Mercer goes back to basics against The Citadel

After three difficult losses in the past four weeks -- all three in Southern Conference play -- the Mercer Bears have gone back to basics this week.

That includes getting back to a run-first mentality the team has built its offense of since its inception two years ago.

Mercer will see if that plan works Saturday when it travels to Charleston, South Carolina, to face The Citadel.

"We just didn't play well, didn't make good decisions on anything," Mercer head coach Bobby Lamb said of the team's loss to VMI last week. "We have got to get back to basics, which is running the ball, blocking our guy and getting back to our offense, and our brand is to run the ball and to go with play-action passes."

Mercer is 3-4 overall and 0-3 in conference play. The Bulldogs have won three straight games to get to 5-2 overall and 4-0 in the conference.

The Citadel is tied with Chattanooga for first place in the conference.

"I think they're the surprise of the conference, I really do," Lamb said. "They're the team everybody looks at and says, 'Wow, what are they doing down there?' They're still running the same scheme, and they have pretty much the same team they had last year. They're just doing it at a higher level.

"They're playing really well on both sides of the ball. When you play well and you have confidence and things go your way, they have made some things happen."

Quarterback Dominique Allen leads the Bulldogs' option attack with 562 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns. He also has another 536 passing yards and two more touchdowns. The Bulldogs lead the conference in scoring offense and rushing offense and have four players with more than 250 yards rushing.

The Citadel defense is third in the conference in scoring defense and total defense.

"I've talked a good bit about the guys being in the second year of the system, and that's part of it," Bulldogs head coach Mike Houston said of his defense. "They understand our scheme very well this year after having the experience of last year and another offseason. I think playing together has a lot do with it, and our staff being in its second year has a lot do with it. The biggest factor is their buying in to the way we play, the way we practice, the way we prepare and the way we compete. They have bought into everything we do. They believe in each other, they believe in our defensive staff, and they're playing with a lot of confidence right now."

This story was originally published October 30, 2015 at 3:55 PM with the headline "Mercer goes back to basics against The Citadel ."