MACON, Ga. — For the first time in 92 years, the Mercer Bears sit alone at the top of a conference and have secured a bye in the first round of the NCAA FCS Playoffs.
The Bears cruised to victory on Saturday in front of their home fans against rival Furman. Mercer won its 9th straight home game by forcing three turnovers and racking up more than 500 yards on offense to take down the Paladins 49-23.
The win gave Mercer the outright Southern Conference title, its first since winning the Dixie Conference in 1932.
The Bears finished with a 10-2 record, with one of those losses coming to Alabama on the road. Mercer will head to the playoffs for the second year in a row. Last year, they knocked off Gardner Webb in the first round before falling on the road to South Dakota State.
This season, there will be no first round as Mercer will have a bye after earning one of the top seven seeds in the tournament.
The Bears will host the winner of Connecticut State and Rhode Island on Dec. 7 at Five Star Stadium. Mercer will release the kickoff time and ticket information later this week.