Clarksville, TN – For just the second time ever, the No. 24 Austin Peay State University (APSU) football team is headed west of the Continental Divide to take on Southern Utah in a Saturday 7:00pm United Athletic Conference showdown at Eccles Coliseum in Cedar City, Utah.
Riding a four-game winning streak after dismantling Gardner-Webb, 41-14, in Fortera Stadium, the Governors kick off a season-ending stretch of five-straight UAC contests against Southern Utah. The Governors are 1-0 in UAC play with a 22-20 win over Stephen F. Austin in Nacogdoches, Texas, which makes them one of four unbeaten teams in the conference with Central Arkansas and Eastern Kentucky at 2-0 and Utah Tech at 1-0.
After dropping its first two games of the season, Austin Peay State University has won four straight with two wins at Fortera Stadium and two wins on the road. The Governors have outscored opponents 178-47 on their winning streak while outgaining teams by an average of 521.3-330.5 yards of total offense.
Coming off its bye week, Southern Utah is 2-4 this season after picking up a 27-26 win at Tarleton State in UAC action two weeks ago. The Thunderbirds are 1-1 at home this season and dropped their last game at Eccles Coliseum to Central Arkansas, 29-27.
The Governors’ offense runs through Mike DiLiello, who ranks seventh in the FCS in total offense (304.8), seventh in passing yards per game (286.2), and ninth in passing yards (1,717) – he leads the UAC in all three categories. DiLiello also ranks ninth in the FCS and second in the conference with 14 passing touchdowns this season. DiLiello has completed passes to 13 different receivers this season with 11 having multiple receptions and eight having touchdown catches.
On the ground, Jevon Jackson has rushed for 100-plus yards in three consecutive games, making him the first Governor to accomplish that feat since Ryan White in 2011. Jackson ranks 19th in the FCS in rushing yards (555), 20th in rushing yards per game (92.5), and 29th in rushing touchdowns (5) – he is second in the UAC in all three categories.
Despite not recording an interception in its first two games, Austin Peay State University ranks eighth in the FCS and leads the UAC with eight interceptions. The Governors defense has an interception in four straight games and has multiple picks in each of their last three games with seven different Govs contributing an interception this season.
After Kory Chapman’s pick-six against Gardner-Webb last week, the Govs also rank second in the FCS and lead the UAC with three defensive touchdowns this season.
Averaging 8.8 tackles per game, Tyler Long leads the Governors in tackles while ranking 35th in the FCS and third in the UAC. Sam Howard also is averaging 8.0 tackles per game, which ranks 61st in the country and fifth in the UAC, while leading the Govs and ranking seventh in the UAC with 1.0 tackles for loss per game this season.
Saturday’s game will be streamed on ESPN+ with Spencer McLaughlin and Ryan Steineckert on the call.
APSU Notably
Good Directions
Dating back to 2017, Austin Peay’s 45 victories are tied for the 13th most in the FCS and are the most in any six-year stretch in program history. The Govs’ 45 wins are tied with United Athletic Conference rival Central Arkansas for the most wins among UAC members since 2017 with Eastern Kentucky (38, 35th) being the only other UAC program to crack the Top 45. The Governors’ 45 victories in the past six seasons are six more wins than the 39 victories they had in 14 seasons from 2002-16.
All The Above
Despite not winning a United Athletic Conference weekly award in the first two weeks of the season, having its bye during Week 6, and not winning an award during Week 7, Austin Peay is the only team in the UAC to have a player earn each of the league’s four weekly awards this season.
Mike DiLiello and Kam Thomas were named the offensive and special teams players of the week on September 18th. Then Cedarius Doss was named the defensive player of the week on September 25th, and Garrett Hawkins was named the UAC’s Freshman of the Week on October 2nd.
Breaking The Stone
For just the 28th week in the program’s DI history, Austin Peay State University is ranked in one of the FCS national polls. After being ranked twice in the 1970s, the APSU Govs have appeared in the STATS FCS or AFCA FCS Coaches Polls 26 times since the start of the 2018 season.
