2023 Mercer Bears football team

2023 Mercer Bears football
NCAA Division I Second Round, L 0–41 at South Dakota State
Conference	Southern Conference
Ranking
STATS	No. 17
FCS Coaches	No. 20
Record	9–4 (6–2 SoCon)
Head coach	Drew Cronic (4th season)
Offensive coordinator	Bob Bodine (4th season)
Defensive coordinator	Joel Taylor (4th season)
Home stadium	Moye Complex

2023 Southern Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 7 Furman $^		7	–	1					10	–	3
No. 14 Chattanooga ^		6	–	2					8	–	5
No. 17 Mercer ^		6	–	2					9	–	4
No. 23 Western Carolina		5	–	3					7	–	4
Samford		4	–	4					6	–	5
VMI		4	–	4					5	–	6
East Tennessee State		2	–	6					3	–	8
Wofford		2	–	6					2	–	9
The Citadel		0	–	8					0	–	11
$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2023 Mercer Bears football team represented Mercer University as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon) during the 2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Bears were led by fourth-year head coach Drew Cronic and played home games at Moye Complex in Macon, Georgia.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 26	3:30 p.m.	vs. North Alabama*	No. 20	Cramton Bowl Montgomery, AL (FCS Kickoff)	ESPN	W 17–7	5,566
September 2	2:00 p.m.	at No. 22 (FBS) Ole Miss*	No. 20	Vaught–Hemingway Stadium Oxford, MS	SECN+/ESPN+	L 7–73	60,097
September 9	7:00 p.m.	Morehead State*	No. 20	Five Star Stadium Macon, GA	ESPN+	W 48–22	10,722
September 23	1:00 p.m.	at No. 8 Furman	No. 21	Paladin Stadium Greenville, SC	ESPN+	L 14–38	9,387
September 30	4:00 p.m.	VMI		Five Star Stadium Macon, GA	ESPN+	W 38–3	10,769
October 7	3:30 p.m.	at East Tennessee State		William B. Greene Jr. Stadium Johnson City, TN	ESPN+	W 24–6	9,756
October 14	4:00 p.m.	No. 25 Chattanooga		Five Star Stadium Macon, GA	ESPN+	L 10–22	8,729
October 21	4:00 p.m.	Wofford		Five Star Stadium Macon, GA	ESPN+	W 31–17	8,711
October 28	2:30 p.m.	at No. 10 Western Carolina		Bob Waters Field at E. J. Whitmire Stadium Cullowhee, NC	ESPN+	W 45–38	12,154
November 4	2:00 p.m.	at The Citadel	No. 25	Johnson Hagood Stadium Charleston, SC	ESPN+	W 38–16	11,721
November 11	3:00 p.m.	Samford	No. 23	Five Star Stadium Macon, GA	ESPN+	W 28–21	9,772
November 25	3:00 p.m.	Gardner–Webb*	No. 17	Five Star Stadium Macon, GA (NCAA Division I First Round)	ESPN+	W 17–7	4,500
December 2	2:00 p.m.	at No. 1 South Dakota State*	No. 17	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium Brookings, SD (NCAA Division I Second Round)	ESPN+	L 0–41	10,171
*Non-conference game Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time