A late-season surge brought Gardner-Webb football from a 2-4 record to a conference championship and FCS playoff berth.
The Bulldogs (7-4), who won their last five games of the regular season, draw Mercer (8-3) in first-round action on Saturday. The game will be played in Macon, Ga. Kickoff is 3 p.m., with the contest being broadcast on ESPN+.
Saturday’s winner will face top-seeded South Dakota State in the second round on Dec. 2.
Here are 10 things to know about Gardner-Webb’s playoff opener:
1. This will be the Bulldogs’ second-straight trip to the postseason. GWU beat Eastern Kentucky 52-41 in the first round a year ago before falling the next week to fifth-ranked William & Mary. Mercer, meanwhile, is making its first-ever appearance in the FCS post-season tournament. The Bears revived their football program 11 years ago.
2. The Bulldogs’ only other meeting with Mercer came a year ago during a September non-conference showdown. Mercer jumped to a 21-0 lead and cruised 45-14. The teams have had no common opponents this season.
3. Mercer competes in the Southern Conference will schools like Western Carolina, Furman and Chattanooga. The Bears finished 6-2 in the league this season and currently hold national rankings of No. 17 (Stats Perform media poll) and No. 20 (AFCA coaches poll).
Like GWU, the Bears finished the season strong, winning six out of the last seven, including the final four games. One of the wins came over Western Carolina, helping to knock the Catamounts out of playoff contention.
4. Last season, Gardner-Webb debuted special black helmets for conference play and went on to win the Big South championship. The Bulldogs broke out the “black magic” lids again on Oct. 21 of this year and beat Eastern Kentucky. Gardner-Webb has worn the black helmets in every game since and has yet to lose. The only defeat in the black helmets came in the 2022 playoffs at William & Mary.
5. Drew Cronic guided Mercer to the playoffs for the first time in his four years as head coach. Before moving to the Georgia school, Cronic spent four years at Lenoir-Rhyne, helping the Bears make the Division II quarterfinals twice.
“I want people around here to get used to playing (Thanksgiving weekend) and adjust to that,” Cronic said in an interview this week, posted on Mercer’s university Web site. “I am very proud of the support that we have here that has allowed us to grow the program in the right direction.”
6. Gardner-Webb put 10 players on the recently announced Big South/OVC Football Association all-conference team. Ty French, William McRainey, Ja’Kai Young, AJ Covan and Jayden Brown each collected first-team honors. Narii Gaither, Gabriel Thompson, JaQuan Adams, Brendan Jackson and Jamari Brown earned second team status.
McRainey, who has 323 tackles in his Gardner-Webb career, also snagged the league’s top academic honor, being named Scholar Athlete of the Year. He holds a 4.0 GPA and is pursuing an MBA, according to the school.
7. GWU coach Tre Lamb served as the Mercer quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator from 2014-17 under his uncle, Bobby Lamb.
8. Ty French earned two sacks in Gardner-Webb’s regular season finale against Charleston Southern, giving him a new school record 30.5 for his career. French passed Gabe Wilkinson (1990-93) on the school’s all-time sacks leaders list. Wilkinson, who finished with 28.5 sacks during his time with the Bulldogs, went to play for the Green Bay Packers and is in the GWU Hall of Fame.
9. The Bulldogs haven’t been averse to going for it on fourth down this season — and they make it a good bit of the time. GWU ranks third in the FCS for most fourth-down conversions with 24. In the last three contests, Gardner-Webb has converted 12-of-14 fourth-down attempts, including 5-for-5 against UT Martin and 7-for-8 against Bryant.
10. Mercer’s defense has created turnovers by the bundle in recent action. The Bears have recorded 16 takeaways in the last four games.
