The SoCon Spread

  CULLOWHEE, N.C.-- For the first time since 2019, a SoCon team has claimed back-to-back SoCon football titles, as No. 10/12 Mercer claimed at least a share of the 2025 league title with an epic 49-47 win over No. 24 Western Carolina before a sellout crowd of 14,501 on-hand Saturday afternoon at EJ Whitmire Stadium. It was Mercer's eighth-straight win in-season, 11th-straight SoCon win in contiguous seasons, and it was also the 10th-straight win over Western Carolina in the 12th all-time clash between the two before the third-largest crowd in stadium history, and the largest crowd to see a Catamount football came since 2008. The showdown between the two top football teams in the SoCon had everything you could ask for in a matchup, but most importantly, it was a championship atmosphere that actually did live up to the anticipation and expectations coming into the clash. Mercer, which claimed the 2024 SoCon title, claimed its eighth-straight win to improve 8-1 overall and 7-0 in Sout...

CHATTANOOGA, TENN--True freshman quarterback Battle Alberson passed for 277 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for 85 yards in his first career start, as he led a Chattanooga offense that racked up 529 yards in a 45-28 win over Furman Saturday afternoon before 6,306 fans at Finley Stadium. With the win, the Mocs evened their record at 5-5 overall and 4-2 in league play, while Furman fell to 5-5 overall and 3-4 in league action. Alberson finished the day connecting on 15-of-23 passes for 277 yards and passing scores of 25, 66, 47 and 25 yards to highlight his first-career start. He finished the day with 362 yards of total offense. The true freshman rushed for 85 yards on just seven attempts. The Mocs were balanced on the offensive side of the ball, posting 277 yards through the air and another 252 on the ground. The Mocs out-gained Furman 529-368 in total yards, including 252-72 on the ground. The Mocs' ground efforts were led by Ryan Ingram, who finished with 94 yards on 22 attem...

  When: Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, 2:30 p.m. EST Who: No. 10/12 Mercer at No. 24/24 Western Carolina (Homecoming) Where: EJ Whitmire Stadium (13,742)/Cullowhee, N.C. Series: Mercer leads 9-2/12th meeting all-time How To Watch: ESPN+ Mercer Leads all-time series 9-2 2014--Western Carolina 35, Mercer 21 (Five Star Stadium/Macon, GA) 2015--Western Carolina 24, Mercer 21 (EJ Whitmire Stadium/Cullowhee, N.C.) 2016--Mercer 38, Western Carolina 24 (Five Star Stadium/Macon, GA) 2017--Mercer 35, Western Carolina 33 (EJ Whitmire Stadium/Cullowhee, N.C.) 2018--Mercer 59, Western Carolina 46 (Five Star Stadium/Macon, GA) 2019--Mercer 49, Western Carolina 27 (EJ Whitmire Stadium/Cullowhee, N.C.) 2020-21--Mercer 45, Western Carolina 28 (Five Star Stadium/Macon, GA) 2021--Mercer 31, Western Carolina 21 (EJ Whitmire Stadium/Cullowhee, N.C.) 2022--No. 12 Mercer 49, Western Carolina 6 (Five Star Stadium/Macon, GA) 2023--Mercer 45, No. 13 Western Carolina 38 (EJ Whitmire Stadium/Cullowhee, N.C.) 2024--N...

GREENVILLE, S.C.--Freshman sensation quarterback Braden Atkinson completed 28-of-49 passes for 426 yards and four touchdowns and one rushing touchdown, as Mercer claimed its seventh-straight in-season win and 10th-straight SoCon triumph in contiguous seasons, downing Furman, 52-28, Saturday afternoon before 7,867 fans at Paladin Stadium. The win sees the Bears improve to 7-1 overall and improved to 6-0 in the SoCon, while Furman fell to 5-4 overall and 3-3 in SoCon play, as the Paladins dropped their first SoCon home game of the season.  The win for the Bears was the second-straight in the series in decisive fashion against the Paladins, as Mercer closed out its 2024 SoCon title run by easily defeating Furman, 49-23, in the regular-season finale to claim the program's first conference crown of any type in 92 years.  This season's 24-point at Paladin Stadium now gives the Bears the opportunity to defend their SoCon crown from a year ago, as the win sets up a de facto SoCon titl...

  Former Furman QB Tyler Huff takes off against Mercer in the 2023 matchup in Greenville (photo courtesy of Furman athletics) Furman and Mercer set for key SoCon tilt at Paladin Stadium Saturday Fresh off its 24-14 win over arch-rival The Citadel last time out, Furman (5-3, 3-2 SoCon) will be back at home to face off against league-leading and No. 15/13 Mercer (6-1, 5-0 SoCon) at Paladin Stadium for a 2 p.m. kickoff against the reigning league champion Bears. The Paladins and Bears are the past two SoCon champions, with Mercer claiming the 2024 crown--its first in program history and Furman won its league-standard 15th SoCon crown and first outright crown in 34 years two years ago--as the two look to remain in both the hunt for the SoCon and regular-season titles. For Mercer, it is looking to become the first back-to-back SoCon champion since Wofford won three in a row from 2017-19. The Bears are coming off a 62-0 win at VMI on what a record-setting afternoon was, as the Bears ...