Coming off a bye week, the Auburn Tigers face the Mercer Bears in Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday November 22. After a season of tough matchups, Auburn now (theoretically) gets a break against FCS’ Mercer in Week 13. Let’s dive into the Auburn vs. Mercer 2025 college football preview.
Auburn Tigers vs. Mercer Bears 2025 College Football Preview
Matchup History
The Tigers and Bears have faced 13 times in their history, and Auburn is undefeated in those matchups. The two schools started playing in 1896, paused after 1922 and picked back up in 2017. They last played in 2022 when Auburn won 42-16. Interim head coach, DJ Durkin, goes for his first win as interim head coach. Durkin has stated that quarterback Ashton Daniels will not play to preserve his redshirt and remain available to play again in 2026. This leads to the question of who will start at quarterback and what other key players will step up to help them.
Auburn Tiger Key Offensive Players
As mentioned, Ashton Daniels will not play. So our first key player, Jeremiah Cobb, will have to have a good game. Expect Cobb to get at least 20 carries in this game, unless Auburn gets out to a huge lead early and they bench starters to preserve health. Cobb is 96 yards short of becoming the 31st running back in Auburn history to eclipse 1000 yards in a season. He should get that number against Mercer. Cobb is averaging eight yards per catch and could impact the game in the passing attack. Providing a safety valve to the quarterback would add to Cobb’s already tremendous value.
The next key player is freshman quarterback Deuce Knight. While DJ Durkin has not committed to a starter, he stated that both Knight and Jackson Arnold would play. Many Auburn fans worry that Knight is planning to transfer after this season due to a lack of playing time. They also thought Auburn would be much better, allowing Knight to get in late in games to get some experience. Unfortunately, the offense only scored more than 30 points three times. Playing Knight gives the Auburn faithful a glance towards the future. It also allows players like Cam Coleman and Perry Thompson to catch balls from their (potential) future starting quarterback. The flip side is that if this goes terribly, Auburn will know that Deuce is not the quarterback of the future. This is not the hope, as Auburn fans want Knight with the Tigers.
Cam Coleman is our final key player. His catch radius is ridiculous, and we finally saw how good he can be when an offense is called correctly for him (and his quarterback can get him the ball). Coleman is another player Auburn fans worry about transferring because he is a top wide receiver in the country. He can play anywhere. However, home for Coleman is in Phenix City, not far from Auburn. The hope is that DJ Durkin knows this, and peppers Cam with as many targets as he wants. This will also help Knight in his first start ever.
Mercer Key Offensive Players
Mercer is prominent on offense in their conference, scoring 41.7 points per game. The Bears are lead by freshman quarterback Braden Atkinson, and he is the first key player for Mercer. Atkinson has 3253 passing yards on 68.7 completion percentage with 33 touchdowns and five interceptions. His offensive line has kept him clean, with only two sacks on the year. Atkinson is not very mobile, with just 1.3 yards per carry average. So for him to have success, he is going to have to find a way to attack the Auburn secondary and not make freshman mistakes.
The Mercer Bears are not simply one-dimensional with their incredible passing attack. CJ Miller, the junior running back, has amassed 810 yards and 13 touchdowns while averaging six yards per carry. To help his freshman quarterback, Miller is going to have to continue pound the rock and give the Bear offense a semblance of balance. Miller also gets involved with the passing attack as he as accrued 23 receptions for 284 yards and three more touchdowns. His versatility is going to be vital for Mercer to have success against Auburn this week.
Adjatay Dabbs, the sophomore wide receiver, is the final key player for Mercer. He leads the team in receiving yards with 782 and is tied for first with seven receiving touchdowns. The reason Dabbs will be important is he also leads the team in yards per reception with 20.1 yards per catch. He offers an explosive element to the offense that Mercer will have to try and take advantage of to keep up with Auburn.
Auburn Key Defensive Players
Auburn should be able to dominate in the trenches against Mercer and put this game away. With that in mind, Auburn should have the opportunity to put the game away fast and get reps for players that maybe haven’t played as much. The first player that comes into mind fitting this description is Elijah Melendez.
Melendez has played meaningful snaps, but fellow linebacker Demarcus Riddick is out following shoulder surgery. With that in mind, Melendez has the opportunity to play even more. He is currently top-10 in tackles with 25 total tackles, and has recorded one sack and interception (the only reason Auburn scored anything against Kentucky). He can show how versatile he is even against a lower level of competition and will need to with the Riddick injury.
Following the theme of young players needing more playing time, key player number two is Jared Smith, freshman edge rusher. Smith has two sacks that were in key moments of the Ball State and South Alabama games. His only other game played in was against Oklahoma where he had one tackle. Smith has shown incredible athleticism in his young career and can be a future starter on the defensive line. If he doesn’t play, he’s likely to be redshirted, so expect him to play in the Alabama game and wreak havoc there.
The final freshman phenom, and key player, is AnQuon Fegans. Fegans, who has played alongside fellow freshman Eric Winters, has 22 total tackles on the season and one interception. He has been proof that DJ Durkin has recruited well and developed players on the defensive side of the ball. He can be a key player in the future of this defense and has an opportunity to showcase this against Mercer. These three key players will ultimately help effect the two phases of offense in the run and pass game and will need to have good games to help secure the win.
Mercer Bears Key Defensive Players
Junior linebacker Drew Clare is the first key player for Mercer’s defense. He leads the Bears defense with 68 total tackles and is top-5 in pass deflections with four. Clare also has 1.5 sacks on the season. The Bears are going to have to find a way to stop the run. And Clare, as the leading tackler, will have to lead that charge. If he wants to make an impact, then he will also need to find a way to increase his sack numbers. His deflections show that he is a force in multiple ways for this Bears defense.
Mercer’s defense leads their conference in sacks, and the main force in that is the next key player, Andrew Zock. Zock, a sophomore defensive lineman, leads the team with 11.5 sacks. He is just outside the top-5 in total tackles with 38 and also has three passes defended. Zock is a homewrecker, and it will be interesting to see how he fairs against SEC competition. Auburn’s offensive line has not been consistent, so expect Zock to continue his campaign and get at least another sack.
Another sophomore is the final key player for Mercer. Carmelo O’Neal is a 6-foot-4 safety that disrupts the passing attack. He leads the team with eight passes defended and is top-10 in tackles with 33, while also recording one sack on the year. His height and ability to find the ball will be a problem for almost every Auburn receiver except Cam Coleman (and maybe Perry Thompson too). Seeing his impact will likely determine the outcome of the passing attack for periods of the game.
Keys to an Auburn Victory
Run the ball, stay healthy and shut down the Mercer offense.
Auburn should have a clear athlete advantage in the trenches. They need to establish the run and the quick passing game to get Deuce Knight comfortable and then unleash the talent they have. Ultimately, they need to get up early so they can rest starters and keep them healthy for the Iron Bowl. However, they still give Deuce the proper time with them.
Defensively, find a way to make them one-dimensional and then key in on their wide receivers. The Bears have four wide receivers with at least 450 yards receiving. Stop them and you stop Mercer and win.
Auburn Tigers Recruiting Roundup
Auburn’s 2026 class is currently 25th in the nation with no new commitments or decommitments since the last article. With the Iron Bowl next week, there are currently no official visits scheduled for this week in the 2026 or 2027 classes.
Three-star running back Xavier Rucker had a visit last Wednesday. He is projected to commit to Georgia Tech, but could be someone to keep an eye on as running back is a position of need in this class.
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