Why Is Alabama Playing Mercer? 2023

Why Is Alabama Playing Mercer?

Why Is Alabama Playing Mercer
On Saturday, Alabama’s opponent, Mercer, won’t present much of a test for the Tide. We’re not comparing apples to apples here, with no disrespect intended toward the Bears. There is no guilt in the fact that Mercer is using the Alabama game as a money game for their program.

There is also no shame in the fact that Alabama could schedule a cupcake here and there in order to hone their team.
Although Alabama’s game against Miami ended up being a rout, it would be unfair to criticize the Crimson Tide of putting together an easy schedule because they also played the Hurricanes.

Miami was rated — even though it didn’t look like it last week. We are aware that Alabama will easily triumph against Mercer, but there is still a lot that can be accomplished in this matchup. In a contest that shouldn’t be close at all, here are the top five things that every Alabama fan wants to see:

Does Alabama play Mercer every year?

Gary Cosby / USA TODAY NETWORK is credited for this image. According to a story published by The Tuscaloosa News, the Alabama Crimson Tide have included the Mercer Bears on their upcoming football schedule for the year 2024. After making a request for state public records, the Tuscaloosa News was able to receive a copy of the football game contracts from the University of Alabama.

On Saturday, November 16, 2024, the University of Alabama will play host to Mercer at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
According to the wording of the deal, the Crimson Tide will guarantee payment of $600,000 to the Bears for playing in the game.
Mercer University competes in the Football Championship Subdivision as a member school of the Southern Conference (SoCon) (FCS).

The Bears ended the 2021 season with an overall record of 7-3 and a 6-2 record in Southern Conference play. Both of Alabama and Mercer’s first games against each other, which took place in Tuscaloosa in 1939 and 1940, Alabama won both games by a score of 20-0.

The Bears did not play a game at Bryant-Denny Stadium again until 2017, when they were routed there by a score of 56-0. The Crimson Tide were victorious against the Bears by a score of 48-14 in their fourth and most recent meeting in 2021. In additional non-conference action during the 2024 season, Alabama will play host to Western Kentucky on August 31 and the USF Bulls on September 7 before heading on the road to face the Wisconsin Badgers on September 14.

During the 2024 season of the Southeastern Conference, Alabama is slated to play at home against Auburn, Mississippi State, South Carolina, and Texas A&M. The Tide will also on the road to take on Arkansas, LSU, Ole Miss, and Tennessee. In the year 2024, Mercer’s first opponent that is not from their conference is expected to be Alabama. The upcoming games for Alabama’s football team The upcoming football schedules for Mercer

How much money did Mercer make playing Alabama?

Mercer is in no way comparable to the other people. After opening the season with a game against No.14 Miami, Alabama now has its sights set on a very different opponent for Week 2 of the season. In contrast to the Crimson Tide’s schedules during the past decade and a half, the sole FCS opponent of the season will be played on the second Saturday of the season, rather than serving as a tune-up for the Iron Bowl in November.

And this is where Mercer finds himself in a position that is one of a kind, amidst circumstances that are noteworthy.
Mercer will be the first opponent to play in front of a full-capacity crowd at Bryant-Denny Stadium since the previous FCS team played there.
This game will earn Mercer $600,000 and will take place at 3:00 p.m.

in Tuscaloosa. There wasn’t much of an audience since people weren’t aware that a worldwide epidemic was on the verge of breaking out, therefore it’s likely that there will be greater enthusiasm when this lower-level foe comes. There are a few more peculiarities that contribute to the fact that, despite the fact that it is not competitive, it is at least entertaining at the beginning of the week.

Why is Alabama Crimson Tide?

Roberts allegedly described the game as a “crimson tide” after witnessing Alabama and its rival Auburn play to a tie in muddy circumstances in Birmingham in November 1907. Auburn was anticipated to win, but Alabama played its opponent to a draw in spite of the conditions.

How many times have Alabama played Mercer?

Why Is Alabama Playing Mercer On the first Saturday of the 2021 season, the Alabama Crimson Tide will open their home slate by playing host to the Mercer Bears. After Alabama’s game against Western Carolina in late November of the 2019 season, this will be the first time that Bryant-Denny Stadium has been at its maximum capacity since then.

Mercer also pulled up a win in a runaway fashion over Point University with a score of 69 to 0.
This comes on the heels of Alabama’s dominant victory against the Miami Hurricanes.
Prior to their game on Saturday, Alabama and Mercer have only competed against one another a combined total of three times.

