Longtime readers have likely noted that many of Austin Peay football's fun historical tibits have something to do with the late 1970s—the glory days, as it were, at least until this recent era of success came into effect about four years ago.

The most recent example to grace our consciousness came Sunday afternoon when the Govs traveled to Alabama for a date with seventh-ranked Jacksonville State and emerged victorious in their final meeting as Ohio Valley Conference foes for the first time since 1979… before the teams even became conference foes. It also predates the wide availability of computers, most of the Star Wars saga a hundred other cultural touchstones we take either for granted or as a given 42 years later.

So much had to go wrong for so long for this historical anomaly to play out, and so much has to go right now for it to be a reality. Sunday's 13-10 win was by no means a bloodbath or a three-score statement ala the 2019 win perhaps, but there can beauty in the simplicity of a game where three points were scored over the final two quarters of play. Every drive has the potential to be the Drive of the Game; every stop could be the one that heralds the slamming of the door. Hearts drop, flutter and skip beats at every bad snap, every drop, every ball that leads a receiver a foot too far or falls a foot too short.

And that defines much of the new era of Austin Peay football. In olden times a close game would turn those of us with a vested interest in the outcome into fatalists, certain the game would slip away in the most unlikely way imaginable—a missed PAT, a botched snap, a blown assignment in the worst spot at the worst time. Anyone who cares deeply about the outcome of the games would eventually become numb to it, become convinced of the impending doom and that's a condition that has had to be unlearned. It is unfathomably depressing to assume the worst and then be proven right and unable to enjoy the satisfaction of having called it. That's a fun headspace that takes a little time to get out of.

But there was something about watching the Austin Peay defense stonewall Jacksonville State time and again on Sunday. It wasn't just that the Govs tuned up and teed off on the Gamecocks, forcing six turnovers and making Jacksonville State signal-caller Zion Webb's life absolutely miserable for four quarters, although that certainly fell under the subheading of "Things Governor Fans Love To See." It was… safety? Confidence? Confidence is probably the better word. Confidence that if Jacksonville State made a comeback, it wouldn't be because the Governors made a comedy of fatal errors; it would be because the seventh-ranked team in the country did seventh-ranked team in the country stuff.

They didn't. The Govs didn't let them. And until the end of time—or the teams meet again somewhere down the road, whatever comes first—Austin Peay owns the last two wins in the series against the Gamecocks and the last meeting between the two on Jacksonville State's home field.

That confidence extends to everyone wearing Austin Peay across their chest. The coaches are not afraid to do things their way, even if it flies in the face of convention like repeatedly throwing with a chance to chew clock late in a close game; they trust their players, and the players as often as not reward the coaches trust in them. Maybe throwing yesterday caused you to hold your breath a little; that unshakable faith could be what drives the Govs to put a stake in the heart of their next opponent with the game on the line.

"Obviously, we were disappointed that we couldn't put the nail in the coffin right there, so to speak," said head coach Scotty Walden of the late-game passing scheme. "But they loaded the box on us and went to man coverage; we've got great receivers and we're going to give them the opportunities to go win one-on-ones. I live and die by my own sword and I'll take full responsibility for it, when it works and when it doesn't, but we're not going to be conservative. We're going to attack."

And the defense. Good golly the defense; the takeaways, the swagger, the dominance. Against that team, of all teams… if your defense has that in the bag, from the guys up front to the pursuit all over and the opportunistic secondary making every play they have the opportunity to make, it's easy to believe they'll rise to the occasion and close out games.

"Coach [Chris] Kappas did a great job of game-planning and giving our guys the opportunity to go play," Walden said. "When you put pressure on that quarterback, you allow those defensive backs to play a little freer. We did a great job of getting home and when you do that, with the great secondary that we've got, we did a great job of playing the ball in the air today."

There have been pockets of history that have engendered great faith among the faithful. There have also been… other times. The past is the past; it defines what you were. But what the Govs are is for Walden, his players and staff to determine. And every week they take another step forward and earn a little more confidence.