Austin Peay (4-5 | 3-3 UAC) vs. #15 Abilene Christian (6-3 | 5-1 UAC)
Saturday, November 9th, 2024 | 3:00pm CT
Clarksville, TN | Fortera Stadium
Clarksville, TN – In the first of three-straight home games to close the 2024 regular season, the Austin Peay State University (APSU) football team takes on No. 15 Abilene Christian in a United Athletic Conference battle, Saturday, at 3:00pm on Military Appreciation Day: Stacheville’s Salute to Service at Fortera Stadium.
Austin Peay State University returns home after picking up a 31-17 win at North Alabama to improve to 4-5 overall and 3-3 in UAC play. With three games remaining, the Governors sit in sixth place in the UAC standings, while Abilene Christian – who was picked to finish seventh in the preseason poll – leads the league with a 5-1 record in conference action.
Abilene Christian is the fourth top-15-ranked team the APSU Govs have played this season and the third they have hosted in Fortera Stadium. Austin Peay State University is looking for its first ranked win of the Jeff Faris Era and its first ranked win since beating No. 20 Central Arkansas, 14-14, on November 18th, 2023. A win against the Wildcats on Saturday would mark the Governors’ fifth all-time win against a top-15 team at home and the first since beating No. 13 Murray State, 34-31, on April 3rd, 2021.
Dating back to 2014, Austin Peay State University is 6-3 and has won six-straight games on Military Appreciation Day. The Governors are 1-3 at Fortera Stadium this season and are 29-11 at home since the start of the 2017 season. The Wildcats are 2-2 on the road this season and are 7-9 on the road under third-year head coach Keith Patterson.
Last time out, quarterback Austin Smith completed 19-consecutive passes to open the game at North Alabama en route to going 31-of-35 for 406 yards and four touchdowns. Jaden Barnes – who was named the UAC Offensive Player of the Week – led the Govs’ receivers at UNA, hauling in 12 catches for 241 yards and three touchdowns. Smith’s 406 passing yards were the fourth-best single-game mark in program history, while Barnes’ 241 receiving yards were the second-best single-game receiving total in Austin Peay State University history – trailing only Harold “Red” Roberts’s program-record 252 yards against Murray State in 1969.
On the ground, Austin Peay State University has rushed for 201.0 yards per game and 4.79 yards per carry in its last six contests. Four Governors have rushed for over 150 yards in the last six games, while six Govs have rushed for a touchdown in that stretch. La’Vell Wright has paced Austin Peay State University’s ground game this season, rushing for 477 yards and four touchdowns on 78 carries.
Defensively, Austin Peay State University ranks 11th in the FCS and second in the UAC with 11 interceptions this season. Six Governors have recorded an interception this season, led by Sammy Anderson Jr., who intercepted a pass in a program-record four-straight games from September 7th-18th. In addition to the pass defense, Dion Hunter and Jaden Lyles rank fourth and fifth in the UAC with 8.1 and 7.9 tackles per game this season, respectively.
Single-game and group tickets are available online at LetsGoPeay.com/BuyTickets, through TicketMaster, or by calling the Austin Peay State University Athletics ticket office at 931.221.PEAY (7329). Special ticket offers and information on everything happening in and around Fortera Stadium can be found in this week’s Fan Experience preview.
Fans can also purchase tickets to the Blazin’ VIPeay Zone, presented by Buffalo Wild Wings, available at all home games this season. Buffalo Wild Wings will provide all-you-can-eat food and drinks – including beer in the Blazin’ VIPeay Zone, which will be located in the south end zone of Fortera Stadium under the scoreboard and will open one hour prior to kickoff, when the gates open, before closing at the end of halftime.
Saturday’s game will be streamed on ESPN+ with Alex Gould and Ethan Schmidt on the call.
Notably
REPEAYT Champs
For the first time in program history, Austin Peay State University won back-to-back conference championships with the 2023 United Athletic Conference and the 2022 ASUN Conference titles. When you add in the 2019 Ohio Valley Conference championship, the APSU Govs have won three titles – in three conferences – since 2019.
The Times They Are A-Changin’
Dating back to 2017, Austin Peay State University’s 54 victories are tied for the ninth-most in the FCS and are tied for seventh-most among current FCS programs. The APSU Govs’ 54 wins are the most among UAC members since 2017, with Central Arkansas (53) and Eastern Kentucky (45) in second and third, respectively.