In the three prior meetings, Alabama came out on top each time. When these two schools competed against one another in a game during the 2017 season, Alabama came out on top with a score of 56-0. This coming Saturday at 3:00 p.m. Central Time, Bryce Young and the rest of the Tide players will attempt to bring their strong start in Atlanta back with them to their home field in Tuscaloosa.

Roll Tide Wire will provide further coverage of Alabama’s game against the Mercer Bears, so be sure to check back often.
You may follow our continuing coverage of news, notes, and opinion in Alabama by contacting us on Twitter at @RollTideWire and following us there, as well as by like our page on Facebook.

You may also follow Stacey Blackwood on Twitter by searching for her user name, which is Blackwood89.

How much does Alabama pay schools to play them?

Why Is Alabama Playing Mercer Requests for public documents were utilized by USA TODAY Sports in order to get contracts for 297 college football games that were not part of a conference and were slated to be played by Bowl Subdivision teams this season. There will be a total of roughly 175 million dollars worth of wagers placed on the sports.

The overall number of non-conference games is higher due to the fact that around 30 of them are played against private colleges or institutions that are not obligated to publish contract conditions.
In addition, Georgia Tech is owed $5 million for playing its Atlantic Coast Conference home game this weekend against Clemson at Mercedes-Benz Stadium rather than its Bobby Dodd Stadium.

Nebraska and Northwestern were paid money for their participation in a Big Ten game that was played in Dublin, Ireland, the previous weekend. This year’s matchup between California and Notre Dame, which takes place on September 17, is one of the non-conference games with one of the most expensive individual contracts.

It is expected that the Golden Bears would earn $1.9 million, which will be by far the biggest reward given to a Power Five school for playing in the stadium of its opponent. Although this is not the first contract of its sort to be made between two Power Five institutions, rewards of this scale between those programs for one-off games played at a home site are extremely uncommon.

Alabama, which will earn $1 million for playing at Texas but is then slated to pay Texas $1 million for the teams’ meeting in Tuscaloosa the following season, has the second-highest compensation between two Power Five programs. Alabama will receive $1 million for playing at Texas.

The peculiar terms of the game contract are a direct result of the state of Cal’s finances at the moment. The university is presently in the middle of implementing a strategy that will last for the next six years and will gradually lower the amount of money that it donates to the athletics department on an annual basis, with the goal of reaching $13.3 million by the 2025 fiscal year.

According to data compiled by USA TODAY Sports and the Knight-Newhouse Data project at Syracuse University, the Cal athletics program started running annual operational deficits in the 2015 fiscal year, which added up to a total of $65.8 million over a five-year period.

How much did Southern Miss get paid to play Alabama?

Why Is Alabama Playing Mercer In college football, there is a recent time-old tradition that has become commonplace over the last 20 years, and it has nothing to do with lame turnover gimmicks, the still controversial targeting rule, or money-grabbing schools realignment plans. Instead, it has to do with a tradition that has been around for a long time and has been passed down from generation to generation.

But when it comes to the Benjamins, schools, particularly those in the Power Five conferences, try every year to pad win totals by essentially writing blank checks to those institutions that are in need of a boost in revenue to their athletics departments. This is done in an effort to increase the amount of money that schools can bring in through their athletics departments.

The fourth week of the college football season was not any different. Seven different teams each received at least $900,000 in compensation to go on a tour, during which they were expected to strive to avoid returning home ashamed while also bringing back significantly more money.

The following are some of the larger payouts that were awarded on Saturday’s play.
Penn State’s opponent for the game was Villanova, a private university that is not required to disclose the amount of money it earned for playing Penn State.
Alabama-Southern Mississippi: $1.9 million Despite the fact that it was a Saturday, the reigning national champions were able to get in an additional practice session.

When the Tide scored a touchdown by taking the first kickoff back for themselves, the game was gone. Alabama leads Southern Mississippi by 63 to 14, Ohio State-Akron: $1.8 million Due to the fact that the game didn’t start until 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time (ET), the underdog Akron had to wait all day to receive the dog-walking it was anticipating.

Akron is defeated by Ohio State 59.7. $1.5 million for the states of Maryland and Kent The two schools’ football teams played one other for the first time on Saturday’s game. Let’s hope this is the last time it happens.37 points for Maryland; 16 for Kent State. $1.45 million for the University of Minnesota–Bowling Green This is a textbook example of stealing a bank without using a firearm.

Even though they were only able to muster 194 yards of offense, Bowling Green was able to leave Minneapolis with a victory and a pay check. The three turnovers committed by Minnesota were also beneficial. Following Northern Illinois’ lead, Bowling Green became the second MAC team to win while also collecting a bonus in the seven-figure range.

