Cullowhee, N.C. – Looking to keep pace in a tight top-half of the Southern Conference race, Western Carolina football completes a two-game homestand on Saturday afternoon, hosting the Mercer Bears in a crucial conference matchup at E.J. Whitmire Stadium / Bob Waters Field as the university welcomes home its alumni and friends for Homecoming 2023, presented by Harris Regional and Swain Community Hospitals.
 
Western Carolina (5-2, 3-1 SoCon) is ranked 10th in the latest Stats Perform FCS Top 25 and 16th in the AFCA Coaches Poll unveiled Monday. On Thursday, the NCAA FCS Football Playoff Committee listed the Catamounts at No. 9 in its first mid-season rankings coming less than a month away from the beginning of the 2023 FCS postseason. Winners of three of its last four on the season, Mercer (5-3, 3-2 SoCon) continues to receive votes in the AFCA FCS Coaches Poll as the Bears come to Cullowhee for Saturday's 2:30 p.m. kickoff.
 
Saturday's game will be broadcast on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) with live audio from the Catamount Sports Network beginning with the Pepsi Tailgate Show at 1:30 p.m. Fans across Western North Carolina can hear the broadcast locally on five CSN affiliates frequencies: in Sylva, 105.7 FM and 540 AM WRGC "The River"; 104.9 FM and 1050 AM WFSC in Franklin; Rewind 100.3 FM "Carolina's Greatest Hits" in Asheville; and free through live streaming audio online at CatamountSports.com.
 
Fans can also follow the game with live stats accessible online at CatamountSports.com and with timely in-game updates on Twitter using @Catamounts and @CatamountsFB.
 
Sales for tickets to WCU's annual Homecoming game have again been brisk with a large crowd anticipated under near-perfect playing conditions in #CatamountCountry. Tickets and game day parking passes for Saturday's Homecoming game are available at the WCU Athletics Ticket Office, located on the first floor of the Ramsey Center; by phone at (828) 227-2401; or online at CatamountSports.com/BuyTickets.
 
WCU's Homecoming weekend includes the annual parade in downtown Sylva on Friday, Oct. 27 at 6 p.m., with a pair of Southern Conference women's soccer quarterfinal matches being held at the on-campus Catamount Athletics Complex. Top-seeded WCU faces No. 8 seed Wofford Friday at 7 p.m., in the quarterfinal nightcap (admission is FREE). In addition to Saturday's home football game (2:30 p.m. kickoff), the Catamount volleyball team returns to Ingles Court in the Ramsey Center to face league-leader The Citadel with a  7 p.m. start (admission is FREE). The weekend is capped by the semifinal round of the 2023 SoCon Women's Soccer Championship on-campus at the Catamount Athletics Complex with a 1 p.m. start.
 
For a complete listing of WCU's Homecoming Week activities, visit Homecoming.WCU.edu.
   
The Catamounts look to bounce back from a tough 29-17 loss to No. 3 Furman last Saturday in Cullowhee in one of the biggest home games in program history. WCU saw its five-game seasonal win streak snapped while suffering its first loss to a NCAA FCS opponent in nearly a full calendar year – last falling to The Citadel on Oct. 22, 2022. Mercer outscored Wofford 21-to-10 in the fourth quarter last Saturday to pull away for the 31-17 victory over the Terriers at Five Star Stadium in Macon, Ga.
 
Despite being limited to its second-lowest output of the season last week at 353 total yards including just 84 yards on the ground, WCU's high-octane offense continues to lead the NCAA FCS in output at 506.3 yards per game – one of only two teams in the nation to average over 500 yards (Montana State, 506.1 yds/gm). The Catamounts continue to boast the nation's sixth-best scoring offense (37.9 ppg), fourth in passing offense (304.0 yds/gm) and are tied for third nationally with 184 first downs.
 
Mercer counters with two of the top offensive weapons in the SoCon in first-team All-SoCon wide receivers Ty James and dual-threat Devron Harper. James leads the SoCon in receiving at 99.1 yards per game – fifth in the NCAA FCS in average while leading the NCAA with 793 total receiving yards coming on 43 catches. Harper is a two-time SoCon Special Teams Player of the Week (Sept. 11, Oct. 2) and ranks seventh in the nation with an average of 16.3 yards per punt return with two return touchdowns.
 
Collectively on Saturday, the SoCon's best offense (WCU, 506.3 yds/gm) faces the league's top total defensive squad as Mercer is limiting opponents to 322.5 yards per outing. WCU's top rushing attack (202.3 yds/gm) will be matched up against Mercer's second-best rush defense as the Bears only allow an average of 114 yards per game on the ground. The Catamounts are second with an average of 37 points per game while the Bears rank second, surrendering just 17.2 points per contest.
 
Since winning the first two series meetings in 2014 and 2015, the Catamounts have suffered seven-straight defeats in the head-to-head series with Mercer including a one-sided 49-6 road loss at then No. 12 Mercer last October. Saturday's meeting marks the 10th all-time between WCU and Mercer with the Catamounts trailing in the series 2-7 including just one win in four matchups in Cullowhee.
 
The Catamounts snapped a five-game winless drought on Homecoming Day in Cullowhee last year with a come-from-behind victory 36-29 win over Wofford and look for back-to-back Homecoming victories for the first time since winning three-straight from 2013 to 2015. WCU and Mercer have met just once on WCU's Homecoming, a 34-24 win by the Bears in 2021.
 
WCU can match its seasonal win total from 2022 at six – the most under head coach Kerwin Bell in Cullowhee – with a victory over Mercer on Saturday.
 

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Game 8: Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023  •  2:30 pm
Location: Cullowhee, N.C. (Whitmire Stadium / Waters Field – 13,790)
Records: Mercer (5-3, 3-2 SoCon) at #16/10 Western Carolina (5-2, 3-1 SoCon)

Live Stats – WCU's Sidearm Stats  |  Buy Tickets Now

BROADCAST INFORMATION:
TV Stream: ESPN+ (subscription required)
PBP: Kyle Rush; Color: Phil Cox
 
Radio/Audio: Catamount Sports Network
PBP: Gary Ayers; Producer: Jeff Bryson
 
CSN Affiliates:
Sylva – 105.7 FM / 540 AM WRGC
Franklin – 104.9 FM / 1050 AM WFSC
Asheville – Rewind 100.3 WTMT-HD2
Online: CatamountSports.com
 
Keep track of everything related to Catamount football and WCU Athletics through its social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/CatamountSports) and Twitter (@Catamounts, @CatamountsFB).