QB Pickles accounts for 194 total yards and 3TDs in Mercer's 31-21 win over Samford

Quarterback JP Pickles ran for three touchdowns and Mercer won with relative ease over Samford 31-21BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Quarterback JP Pickles ran for three touchdowns and Mercer won with relative ease over Samford 31-21 on Saturday.Pickles threw for 108 yards on 16-of-22 passing and ran the ball 17 times for 86 yards for Mercer (6-2, 3-1 Southern), which entered ranked 18th in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 poll.Devon Caldwell ran for 134 yards on 13 carries for Mercer.In the first quarter, Pickles had scoring runs of 6 and 22 yards sandwiched between Jyarius Carter's 32-yard pick-6 of Gabarri Johnson for a 21-0 lead. Samford (1-6, 1-3) got on the board when Johnson threw a 12-yard touchdown to Preston Bird with 5:22 left in the first. The two-point conversion reduced the Bulldogs' deficit to 21-8.Ken Cherry ran for 108 yards on 13 carries for Samford.Saturday’s matchup was 33rd meeting all-time between the Bears and Samford in a series that dates all the way back to 1907.Popular ReadsThe series is now tied at 16-16-1.Mercer is off next week before hosting The Citadel on Oct. 31.Samford heads to Furman on Saturday.___Sign up for Top 25 poll alerts here. Visit the Top 25 here and see AP’s full college football coverage here.Sponsored Content by Taboola