Cullowhee, N.C. – The lone remaining unbeaten team in Southern Conference play, No. 24 Western Carolina heads to Macon, Ga., and Five Star Stadium on Saturday afternoon to face second-place No. 17/14 Mercer in a crucial league matchup with first-place in the conference standings on the line.
Winners of three-straight since opening SoCon play, Western Carolina (4-3, 3-0 SoCon) faces the Mercer Bears (6-1, 3-1 SoCon) which fell from the ranks of the unbeaten in a turnover-filled upset road loss at Samford last Saturday in Birmingham, Ala. The Orange & Black return home where they've feasted on 13 of their last 15 guests to the Macon metropolitan area including six straight dating back to October of last season.
Saturday's game will be
broadcast on ESPN+ (
paid subscription required) and through the Watch ESPN app, with live audio provided by the Catamount Sports Network. The airtime of the Pepsi Tailgate Show is 2:30 p.m. ahead of the 3:30 p.m. kickoff. Fans can listen to the game between five frequencies across western North Carolina – in Sylva on 105.7 FM and 540 AM WRGC "The River" (wrgc.com); in Franklin on 104.9 FM and 1050 AM WFSC "Franklins First Voice" (1050wfsc.com); and in Asheville on WISE Sports Radio 1310 AM (wisesportsradio.com).
Live streaming audio and
live stats links are also available online through links at CatamountSports.com.
Western Carolina looks to continue its strong play away from western North Carolina and has seen the Catamounts contend on each of its four road trips, posting a 2-2 record. WCU carried a lead into the fourth quarter against then-nationally-ranked FBS-foe North Carolina State in the season opener and also went toe-to-toe with last year's NCAA FCS national runner-up at nationally-ranked Montana. The Cats have a pair of road victories at ranked foe Elon ahead of last weekend's convincing road victory over chromatic rival Furman, 52-20, as the offense got on track in a record-setting way.
The Catamounts trail in the all-time series 2-10 and look to halt an eight-game series slide that includes four-straight road defeats in Macon, Ga., against the Bears. Mercer remains the last remaining SoCon team that WCU head coach
Kerwin Bell has yet to defeat in head-to-head competition having dropped the last three meetings.
Mercer saw its six-game win streak halted at Samford last week as the opportunistic unranked Bulldogs jumped out to a 28-0 lead over the opening seven minutes and then held off the charging Bears over the remaining three quarters in the 55-35 decision. Samford scored four TDs on 10 total plays including scoring drives of five, one, three, and one play. MU scored a trio of third-quarter touchdowns but were unable to overcome the 'Dogs strong start. It was Mercer's third-straight road loss in Birmingham and its first since mid-October last season.
Saturday's matchup pits strength against strength as Western Carolina's high-powered offense faces the Southern Conference's stingiest defense. Following last week's record-setting offensive explosion, the Catamounts have regained some of the Nintendo-like statistics the squad boasted a year ago when it led the NCAA FCS with over 500 yards per game. Behind the reigning SoCon and National Offensive Player of the Week QB
Cole Gonzales, WCU has raised its seasonal yardage average to 452.4 yards per game including a conference-leading 320.6 passing yards, and is third in scoring at 28.4 points per game.
Conversely, Mercer, who enters the weekend tied with Chattanooga for second in the league, has held foes to an average of 250 offensive yards per game that leads the SoCon and includes an impressive 41.3 rushing yards per game average. The Bears have also surrendered an average of just 208 yards passing a contest. Including four games of single-digit scoring – allowing just two points to Bethune-Cookman, three points to league-foes Chattanooga and Wofford, and giving up just one TD to Princeton – Mercer paces the conference with a 14.4 point per game average against while also leading the SoCon by averaging 33.3 points.
In addition to Saturday's first-place showdown in Macon, Chattanooga (3-1) hosts VMI (0-3) in the late game with a 4 p.m. kickoff while looking to keep pace with the top two in the league. Tied for third place, ETSU (2-1) visits Wofford (1-3) with Samford (2-1) visiting Charleston and The Citadel (1-4) in the SoCon's battle between the Bulldogs.
WCU and Mercer kick off just after 3:30 p.m. on Saturday in central Georgia.
Game 8: Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024 • 3:30 p.m.
Location: Macon, Ga. (Five Star Stadium – 10,200)
Records: (RV/24) Western Carolina (4-3, 3-0 SoCon) at #17/14 Mercer (6-1, 3-1 SoCon)
BROADCAST INFORMATION:
Video Stream: ESPN+ / WatchESPN app (
subscription required)
PBP: Frank Malloy; Color: Phil Cox
Click HERE for Live Stats Link
Radio: Catamount Sports Network
PBP: Gary Ayers
Color Analyst: Daniel Hooker
Producer/Host: Jeff Bryson
CSN Broadcast Affiliates:
Sylva – 105.7 FM / 540 AM WRGC – (wrgc.com)
Franklin – 104.9 FM / 1050 AM WFSC – (1050wfsc.com)
Asheville – 1310 AM WISE Sports Radio – (wisesportsradio.com)
Click HERE to Listen 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).
