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WCU Takes on Mercer for Homecoming and SoCon Title
WCU football has a chance to do something it has never done before this Saturday. The Mercer Bears come to Cullowhee for homecoming as the Catamounts look to capture their first ever SoCon championship at 2:30pm on ESPN+. The stage is set. Western has won 6 in a row despite dropping the first three games of the season without Taron Dickens. The Mercer Bears have technically only lost one FCS game this season, and are undefeated atop the SoCon standing. I say technically because their game against UC Davis was declared a no contest due to a weather delay. The Bears were losing 23-17 with only a few minutes remaining in the 4th quarter
By all accounts, this stands to be the single biggest game in the history of Catamount football. A win over Mercer would give Western 1st place in the SoCon standings, and would guarantee a playoff spot as long as WCU wins 1 of the next 2 games. Western would hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over Mercer, so even with 1 loss, the Cats would be SoCon champions. But that doesn’t mean it will be easy.
The Breakdown
Unfortunately, the Bears match up well with Western. Mercer’s starting QB Braden Atkinson is the only quarterback in the SoCon with more passing yards than Taron Dickens. Atkinson leads the #2 offense in the country, even ahead of the Catamounts who sit at #6. On the ground, CJ Miller leads the way for Mercer with 628 yards on 101 carries with 8 TDs on the season. Mercer might have one of the best WR groups in the FCS. They boast 3 different receivers with at least 33 receptions, and 5 different receivers with at least 2 TDs.
Mercer also has the #10 defense in the FCS, allowing only 293.9 yards per game and only 18 TDs. DL Andrew Zock leads Mercer with 9 sacks, and will be an absolute menace for the Catamounts offensive line. Even on special teams, the Bears are a threat. Kicker Reice Griffith is perfect on extra points this season, and 11/14 on field goals. This includes 2 field goals of 50 yards or more.
Keys for Catamount Victory
Despite the highly ranked defense, Mercer doesn’t actually create that many turnovers. More importantly, they only average .67 interceptions forced per game, and .22 turnovers per game. They might be efficient, but are not very good at forcing mistakes. If Western is going to have a chance, the offense cannot turn the ball over. Taron Dickens is going to have to be safe and efficient with the ball, and Boyd and Tyre will need to emphasize ball security.
Conversely, forcing turnovers is something the Catamount defense excels at, especially in the redzone. As always, one of the biggest keys to this game will be whether or not the defense can steal possessions. However, success for the Catamounts will be in the hands of record-setting QB Taron Dickens. If he plays like how he did against Furman, the Bears don’t stand a chance.
Last but not least, by far the biggest key to victory for WCU is you. That’s right, YOU. This is the most anticipated game in the history of the program. There are already less than 1000 tickets remaining for Saturday’s game. This team will need every ounce of support they can get from the likely record homecoming crowd. I have absolutely zero doubt that the Catamount faithful will show up and sellout Whitmire Stadium. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity you don’t want to miss, so if you’re in the area, get to Cullowhee, and WEAR PURPLE!
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