Alabama football game against Mercer trickier than you might think

I'm sure most Alabama football fans are overlooking the Crimson Tide's game this weekend against the FCS Mercer Bears. It's the annual FCS November cupcake game that typically yields a blowout and allows a lot of the young Alabama players to gain some valuable reps.

While this game certainly could function the same way as many of the others - and I am absolutely not saying Alabama is on upset alert or this game is going to be particularly close - Mercer is a better opponent than you might think.

Mercer enters the game at 9-1 with its only loss coming on the road at Samford. The Bears boast one of the top defenses in the FCS and have held six of its 10 opponents to 10 points or less. In its last outing, Mercer shutout VMI en route to a 34-0 victory.

Mercer's ferocious pass rush is led by Brayden Manley and Arias Nash, who have combined for 12 sacks on the season. If Alabama's offensive line does not lock in and play to its ability, those two guys could make life difficult for Jalen Milroe.

Offensively, Mercer is paced by its running game. RB Dwayne McGee leads the way with 910 yards on the season, averaging 5.2 yards per carry. The Bears like to run the ball and control the clock. They'd love to limit the possessions in this game if they can.

Last season Mercer made the FCS playoffs for the first time and they are likely to make it for a second straight season.

Bill Connelly's SP+ rankings have Mercer ranked as the 5th best FCS team, and above quite a few FBS teams. Overall, Connelly has Mercer 105th in his rankings, ahead of power-four programs like Stanford and Purdue. Let any Big Ten fan you see complaining about the Crimson Tide playing an FCS program in November know that.

I say this to say: if Alabama is coming into Bryant-Denny on Saturday afternoon expecting a total pushover, they're not going to like what lines up across from them. Mercer will come prepared to play. They will play hard. If Alabama doesn't match that energy early, then this game will stay uncomfortably close for longer than it should.

Remember in 2018 when Alabama played The Citadel in November? Alabama won that game 50-17 so you might have forgotten that it was tied at 10 at halftime.

Alabama came out flat against Vanderbilt earlier this season following a big win over Georgia and immediately found themselves in a 13-0 hole that they ultimately could never overcome. Mercer is not good enough to win this game, but the last thing Crimson Tide fans want to see is their team in a dogfight with an FCS opponent.