Mercer remembers last year’s loss to Wofford

Mercer had its share of close losses last year in conference play in its first season in the Southern Conference.

But Wofford wasn’t one of them.

While Mercer’s first five conference losses came by a total of 31 points, including four losses by single digits, it suffered a 28-point loss to Wofford (34-6) to end the season.

“They beat us in every which way,” Mercer head coach Bobby Lamb said. “It was really a poorly coached game, a poorly played game. We did nothing right, and a lot of the credit goes to Wofford because they were ready to go.”

The two teams meet again Oct. 3, and Mercer will have two weeks to prepare for that showdown, which will be the conference opener for both teams.

Mercer is 2-1, coming off a 29-22 loss to Tennessee Tech, while Wofford is 1-2 and plays Gardner-Webb on Saturday.

“I feel a lot better,” Lamb said of this year’s Wofford game compared to last year. “If you traditionally look at Wofford and when teams play them the very first time, it’s ugly, like us last year. I think we’re better off because we played them last year, and they left a bad taste in our mouth because of the outcome of the game.

“It’s going to be a tremendous challenge; it’s here at home, and we’re going to have to play our best game.”

Mercer’s schedule through the rest of the season includes all conference games, except for one: a home game with East Tennessee State on Oct. 17. The Bucs are making the transition into the conference with the return of their program and will be full members of the conference in football next season.

“The championship season starts now,” Lamb said. “Every game from here on out is a championship game, with the exception of ETSU. When you look at this conference, I really believe this conference is as balanced as ever across the board.”

This story was originally published September 24, 2015 at 9:31 PM with the headline "Mercer remembers last year’s loss to Wofford ."