The Governors’ 54 victories in the past eight seasons are the most in any eight-year stretch in program history and are more than the 51 victories they had in 19 seasons from 1998-2016. The Govs also have five winning seasons since 2017 after posting just eight winning seasons in their first 39 years in the FCS (1978-2016).
November Air
Before falling to Chattanooga in the first round of the 2023 FCS Playoffs, Austin Peay State University had won 14-straight FCS games in the month of November. Still, the APSU Govs have won 15 of their last 17 games in November, with their only other loss coming to No. 8 Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa during the 2022 season finale.
The Governors have won 15-straight regular-season FCS games in November – with seven wins on the road – and last dropped a regular-season game in the 11th month when they lost at Eastern Illinois in 2018.
Faris ERA, Year I
A Knoxville, Tennessee native, Jeff Faris was named Austin Peay State University’s 22nd head football coach in December 2023.
In his first season at the helm of the APSU football program, Faris looks to join Dave Aaron (5-4, 1946), James “Boots” Donnelly (8-3, 1977), Watson Brown (7-4, 1979), Rick Christophel (7-4, 2007), Mark Hudspeth (11-4, 2019), and Scotty Walden (4-2, 2020-21) as the seventh head coach in program history to post a winning record in their first season.
With three games remaining, the Governors need to win out for Faris to become the third-straight Austin Peay head coach to have a winning record in their debut season.
All Three Phases
Against Alabama A&M, Austin Peay State University scored an offensive, defensive, and special teams touchdown in the first quarter – possibly for the first time in program history. The last game the Governors scored in all three phases was against ETSU (9/16/23); however, they weren’t scored in a single quarter.
Going deeper into Austin Peay State University’s digital recording-keeping era indicates the only other occurrence of scoring touchdowns in all three phases was in a 34-27 win against No. 11 Tennessee Tech (10/1/94).
About the Abilene Wildcats
Saturday is the first meeting between Austin Peay and Abilene Christian.
The Governors are 1-1 all-time against teams from Texas and 0-1 at Fortera Stadium against teams from the Lone Star State.
After going 5-6 overall and 3-3 in the UAC during the 2023 season, Abilene Christian was tabbed to finish sixth in the UAC’s 2024 Preseason Coaches Poll. However, the Wildcats are 6-3 overall and in first place in the UAC with a 5-1 conference record.
One of the top passing offenses in the country, Abilene Christian ranks second in the FCS in total offense (488.1), third in passing offense (317.6), ninth in scoring offense (36.6), 17th in sacks allowed (1.11), and 23rd in team passing efficiency (147.79). Nehemiah Martinez I and Blayne Taylor rank eighth and 22nd in the FCS with eight and six touchdown receptions, respectively – they also rank first and second in the UAC. In addition, Martinez I (730) and Taylor (676) rank 14th and 22nd in the FCS in receiving yards. On the ground, Isaiah Johnson has rushed for 11 touchdowns, which ranks 14th in the FCS and fifth in the UAC.
Abilene Christian ranks seventh in the UAC in total defense (418.7), scoring defense (31.2), and rushing defense (183.9) this season. Linebacker Will Shaffer ranks 23rd in the FCS and second in the UAC with 8.9 tackles per game this season, in addition to 5.5 tackles for loss and two sacks.
Quarterback Maverick McIvor leads the FCS with 2,858 passing yards this season. McIvor also ranks second in the FCS in passing yards per game (317.6), sixth in passing touchdowns (22), and 24th in passing efficiency (148.6) — he leads the UAC in all three categories.
McIvor has thrown for 300-plus yards in four games this season, including a 506-yard performance in the season opener at Texas Tech (August 31st) – the third-best single-game passing mark in the FCS this season.
Next Up For APSU Football
The second of three-straight games at Fortera Stadium to close out the regular season is up next when the Austin Peay State University football team takes on Eastern Kentucky in a November 16th, 1:00pm, UAC contest in Clarksville. The Week 11 contest between the Governors and Colonels will be streamed on ESPN+.
For news and updates throughout the 2024 season, follow Austin Peay State University football on X (@GovsFB) and Instagram (@GovsFootball) or stay tuned here at LetsGoPeay.com.
