Mercer at East Carolina

Mercer comes off a losing season and is in a tough situational spot, on the road against a team bringing in a new head coach. Mercer started 2-4 to open the non-conference slate one year ago, including its first two road games while allowing 81 points per game in those two losses. East Carolina started last year 10-3 but slumped to .500 by season's end so a new coach takes over in Michael Schwartz. He was an assistant at Tulsa and Tennessee and preaches defense. That's a big plus as East Carolina did a lot of things well last year but the defense was a weak spot. With around 8,000 fans expected for the home opener, look for a big effort by the home team in front of their new coach. Play East Carolina.