Furman at Mercer
How they got here
Last two games
Furman · 1-1
Picked #202 in the preseason · now #171 — better than expected.
1-1 in its last two — but nothing on this résumé beats a top-40 team yet.
L 9–56 @ TennesseeTop 25 #43 of 669
lost by 47 as a 49-point underdog
W 20–3 vs Anderson (SC) #282 of 669
Last two games
Mercer · 2-0
Picked #167 in the preseason · now #179.
Two straight wins — but still hunting a ranked opponent.
W 62–3 vs Presbyterian #207 of 669
won by 59 as a 22.5-point favorite
W 23–15 vs East Texas A&M #222 of 669
won by 8 as a 22.5-point favorite
What’s at stake
Furman
- Furman needs 5 more wins in the final 9 to reach bowl eligibility.
- Furman football is built on the pride of 1988—a national championship claimed by a private school that proved it could compete with anyone. The Paladins carry that legacy while chasing a return to the national stage from within the Southern Conference, where they remain one of the FCS's most consistent programs.
Mercer
- Mercer needs 5 more wins in the final 9 to reach bowl eligibility.
- Mercer is the reinstatement program that shocked the SoCon with back-to-back titles and a perfect 2025 conference record — the bears that went from FCS reinstatement to conference dynasty in a decade.
The series
Furman leads the series 13-7-2
22 meetings since 1921 · Furman won the last meeting
- 2026Furman 20–13
- 2025Mercer 52–28
- 2024Mercer 49–23
- 2023Furman 38–14
- 2022Furman 23–13
The line, and the room
The model and the market don’t fully agree on Mercer’s chances here.
Home −15.5 · O/U 54.5
Conditions
78°F · 7 mph wind · Heavy Rain
Mercer is worth +54.1 points more at home than on the road since 2018 — top tenth of FBS, 100th percentile.
100% at home, 0% on the road against FBS opponents (1–0 home, 0–10 away).
Our model gives every stadium the same flat 2.3-point home edge (why); the books use about 3. Against the closing line this stadium reads +3.3 at home vs. away over 49 games — inside the ±9.5 noise, so the flat number is the honest one here.
Night kickoff — historically worth about half a point more to the home side against the number, and not much more than that. The visitors travel about 161 miles to get here.
Furman 20 – Mercer 13
Missed — picked Mercer, Furman won.
Recent games
Mercer
- Wk 1Wvs East Texas A&M23-15
- Wk 1Wvs Presbyterian62-3
Furman
- Wk 1Wvs Anderson (SC)20-3
- Wk 1Lat Tennessee9-56
Trajectory
Conference standings
- Mercer#70-1
- Furman#31-0
The pregame pick missed: Furman beat Mercer 20-13.