The victory over Georgia Tech was worth one million dollars to the Huskies.
Bowling Green wins by 14, while Minnesota loses by 10.
Iowa-Colorado State: $1.35 million The Hawkeyes’ performance against the Rams was rather lackluster, as they managed to gain only 279 yards and averaged 1.7 yards per run attempt.24 points for Iowa, 14 for Colorado State.1.25 million dollars for Auburn and Georgia State University To avoid becoming the second SEC club in the previous three years to lose to Georgia State, Auburn needed a score on fourth down with 45 seconds left and a pick-six minutes later.

Auburn has a 34–24 advantage against Georgia State. $900,000 for the region of Northwestern Ohio The Bobcats are winless through four games, and Northwestern ran all over them for 373 yards and a rout. The Wildcats have significant difficulties at quarterback moving forward, so it’s a good thing their run game is on point because it’s a good thing their ground game is on point.35 points for Northwestern; 6 for Ohio Miami (Fla.)-Central Connecticut State: $650,000 No D’Erik King, no problem.

Due to a shoulder injury, King was forced to miss this game for the Hurricanes, although the team would have been able to win even if they had used their walk-ons in its place.
Miami 69, CCSU 0.450 000 dollars for San Diego State-Townson.
Another first-time matchup that has no business being played again at any point in the future is presented here.48 points for San Diego State, 21 for Towson.

$425,000 for the match between Pittsburgh and New Hampshire Everything Important That You Should Know Regarding This Game At halftime, the Panthers held a commanding 49-0 lead and had established a new school record with 707 total yards. Pittsburgh leads New Hampshire by 77 points.7.

Why do Alabama fans say Roll Tide?

In the world of college football, “Roll Tide” is one of the most famous catchphrases. It serves as a joyous exclamation, a pleasant greeting, a recognition that is comparable to the friendly nod of the head, and a link to University of Alabama supporters throughout the world.

Nobody seems to be surprised by the fact that the university’s official mascot is an elephant rather than an anthropomorphic depiction of a wave in the ocean. “If I have on an article of clothing that says Alabama, someone is invariably going to see it and say ‘Roll Tide,'” says Olivia Arnold, the interim director of the Paul W.

Bryant Museum in Tuscaloosa, which chronicles the history and legacy of the Alabama Crimson Tide’s football program. The Paul W. Bryant Museum is located in Tuscaloosa. Arnold believes that the word was most likely coined by journalists working in the early part of the twentieth century, despite the fact that the origins of the phrase are not entirely clear.

Arnold states that the exhibit in the museum claims Hugh Roberts from the Birmingham Age-Herald as being the first person to use the term “tide” in connection to the 1907 Iron Bowl. It is said that Auburn was a huge favorite to win the game that was played in the mud, but the game ended in a draw between the teams with a score of 6-6.

Roberts described the Alabama team as looking like a “crimson tide” in his article because they left the field coated in red muck. Zipp Newman of the Birmingham News solidified the monicker’s place in the vocabulary of the institution throughout the course of the subsequent several decades.

After that point, the history becomes more obscure. Some people believe that the word “roll” was added because followers of the Alabama football team witnessed their team easily defeat other teams. Others attribute the creation of a new unauthorized battle song to a contest held in May 1926 by a student journal named Rammer Jammer.

The song “Roll Tide! Roll Tide!” serves as the climax of the updated version of “Yea Alabama!,” which was chosen as the winning music. However, the only line that appeared on the sheet music for the first performance was “Go! Roll to victory!” Many people believe that this line eventually evolved into the now-iconic yell that unites Alabama Crimson Tide fans no matter how far they go from Tuscaloosa.

What does the elephant mean in Alabama football?

The legend of how the state of Alabama came to be known as the “elephant” begins during the 1930 football season, when legendary coach Wallace Wade had put together an outstanding football squad. Everett Strupper, a sports reporter for the Atlanta Journal, published an article on October 8, 1930 about the Alabama-Mississippi game that he had seen in Tuscaloosa four days previously.

The game had taken place on October 1. According to what Strupper stated, “That Alabama team of 1930 is a classic Wade machine. They are powerful, large, rugged, fast, aggressive, and well-schooled in the basics. They are also the finest blocking squad for this early in the season that I have ever seen.” You go down and stay down when those big brutes hit you, often for an additional two minutes.

” The second squad that Coach Wade started was quite big, and they got right to their knitting, scoring a score in the first quarter despite going up against one of the greatest fighting tiny lines that I have seen. Because Ole Miss was actually competing against the established teams for every square inch of territory.

