By BJ Bennett
SouthernPigskin.com

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The Mercer Bears will open SoCon play in week two when Bobby Lamb reunites with Furman in Macon.

nTimes couldn’t be more exciting at Mercer. The basketball program, fresh off its first NCAA tournament bid since 1985, defeated third-seeded Duke is now up for an ESPY for “best upset”. With the Bears now officially a member of the Southern Conference, that energy will continue this fall. xc2xa0

nMercer will be formally introduced to the Southern Conference this season riding the wave of a ten-win return to college football a year ago. Led by former Furman head coach Bobby Lamb, the Bears experienced great success in their first season since the start of World War II. Competing with the likes of Marist and San Diego in the Pioneer League, Mercer went 6-2 in conference play. Lamb signed a 20-man recruiting class this past February, adding transfers from Eastern Michigan, Tennessee and TCU.

nThe Bears will open SoCon play in week two when Lamb reunites with the Paladins as Furman comes to Macon. Mercer will be one of the most interesting teams in a league minus Appalachian State, Elon and Georgia Southern. Based on their showing a year ago, there are high expectations for a program still in its infancy. The Bears will hold their spring game on April 5th.xc2xa0xc2xa0

nLamb, who followed Bobby Johnson from 2002-2010 in Greenville, is the perfect catalyst for a program with great potential. Mercer appears to be ahead of the curve in terms of scheme efficiency and talent development. Utilizing a distinct system on both sides of the football, expect the Bears to present challenges to even the top teams in the league. In its debut season, Mercer averaged over 38 points per game and held opponents to under 24.xc2xa0xc2xa0xc2xa0xc2xa0

n”We are a very aggressive 3-4 style defense. We are going to move our front one way and our secondary is going to rotate the other way. We like to keep the offense off-balance. We like to bring the corner blitz, safety blitz and linebacker blitz,xe2x80x9d Lamb explained. xe2x80x9cOffensively we are a one-back set with an h-back. We play a lot of two tight ends and three wide receivers. We finished second in the nation in rushing this past year so we like to run the football, but you have to have playmakers out on the edge to open up the run game for you.”

nThe upcoming transition will come with both history and hardship. Mercer, at an initial numbers disadvantage, will be chasing conference co-champions Chattanooga, Furman and Samford, along with traditional power Wofford. Year one in the league features road trips to face the Bulldogs, Mocs and Terriers. That said, the Bears will take the field with a palpable confidence and belief.xc2xa0xc2xa0xc2xa0

n”The momentum has been tremendous,” Lamb acknowledged. “We will try to feel our way through the Southern Conference. We know it is going to be a tremendous challenge. We will probably be playing with about 35 scholarships in a 63 scholarship league the first year. We know what our challenges are and I think these young men are ready to roll.”

nBack in 1892, Mercer went undefeated in its first-ever second season. It was just one game, a 12-6 triumph over Georgia Tech, and the program didn’t win again until 1906. This time success will be a much-more consistent theme.