Sneak peek: Mercer

AUBURN | Year two of the Bryan Harsin era gets underway with a couple of warmup games before a Big Ten opponent kicks off three crucial home contests. Four of the final seven games are on the road including trips to Georgia and Alabama.

Today, we begin an early look at Auburn’s 2022 schedule with the season-opener against an FCS opponent.

WHO: Mercer (7-3 last season, 6-2 SoCon)

WHEN: Sept. 3, 6 p.m. CT, SECN+/ESPN+

WHERE: Jordan-Hare Stadium (87,451)

SERIES: Auburn leads 12-0

WHAT’S NEW: The Bears added five transfers this summer including wide receiver Trey Adkins, who was a former walk-on at South Carolina. He caught seven passes for 98 yards in three seasons for the Gamecocks.

WHO TO WATCH, OFFENSE: Wide receiver Ty James is back after a standout redshirt freshman season. James caught 26 passes for 611 yards and seven touchdowns, averaging 23.5 yards per catch. He’s a tough matchup at 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds.

WHO TO WATCH, DEFENSE: Senior Solomon Zubairu is back for his senior season after leading the team with 5.0 sacks last season. The defensive end added 34 tackles, 5.5 tackles-for-loss and one forced fumble.

OUTLOOK: Mercer will have a game under its belt, opening the season in Week 0 with a home matchup against Morehead State on Aug. 27. The Bears are coming off their best season in the Southern Conference, missing out on a championship with a loss to ETSU in the final game of the season. They enter 2022 as the No. 16 team in FCS and are a favorite to win the SoCon in 2022. They played against one Power 5 team last season, losing 48-14 at Alabama. The Bears are a solid FCS team but this should be a fairly routine win for Auburn, although the Tigers came away with just a 24-10 victory in the last matchup in 2017.