Alabama vs Mercer Game Preview: Everything You Need To Know Before Kickoff
It's the final home game of the season for The University of Alabama as the Mercer Bears travel to Tuscaloosa for senior day.
Here's all the info you need to prepare for this morning kickoff:
No. 2 Alabama (10-0, 7-0) vs Mercer (5-5, 4-4 SoCon)
When: Saturday, November 18 at 11:00 AM/CT
Where: Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, AL
Weather: Morning temperatures will begin in the 50s and climb into the 60s at kickoff. Forecasts call for a cloudy day and unusually strong winds between 15-25 mph.
TV: SEC Network (Play-by-play: Tom Hart, color analyst: Jordan Rogers, sideline reporter: Cole Cubelic)
Radio: Crimson Tide Sports Network (Play-by-play: Eli Gold, color analyst: Phil Savage, sideline reporter: Chris Stewart). Listen on 95.3 the Bear and Tide 102.9/100.9 in Tuscaloosa or on the station apps.
Spread: Oddsmakers have not released a point spread for this game. The Crimson Tide is 4-6 ATS in 2017.
Series History: Alabama and Mercer will meet for just the third time on Saturday and the first since 1940. Frank Thomas' teams beat Mercer 20-0 in both 1939 and 1940. The program actually folded two years later and the school went without a football team from 1942-2012. Amazingly, Mercer posted winning seasons in three of its first four years back.
Last Meeting: Thanks to Wikipedia, we know that the Crimson Tide scored a touchdown in the first three quarters to defeat Mercer 20-0 in front of 6,000 people at Denny Stadium. It was the second of three-straight shutouts to start the season in Frank Thomas' 10th year as Alabama's head coach. The Tide allowed one first down and held the Bears to -17 total yards.
Last Week: Alabama needed all 60 minutes to pull out a 31-24 victory over Mississippi State. Jalen Hurts led a fourth quarter comeback that included two Bama touchdowns over the final 10 minutes to come from behind inside a raucous Davis Wade Stadium. Despite allowing the Bulldogs to possess the ball for nearly 40 minutes, the Alabama defense held State to just 330 yards of total offense and made some big stops down the stretch.
Mercer went on the road to knock of Western Carolina in its final SoCon game of the season. The Bears relied heavily on the running back duo of Tee Mitchell (26 carries, 120 yards, 1 TD) and Alex Lakes (20 carries, 87 yards, 2 TD). Mercer scored 28 first-half points and held on for a 35-33 win.