APSU Football travels to UT Martin, Saturday

Austin Peay (3-4 | 1-1 OVC) at UT Martin (6-1 | 2-0 OVC)
Saturday, October 30th, 2021 | 2:00pm CT
Martin, TN | Hardy Graham Stadium

Clarksville, TN – Coming off one of the most dominant rushing performances in program history, the Austin Peay State University (APSU) football team will begin the fight for the Sgt. York Trophy when it travels to No. 12 UT Martin for a 2:00pm, Saturday showdown at Hardy Graham Stadium in Martin, Tennessee.

The Sgt. York Trophy goes to the winner of the quadrangular season series between the four Ohio Valley Conference football-playing schools located in the state of Tennessee – Austin Peay State University, Tennessee State, Tennessee Tech, and UT Martin. Sgt. York is only the second traveling trophy that involves more than two teams in college sports; the other is the Commander in Chief’s Trophy which has been contested between Air Force, Army, and Navy annually since 1972.

Coming off a bye, the Governors ran for 363 yards last week – the seventh-best rushing performance in program history – with Ahmaad Tanner and Brian Snead leading the way with 134 and 133 yards, respectively. Making his first collegiate start at quarterback, Sheldon Layman added 72 yards on the ground and threw for 134 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Saturday’s game against UT Martin, as well as all regular-season home games, will be broadcast on ESPN+.

Group and individual tickets are still on sale for the Govs’ final two home games against Eastern Illinois and Tennessee Tech. Contact the ticket office at 931.221.PEAY (7329) or click the “BUY TICKETS” link at the top of this story to purchase yours today!

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Playoff-Caliber Game Awaits APSU at UT Martin

Austin Peay State University faces one of the Football Championship Subdivision’s hottest teams when it meets UT Martin in a 2:00pm, Saturday, Ohio Valley Conference contest at Hardy Graham Stadium.

The league-leading Skyhawks are the last team without a loss in OVC play and bring a six-game win streak – fifth-longest in the FCS – into Saturday’s affair. Austin Peay looks to return its name to the top of the OVC standings and bring its overall record back to .500 with a win.

Last Time Out

Behind one of the program’s most dominant rushing performances in recent history, Austin Peay circled the wagons for a 47-6 Ohio Valley Conference victory at Murray State. Ahmaad Tanner rushed for 134 yards and three touchdowns with Brian Snead adding another 133 yards and two touchdowns.

Toss in quarterback Sheldon Layman’s 72-yard effort and Austin Peay raced for 363 yards on 56 carries – their best rushing performance since 2018 at Morehead State.

Baniko Harley 2000 + 20 

With one catch – a 36-yard touchdown reception – at Murray State, Baniko Harley moved onto both the 2,000 yard and 20 touchdown plateaus. He enters Saturday’s game with 2,030 career receiving yards and 20 career touchdowns.

Harley is fifth all-time in career receiving yards and is third all-time in touchdown receptions. He needs 197 yards and five touchdown receptions to move into the next spot on each respective list.

Ahmaad Tanner To Two Thousand

Ahmaad Tanner’s 28-yard run to end the first quarter at Eastern Kentucky, September 25th, made him the ninth Governors running back to record 2,000 career rushing yards. He enters this week’s game with 2,316 rushing yards after a career-best 134 rushing yards at Murray State.

Tanner needs 247 yards to move past Mike Lewis (1985-89) for sixth on the Govs all-time list.

Sheldon To QB1 at Murray State

Following the Govs off week, APSU head coach Scotty Walden turned to Sheldon Layman as the starting quarterback at Murray State.

He led APSU to their first win in October, becoming the first APSU quarterback to win their debut at starter since at least 1996.

Pick Leader

Johnathon Edwards nabbed his fourth interception of the year against Southeast Missouri in Week 6.

He is one of only ten FCS players with four or more interceptions in 2021 and only one off the FCS lead set by a trio of players with 5 interceptions.

Nationally, he is also tied for seventh in picks per game (0.60).

The Ten-Tackle Quartet

Kordell Jackson, who missed back-to-back games and the bulk of a third due to injury, posted a career-high 12 tackles against Southeast Missouri in his first full game since the Ole Miss contest. He is the fourth Govs defender to post 10-plus tackles in a game this season.

He joined linebacker Jack McDonald (10 tackles against both Eastern Kentucky and Southeast Missouri) and both defensive back Shamari Simmons and nickel back Koby Perry, who each had 11 tackles at Ole Miss.

Scotty Walden; Or, Life at Austin Peay

Scotty Walden was hired as Austin Peay State University’s 21st head football coach in November 2020. He coached 11th game as head coach – the equivalent of one full season – at Eastern Kentucky, finishing that “season” with a 6-5 record.

He is the seventh head coach to post a winning record in their first 11 games as head coach.

About the UT Martin Skyhawks

This is the 69th meeting all-time in a series that UT Martin leads 39-27-2, Austin Peay is looking to get its first win at Hardy Graham Stadium in Martin since 1994.

A week after handing Murray State its first home loss of 2021, Austin Peay State University faces a UT Martin team that also is unbeaten at home this season. The Skyhawks are 3-0 this season at Graham Stadium and have won four straight in their friendly confines. UTM has scored at least 33 points in each of those games, averaging 39.8 points per game during the home win streak.

The Skyhawks are one of two OVC teams, along with Southeast Missouri, that lean run-heavy offensively.  UTM is averaging 228.7 rushing yards per game against 201.3 passing yards per game. Three UTM rushers rank among the OVC’s Top 10: RB Peyton Logan (2nd, 94.7 ypg), RB Zak Wallace (7th, 54.4 ypg), and QB Keon Howard (8th, 48.4 ypg).

UT Martin’s defense also leans toward run-stopping.  The Skyhawks are second in the OVC in rushing defense, limiting opponents to 122 yards per game and only six touchdowns on the ground. Meanwhile, UTM ranks sixth in passing defense, allowing 259.7 yards per game and 16 touchdowns. That favors an APSU offense ranked No. 1 in passing (271.4 ypg) and No. 3 in rushing (170.3 ypg).

Peyton Logan is the OVC’s No. 2 rusher this season, averaging 94.7 yards per game. However, he enters this week’s game after posting 159 yards against Southeast Missouri, the 4th best rushing performance in the league of the season. Logan also has the OVC’s No. 2 rushing effort with 179 yards at Northwestern State and its No. 6 receiving outing with 122 yards against Samford.

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Next Up For APSU Football

The Austin Peay State University football team returns home for a 2:00pm, November 6th contest against Eastern Illinois. The Govs have won the last two meetings played in Clarksville against the Panthers, including a 2019 affair that saw the Govs clinch that season’s OVC title.