College Football · FCS · Week 1 · Recap

Mercer Beat East Texas A&M 23-15 as Brayden Smith Goes for 131 Yards

By PSD.XYZ · Saturday, August 29, 2026

East Texas A&M Lions15@Mercer Bears23

The Mercer Bears defeated the East Texas A&M Lions 23-15 at Five Star Stadium in Macon, GA on Saturday, August 29, 2026 in FCS college football Week 1 action.

Mercer led 23-0 at halftime. The second quarter swung it: Mercer outscored its opponent 13-0.

Mercer moves to 1-0, while East Texas A&M falls to 0-1.

Top performers

• Eric Rodriguez (ETAM, QB): 16/31, 235 YDS, 1 TD, 3 INT
• EJ Oakmon (ETAM, RB): 14 CAR, 87 YDS
• Micah Simpson (ETAM, WR): 10 REC, 168 YDS, 1 TD
• Jaylen King (MER, QB): 17/30, 189 YDS, 1 TD
• Zahmari Palode-Gary (MER, RB): 8 CAR, 87 YDS
• Brayden Smith (MER, WR): 9 REC, 131 YDS

Scoring summary

1. Q1 6:45MERSimon Zeidan 55 Yd Field Goal0-3
2. Q1 3:04MERJackson Kostmayer 12 Yd pass from Jaylen King0-10
3. Q2 5:20MERSimon Zeidan 21 Yd Field Goal0-13
4. Q2 0:30MERSimon Zeidan 33 Yd Field Goal0-16
5. Q2 0:15MERCameron Goggins 38 Yd Interception Return0-23
6. Q3 6:47ETAMMicah Simpson 48 Yd pass from Eric Rodriguez7-23
7. Q4 11:10ETAMQuay Middlebrooks 1 Yd Run15-23

Team stats

Open the game field and full play-by-play