#17 Austin Peay (6-2 | 3-0 UAC) at Eastern Kentucky (4-4 | 3-0 UAC)
Saturday, November 4th, 2023 | 4:00pm CT
Richmond, KY | Roy Kidd Stadium
Clarksville, TN – In what has become the marquee rivalry game on the schedule for both sides, the No. 17 Austin Peay State University (APSU) football team will duke it out with Eastern Kentucky on Saturday, November 4th, 2023, at 4:00pm CT with first-place in the United Athletic Conference on the line at Roy Kidd Stadium in Richmond, Kentucky.
Austin Peay State University and Eastern Kentucky once again find themselves in the middle of the race for a conference title, with both teams entering Saturday’s game with a league-leading 3-0 record in UAC play.
The Governors are 6-2 overall and 3-2 on the road and enter Saturday’s game on a league-best six-game winning streak. After starting the season 0-3, Eastern Kentucky is 4-4 overall and 2-1 at home this season, with wins in four of their last five contests.
The winner of Saturday’s game takes control of the UAC title race. However, both Austin Peay State University and Eastern Kentucky have a game against third-place Central Arkansas – who is 2-1 in the UAC – still on the schedule. EKU will travel to Conway, Arkansas, next week before hosting Stephen F. Austin on November 18th in their regular-season finale. The APSU Govs close the regular season with two straight home games, hosting Utah Tech on November 11th and Central Arkansas on November 18th.
During its six-game winning streak, Austin Peay State University has outscored its opponents by 144 points, 275-131, while outgaining teams by an average of 507.2-381.8 yards. The Governors also have scored 40 or more points in four straight games for the first time in program history, topping a streak of three straight games by the 1968 squad. With a win on Saturday, the Governors would match the 2019 team for the longest winning streak in a single season in Austin Peay history.
Offensively, reigning FCS National Offensive Player of the Week Mike DiLiello leads the Governors with 21 touchdown passes and 2,279 passing yards, marks that rank third and fifth in the FCS, respectively. DiLiello eclipsed the 2,000-yard mark through the air against North Alabama, making him the first quarterback in Austin Peay State University history to throw for 2,000-plus yards in multiple seasons.
Jevon Jackson also is on pace to be the Governors first 1,000-yard rusher in over a decade with 807 yards – 11th most in the FCS – entering Saturday’s game. Jackson has averaged 143.0 yards per game and 5.96 yards per carry in the five games since CJ Evans Jr. suffered a season-ending injury.
Trey Goodman and Tre Shackelford also rank first and second in the UAC with 75.9 and 71.0 receiving yards per game this season. Goodman also ranks 11th in the FCS and leads the league with six touchdown catches, while Shackelford’s three touchdown grabs are tied for 13th in the league.
On defense, Tyler Long and Sam Howard rank 21st and 39th in the FCS with 9.5 and 8.5 tackles per game, respectively this season. Howard also leads the Governors with 9.5 tackles for loss per game, he has a tackle for loss in seven straight games, and ranks third in the UAC with 1.19 tackles for loss per game this season.
Austin Peay State University’s defense ranks fifth in the FCS and leads the UAC in third-down defense this season. The Governors have held opponent’s to a 28.5 percent (35-123) conversion rate this season and have forced three-and-outs on 24.3 percent (27-111) of their opponents drives 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 State University’s 47 victories are tied for 11th most in the FCS and are the most in any seven-year stretch in program history. The APSU Govs’ 47 wins are the most among United Athletic Conference members since 2017 with Central Arkansas (45, t-17th) and Eastern Kentucky (39, t-31) being the only other UAC programs to crack the Top 45 in the FCS.
The Governors’ 47 victories in the past seven seasons are eight more wins than the 39 victories they had in 15 seasons from 2002-16.
All The Above
After Garrett Hawkins was named the United Athletic Conference’s Freshman of the Week on October 2nd, Austin Peay State University became the first team in the conference to have a player earn each of the league’s four weekly awards this season.
