South Dakota State found out its playoff opponent for next weekend as Mercer defeated Gardner-Webb 17-7 on Saturday afternoon.
The Jackrabbits will now host the Bears at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium at 1 p.m.this coming Saturday in the second round of the FCS playoffs.
The Bears victory was fueled by Carter Peavys legs as Mercers quarterback opened the scoring on a two-yard run with 13:53 in the second quarter and added a 72-yard touchdown run to put Mercer ahead 14-0 with 9:18 left in the second quarter.
Gardner-Webbs Karim Page scored on a three-yard touchdown run to cut the lead down to 14-7 with 6:01 left in the second quarter but Reice Griffith kicked a 29-yard field goal with 8:48 left in the fourth quarter to put the game away.
Peavy completed 16-of-26 passes for 122 yards and added 11 carries for 43 yards and two touchdowns. Al Wooten II had 17 carries for 63 yards and Ty James led the Bears in receiving with seven catches for 100 yards.
Jaylen King completed 21-of-38 passes for 231 yards with a touchdown and three interceptions for the Bulldogs while Jayden Brown had five carries for 20 yards. A.J. Johnson led Gardner-Webb in receiving with five catches for 62 yards.
Other games in the first round of the playoffs included Sacramento State defeating North Dakota 42-35, Richmond defeating North Carolina Central 49-27, Delaware defeating Lafayette 36-34, Southern Illinois shutting out Nicholls 35-0, Chattanooga beating Auston Peay 24-21, North Dakota State winning 66-0 over Drake and Youngstown State defeating Duquesne 40-7.
The second round of the playoffs will take place on Saturday featuring the top-seeded Jackrabbits hosting Mercer, No. 2 Montana hosting Delaware, No. 3 South Dakota hosting Sacramento State, No. 4 Idaho hosting Southern Illinois, No. 5 UAlbany hosting Richmond, No. 6 Montana State hosting NDSU, No. 7 Furman hosting Chattanooga and No. 8 Villanova hosting Youngstown State.
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