At the close of the fiscal period, the ground began to rumble and shake, and there was a low rumbling in the distance that grew louder.
It was the first time that I had seen it, and the size of the entire eleven nearly knocked me cold.
Men that I had seen play the previous year looked like they had nearly doubled in size.

“Hold your horses, the elephants are coming,” yelled an excited fan in the stands, and out stamped this Alabama varsity team. The Alabama lineman were referred to as “Red Elephants” by Strupper and other journalists for a long time, with the hue corresponding to the crimson jerseys that they wore.

What is Nick Saban upset about?

Nick Saban, the head coach of Alabama, was not pleased when his players celebrated their victory against Texas by performing horns-down signals. In the immediate aftermath of the top-ranked Crimson Tide’s 20-19 victory over the Longhorns in Austin, the players from Alabama who were responsible for making the signal overheard some choice comments from their head coach.

What time does Alabama play Mercer Saturday?

What You Need to Know: The Alabama Crimson Tide will host the Mercer Bears for a game on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET). Both sides are coming into the showdown riding high on easy victories in the games they played before this one. The Alabama Crimson Tide’s strategy against the Miami (Florida) Hurricanes from the previous week was to win every quarter in order to ensure that they would not lose the game.

In their game against Miami, Alabama’s Crimson Tide came out on top with a decisive 44-13 victory (FL). After Alabama took a halftime lead of 27-3, the contest was effectively over at that point. Bryce Young, the quarterback for Alabama, completed 38 passes for 344 yards and four touchdowns while flinging the football.

In the third quarter, Young threw a touchdown pass to WR Jameson Williams that went for 94 yards. This play was towards the top of the highlight reel. Alabama’s special teams were responsible for 14 of the team’s total points. K Will Reichard had a perfect game, going three for three at the plate.

On the other hand, Mercer defeated the Point University Skyhawks on Thursday by a score of 69 to nil, maintaining a perfect record throughout the match. By the time we reached the half, the outcome of the competition was pretty much set in stone. The score was already 42 to nil. Their victories brought both teams’ records to 1-0 at this point.

It would be fascinating to see which team steps up to give the other some humility Following both the Crimson Tide and the Bears have had great performances, so it will be interesting to see which team steps up to teach the other some humility.

What conference is Mercer football in?

Mercer University is a member of the NCAA Division I and participates in the Southern Conference. The school’s history may be seen here. The first time Mercer University competed in an athletic contest was in January 1892, when the school’s football team traveled to Athens to take against the University of Georgia.

How long has Mercer had a football team?

Historically speaking, Mercer University fielded its first football team in 1891; nevertheless, the institution did not begin routinely fielding teams until 1906. During 1917 and 1918, while the United States was actively participating in World War I, the sport was not played, but it was resumed after the war.

The Mercer Bears didn’t get their current name until 1924; before to that, they were known as the Mercer Baptists. Mercer University discontinued its participation in football following the 1941 season, which coincided with the commencement of the United States’ engagement in World War II. The university did not return to the sport when the war ended.

The program was brought back in 2013 after a sabbatical of seventy-two years; the inaugural game was played on August 31, 2013, and Mercer University prevailed against Reinhardt University by a score of forty-three to thirty-seven in front of an overflow crowd at the Moye Complex.

What is the history between Alabama and Mercer football?

Bryant-Denny Stadium will play host to the opening game of the 2021 home season for the Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday. The FCS Southern Conference members, the Mercer Bears, will be the guests for the home opener. Since the start of the 1939 season, these two teams have met three times in head-to-head competition.

The Alabama Crimson Tide won the most recent matchup, which took place in 2017, by a score of 56-0. The majority of Mercer’s losses occurred in February, March, and April of the previous season, when the team finished with a record of 5-6. In its conventional format (fall) 2019 season, Mercer finished with a record of 4-8.

Mercer kicked up the 2021 season with a victory over Point University by a score of 69-0. NAIA is the governing body for the Point University Skyhawks athletic program. There are no football scholarships available at this institution. Drew Cronic is now in his second season as the Head Coach of the Mercer team.

What is the most recent time Alabama and Mercer met?

The Alabama Crimson Tide won the most recent matchup, which took place in 2017, by a score of 56-0.
The majority of Mercer’s losses occurred in February, March, and April of the previous season, when the team finished with a record of 5-6.
In its conventional format (fall) 2019 season, Mercer finished with a record of 4-8.

Who is Alabama’s home opener opponent?

The Alabama Crimson Tide won the most recent matchup, which took place in 2017, by a score of 56-0.
The majority of Mercer’s losses occurred in February, March, and April of the previous season, when the team finished with a record of 5-6.
In its conventional format (fall) 2019 season, Mercer finished with a record of 4-8.