Mike DiLiello, September 18th and October 30th, and Kam Thomas, September 18th and October 23rd, have been named Offensive and Special Teams Player of the Week twice each, respectively, while Cedarius Doss was the league’s defensive player of the week, September 25th.
Austin Peay State University’s six weekly awards lead the UAC this season, and the Governors were the only team to have won all four awards until they were joined by Utah Tech following Week 9.
Breaking The Stone
For just the 30th 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 28 times since the start of the 2018 season.
Since 2018, the Governors are 15-12 in games in which they are ranked and are 15-8 against FCS opponents in games where they are ranked. With Scotty Walden at the helm, Austin Peay is 6-5 overall and 6-4 against FCS opponents in games where it is ranked in the FCS national polls.
November Air
Head coach Scotty Walden is 5-1 overall and 5-0 against FCS opponents in the month of November at APSU. Last season, Austin Peay State University beat North Alabama and Kennesaw State before falling to No. 8 Alabama for their first loss in the 11th month under Walden.
Austin Peay State University has won 11-straight FCS games in November – with five wins on the road – and last dropped a game in the month when they lost at Eastern Illinois in 2018.
Scotty Walden; Or, Life At Austin Peay State University
After just 36 games at Austin Peay State University, Scotty Walden‘s 23 wins are the fourth 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 seven wins away from becoming the fourth APSU coach to win 30 games and is 10 wins away from matching Emory Hale for the third most wins by a head coach in program history. With a 23-13 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 Eastern Kentucky Colonels
Saturday is the 55th meeting between long-time Ohio Valley Conference rivals Austin Peay State University and Eastern Kentucky. The Colonels lead the all-time series, 47-7.
Austin Peay State University has won three of the last five meetings with EKU, including two of the last three contests at Roy Kidd Stadium in Richmond, Kentucky.
Coming off a 52-41 loss at home to Gardner-Webb in the first round of the 2022 FCS Playoffs, Eastern Kentucky was tabbed to win the United Athletic Conference in the league’s preseason coaches poll, despite having three fewer first-place votes than second-place Central Arkansas.
Anchored by a pair of Preseason All-UAC tackles in Payton Collins and Josiah Ezirim, EKU averages 432.1 yards of total offense per game, which ranks 17th in the FCS and third in the UAC. The Colonels rank 24th in the FCS in rushing offense (181.8) and 27th in passing offense (250.4). Braedon Sloan has rushed for seven touchdowns this season, which is tied with APSU’s Jevon Jackson for 24th in the FCS and the UAC lead. However, Joshua Carter leads EKU with 605 rushing yards this season.
EKU’s defense ranks seventh in the UAC in scoring defense (35.1), total defense (498.4), and pass defense (313.5) while ranking fifth in rushing defense (184.9). The Colonels do lead the UAC with 15 turnovers gained, thanks to eight fumble recoveries, which leads the UAC and ranks 9th in the FCS. Logan Blake leads the EKU defense with 68 tackles, 4.5 TFLs, 2 INTs, one forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. Blake leads the UAC and ranks fifth in the FCS with 12.0 tackles per game.
The reigning ASUN Co-Offensive Player of the Year, Parker McKinney was a Walter Payton Award finalist and a Third Team Stats Perform All-American in 2022 before being named the Preseason UAC Offensive Player of the Year. McKinney is the active FCS leader in passing completions (985), yards (11,730), TDs (88), and total offense (13,426). Now in his sixth season at EKU, McKinney ranks 17th in the FCS in passing yards (2,003), 24th in TDs (14), and 12th in total offense (281.6) this season.
Next Up For APSU Football
After Saturday’s game at Eastern Kentucky, the Austin Peay State University football team returns to Fortera Stadium for a pair of UAC contests to close out the regular season. First, the Govs play their annual Military Appreciation game on November 11th at 1:00pm when they host Utah Tech before closing the regular season with a November 18th 1:00pm battle with Central Arkansas on Senior Day.
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.