Since 2018, the Governors are 13-12 in games in which they are ranked and are 13-8 against FCS opponents in games where they are ranked. The APSU Govs also are 6-7 on the road as a ranked team since 2018. With Scotty Walden at the helm, Austin Peay State University is 4-5 overall and 4-4 against FCS opponents in games where it is ranked in one of the two FCS national polls.
Lion Chasers
The 45 newcomers are made up of 25 true freshmen and 20 transfers, eight of the transfers come from FCS programs, three are from Group of Five programs, and two are from Power Five programs. The APSU Govs also added five junior college transfers, one Division II transfer, and one NAIA transfer for the 2023 season.
Scotty Walden; or, Life at Austin Peay State University
After just 34 games at Austin Peay State University, Scotty Walden‘s 21 wins are the third most by a head coach in program history. Walden is just the fifth coach in program history to win 20 games, and by doing so in his first 33 games, he is tied with Dave Aaron — who won a program-record 44 games — as the fastest coach in program history to 20 wins.
Walden is now nine wins away from becoming the fourth APSU coach to win 30 games and is 12 wins away from matching Emory Hale for the third most wins by a head coach in program history. With a 21-13 record at Austin Peay State University, Walden also joins Aaron (44-35-6) as the only coach that ranks in the top five in APSU history in wins while having a winning record.
About the Southern Utah Thunderbirds
Saturday is the first-ever meeting between Austin Peay State University and Southern Utah. The Governors are 2-0 against first-time opponents this season and are 5-2 against first-time foes under Scotty Walden.
Saturday’s game is the second farthest west that Austin Peay has played a football game in program history, behind only a 42-14 win over No. 4 Sacramento State in the second round of the 2019 FCS Playoffs.
At 5,846 feet of elevation in Cedar City, Saturday’s game also marks the highest elevation the APSU Govs have ever played a football game, topping the 4,817 feet of elevation in the Govs 2019 FCS Playoff Quarterfinal loss to Montana State in Bozeman, Montana.
After a decade in the Big Sky Conference, Southern Utah played its first season in the Western Athletic Conference in 2022, going 5-6 overall and 2-3 in the league. After a fourth-place finish in the WAC in 2022, SUU was tabbed to finish tied for seventh in the Preseason UAC Coaches poll this season.
After having three All-WAC selections on offense during the 2022 season, center Lyle Santos was the Thunderbird’s only Preseason All-UAC selection on offense in 2023. Isaiah Wooden, who was an All-WAC selection last year, and Zach Mitchell are tied for the team lead with 32 catches for 416 yards and four touchdowns each this season. Timothy Patrick also has 13 catches for 203 yards and four touchdowns for an SUU team that ranks 28th in the FCS in passing offense (244.5) this season.
Despite no Preseason All-UAC selections on defense, SUU ranks 10th in the FCS and leads the UAC in rushing defense (91.3) this season. Trevon Gola-Callard leads SUU with 44 tackles while 2022 All-WAC selection Kohner Cullimore ranks second on the team with 43 tackles and 6.0 tackles for loss. Robert Horsey leads SUU with 7.5 TFL and 3.5 sacks, he ranks second in the UAC with 1.25 TFLs per game and third with .58 sacks per game.
After beginning his career at Snow College (2016), QB Justin Miller took a two-year mission before joining Southern Utah as a junior in 2019. Now in his fifth season at SUU, Miller is second among active FCS quarterbacks in career passing yards (8,418), passing touchdowns (59), and completions (751) — he also ranks fifth in total offense (8,278). This season, Miller ranks ninth in the FCS in passing touchdowns (14), 30th in passing yards (1,424), and 30th in total offense (239.8).
Next Up For APSU Football
After the journey to Utah, the Austin Peay State University football team returns to Fortera Stadium for Homecoming, hosting an October 28th 3:00pm contest against North Alabama. The Governors close the season with four straight United Athletic Conference contests, three of which will be played in Fotera Stadium.
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).
For news and updates throughout the 2023 season, follow APSU football on X (@GovsFB) and Instagram (@GovsFootball) or stay tuned here at LetsGoPeay.com.
