Oct. 31 (Saturday)
Abilene Christian at Mercer (ESPN3/Nexstar), 3 p.m.

Nexstar affiliates for Oct. 31
WYCW (Greenville/Spartanburg/Asheville)
WJHL (Tri-Cities)
WCBD (Charleston)
WMUB (Macon)
WWCW (Roanoke)

Notes:
• Mercer wraps up its fall season on Saturday, Oct. 31, when the Bears host Abilene Christian in the lone Southern Conference action of the day.

• Mercer will be facing Abilene Christian of the Southland Conference for the first time in program history.

• The Bears fell to 0-2 on the season with their 49-3 loss at Army West Point on Saturday, Oct. 24. Mercer got on the board first with a 36-yard field goal by Caleb Dowden midway through the first quarter before the Black Knights claimed the lead on a touchdown with 4:34 left in the quarter.

• Mercer freshman linebacker Isaac Dowling had a game-high 16 tackles for the second straight contest. Dowling also had a game-high 2.0 sacks totaling 10 lost yards.

• Bears running back Tyray Devezin ran for 71 yards on 11 carries. With 2,151 career rushing yards, Devezin is the SoCon’s active leader.

• Abilene Christian enters the contest with an 0-3 record. After opening their season with consecutive losses to FBS foes UTEP and Army West Point, the Wildcats’ Oct. 17 Homecoming game against West Texas A&M was canceled. ACU finally returned to action on Oct. 24, three weeks after its last game, when it fell 35-32 in overtime to Southland rival Stephen F. Austin in a nonconference contest at Globe Life Park, formerly the home of the Texas Rangers.

• Chattanooga played its lone fall contest on Oct. 24, nearly pulling off the upset at FBS Western Kentucky but falling 13-10. The Mocs led for most of the contest, getting a 10-yard touchdown run from quarterback Drayton Arnold midway through the first quarter to open the scoring. The Hilltoppers answered with a field goal with 4:06 left in the first, but that was the last of the scoring in the opening half. The teams traded field goals in the third quarter before WKU claimed its lone lead of the contest on a 4-yard TD pass with 1:21 left in the game. UTC wide receiver Bryce Nunnelly returned the ensuing kickoff 102 yards for a TD, but the play was overturned when it was ruled that a Chattanooga upback had signaled for a fair catch.

• Nunnelly finished with three catches on the day to move his career total to 146, passing Pro Football Hall of Famer great Terrell Owens and Jeremy Grier and tying current New York Giant C.J. Board for sixth in school history. Nunnelly’s 28 yards on the day pushed his career total to 2,148, moving him past UTC Hall of Famer Joe Burke for third in program history.
 
• Arnold, a senior, threw for 90 yards and ran for 27 and a score in his first collegiate start.

• Sophomore running back Ailym Ford, who suffered a season-ending injury in November of last season, returned to action with 92 yards on 25 carries.

• Junior linebacker Kam Jones led the Mocs with nine tackles, while senior linebacker Rashun Freeman had eight. Freeman and sophomore linebacker Jay Person shared game-high honors with 3.0 tackles for loss each, with Person adding a forced fumble on a strip sack.

• The NCAA has granted The Citadel’s waiver request to play a 12th regular-season game this academic year. The Bulldogs will now play a full SoCon slate in the spring and will be eligible for the league’s championship and automatic bid to the FCS playoffs.

• After Mercer’s game against Abilene Christian, the SoCon is idle until Nov. 14, when Western Carolina takes the field at Liberty for its first game of the fall. The Catamounts also visit Eastern Kentucky and North Carolina to round out the SoCon’s fall slate.

Recent news:
The Citadel’s football waiver request approved by NCAA (10/29/20)
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WCU, EKU to meet in newly dubbed Opportunity Bowl (10/26/2020)
Saturday's football roundup (10/24/2020)