Mercer, Wofford loser likely out of playoff picture
Two teams will enter Saturday’s Mercer-Wofford game with a legitimate shot to qualify for the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.
Chances are, only one will leave that way.
They will battle in Spartanburg, S.C., in a 1:30 p.m. game with huge playoff implications for both teams as well as for the Southern Conference in general. Mercer and Wofford sport identical 4-3 records with 2-2 marks in the league as everybody tries to race to seven wins.
Barring any potential collapses, The Citadel, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and Samford all have quality nonconference wins and are in good position heading into the final month of the regular season. With a 10-1 record against nonconference FCS opponents, the SoCon could have four teams qualify for the playoffs.
A week after being listed as “in” on a playoff projection, Wofford was moved out after a 24-21 overtime loss to No. 5 The Citadel. The league currently has three teams in on most projections.
Even though both Mercer and Wofford have games remaining against teams in the top three — Mercer still has to travel to Samford, Wofford to UTC — the winner would have a leg up on the other.
“This is a great challenge for us,” Mercer coach Bobby Lamb said Monday at his news conference. “Right now we have two losses, (the Terriers) have two losses, so somebody is going to take that next step in the race. This thing is far from over; if you look at the projections, right now the Southern Conference has four teams in the 24-team field.
“We’d like to get in that conversation, but the only way we can get in that conversation is to go play well in Spartanburg.”
Players of the week
Samford wide receiver Karel Hamilton was named SoCon offensive player of the week after a career-high 16-catch, 208-yard performance against Western Carolina. It’s the fourth consecutive week a Samford player has won the offensive honor, with quarterback Devlin Hodges claiming the three prior awards. The Citadel’s Kailik Williams was named defensive player of the week, with 11 tackles and an interception on a pitch that tied the game at 21 against Wofford and helped send the game into overtime.
The Terriers’ David Marvin was named special teams player of the week after going 2-for-3 on field-goal attempts and averaging 49.6 yards on five punts in the loss.