![2311_MercerFootballPlayoffs_CiSmith-2231 A football player wearing orange runs the ball](https://den.mercer.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/2311_MercerFootballPlayoffs_CiSmith-2231-696x464.jpg)
The Mercer Bears football team garnered a 17-7 win over Gardner-Webb in the opening round of the NCAA Football Championship Series playoffs on Nov. 25 at Five Star Stadium in Macon.
It was the fifth-straight win for the Bears, who will now head to Brookings, South Dakota, on Dec. 2 to go toe-to-toe with defending national champion South Dakota State.
Read a quarter-by-quarter recap of the game at mercerbears.com.