GREENVILLE, S.C. -- The FCS 17th-ranked Furman Paladins return to action this Saturday when they travel to Macon, Ga., to take on the Mercer Bears in a 3:30 p.m. Southern Conference showdown at Five Star Stadium.

The game, sponsored by Carolina Ford Dealers, will be live streamed via ESPN+ and also be aired over flagship ESPN Upstate and its four powerhouse stations: 97.7 FM/1330 AM in Greenville, and 97.1 FM/950 AM in Spartanburg, and can be accessed via RADIO.COM, the fastest growing digital audio app in the U.S., as well as through FurmanPaladins.com and Tune-In.

Fans can follow the action with StatBroadcast live stats, also available thru FurmanPaladins.com.

The contest marks the first clash between Furman head coach Clay Hendrix and his former offensive coordinator, Drew Cronic, who is in his first season as Mercer's head coach.  Cronic joined Hendrix's new Furman staff in 2017 and helped the Paladins post an 8-5 record while earning a NCAA FCS at-large playoff berth before assuming head coaching duties at Lenoir-Rhyne in 2018. 

Furman (3-2, 3-2 SoCon) owns a three-game series winning streak against Mercer (3-5, 3-2 SoCon), having claimed the 2019 meeting in Greenville, 45-10, on the strength of a 600-yard offensive performance.  Two years ago in Macon the Paladins edged the Bears, 35-30, to claim a share of the program's 14th SoCon championship.

Furman holds the all-time series lead, 10-6-2.

The Paladins look to rebound from a poor offensive performance two weeks ago, when they rushed for only 49 yards and compiled 170 total yards in a 20-18 loss to Chattanooga.

Looking to turn things around will be redshirt sophomore quarterback Hamp Sisson (67x120, 957 yds., 10 TDs), along with a stable of running backs led by senior All-SoCon performer Devin Wynn (2,382 yds.), who is just 13 yards shy of cracking Furman's Top career rushing yards chart.  Senior tackle Reed Kroeber, the Paladins' most experienced offensive lineman (39 starts), will be key to getting the Paladins' ground game on track.

Junior tight end Ryan Miller (12 rec., 173 yds., 4 TDs) has fashioned a strong spring campaign.  Two other Paladin receivers, senior tight end Jake Walker and senior wideout Ryan DeLuca, played key roles in Furman's road triumph over Mercer in 2018, each registering a pair of touchdown catches in the victory.

Furman's defense has been solid thru five games, limiting the opposition to just 91 points and 294.6 yards per game.  The Paladin stop troops have been especially tough against the run, yielding just 3.3 yards per rush and a league best 100.6 yards per game.  

Redshirt freshman linebacker Nicky Kuzemka has fashioned a strong first season as a starter, evidenced by his unit leading 32 tackles.

Paladin special teams have produced a mixed bag of results so far, highlighted by Jimmy Bleekrode's 6-of-7 field goal work and 44.8 punting average — tops in the SoCon.

Mercer is coming off a 35-28 road win over Chattanooga on Saturday.  The Bears, who played three games in the fall, knocked off Western Carolina, 45-28, two weeks ago in Macon.