these next three games to finish 7-4 and see what happens,” Lamb said. “To do that, you’ve got to win this one. We have the mindset that we’re going to go out there and work and practice this week. I always tell them, ‘You win the game on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday practices. Then you go out and play Saturday, and hopefully the things you worked on during the week will happen for you on Saturday.’ That’s where our mindset is right now.

“We’ve got 28 seniors on this team, so I feel good and confident that that’s going to happen.”　

This story was originally published November 3, 2016 at 2:07 PM with the headline "Mercer isn’t finished with its goals this season."