Mercer looks for first Southern Conference win against VMI

Bobby Lamb has been around the Southern Conference for a long time, and he has seen a lot of quarterbacks come and go in the conference.

He ranks VMI's Al Cobb right there with the best.

Cobb, a sophomore, leads the conference with 249.1 passing yards per game. The Keydets (1-6 overall) travel to Five Star Stadium on Saturday in search of their first conference win after three losses.

"It's a big challenge for us, not only for our secondary, but for our pass rush. Al Cobb, I have been in this league a long time, and he's an upper-echelon Southern Conference quarterback," Lamb said. "He can throw the ball. He knows where to go with it. He's a little bit more seasoned this year than when we played him as a freshman last year. He's got more games under his belt. They've got some good, quality receivers who can really run.

"They do a nice job of spreading you out and trying to hit you in the gaps with the run game, but they like to throw the ball down the field in the passing game."

Mercer's defense is allowing 18 points and 316.7 yards per game, while the VMI offense is averaging 24.6 points and 379.7 yards. The Mercer offense is averaging 33.5 points and 484.5 yards, while the VMI is defense is allowing 37.7 points and 449.3 yards.

The Bears won last year's meeting 27-24, and that was Mercer's only Southern Conference win.

"We don't really talk about it, but in the players' minds there is probably confidence because that's the one team we beat," Lamb said. "We finished the drill and won the game, on the road. VMI is a tough place to play. But we got it done and won the game, so in the back of their minds, there is probably a little bit of confidence for them."

Mercer is 3-3 overall and 0-2, losing those games by a combined four points. The Bears beat East Tennessee State in non-conference play last week to snap their three-game losing streak.

"It was a great feeling to get that win and change the momentum for our team," safety Zach Jackson said. "Hopefully, that can carry over into this week's game."

This story was originally published October 23, 2015 at 2:23 PM with the headline "Mercer looks for first Southern Conference win against VMI."