By: Casey Crigger, Assistant Director of Athletics Communications (Exclusive for LetsGoPeay.com)
Well, here we are again. For the second time in six years, the Austin Peay football team is one of – if not the first team – left out of the FCS Playoffs.
Back in 2017, it was an 8-4 season with an 8-1 record against FCS teams and a 7-1 record in Ohio Valley Conference games. The Govs lost on the road against three FBS teams – Cincinnati, Miami (OH), and UCF – and their only FCS loss was to No. 4 Jacksonville State, who won the OVC and were the third-overall seed in the FCS Playoffs.
This year the Governors went 7-4. They went 7-1 against FCS teams and posted a 3-2 mark in the ASUN Conference, and unlike in 2017, the Govs were conference champions, winning the ASUN in its inaugural season. The Govs lost three FBS games – Western Kentucky, Jacksonville State, and No. 8 Alabama – and yes, Jacksonville State in an FBS game because the Gamecocks played the season with more than 63 scholarships.
Now, the Govs one FCS loss this season was worse than their one FCS loss in 2017, but the Central Arkansas team that beat Austin Peay this year was a team that also claimed an ASUN Conference title in 2022.
But these aren't the first two times a deserving Austin Peay football team has been left out of the NCAA postseason, just ask alumni Gordon Powers, who tweeted about the 1977 OVC Championship team being left out of the NCAA Division II Playoffs 47 years ago.
So, the question is: why?
Why is Austin Peay football left out of the FCS Playoffs again when they have more than a deserving resume? Well, our head coach Scotty Walden has his thoughts on why…
"Unfortunately, we are still fighting daily for national respect," said Walden. "People love labels because it makes them comfortable. At Austin Peay, our tradition isn't as rich as some the programs that got in today and there is no doubt that plays a role in the process."
So which programs benefitted from a rich tradition to make the FCS Playoffs this season? Well Program A went 7-4 overall – with all their games against the FCS – and a 4-4 conference record. But Program A has 18 conference titles, two national titles, and their 26 FCS playoff appearances are the most all-time.
Then there is Program B, who went 7-4 overall, 4-4 in conference games, and 6-4 in the FCS – it also had an FBS win. But Program B has an FCS National Championship, 16 conference titles, and their 18 FCS Playoff appearances are tied for the seventh-most all-time.
So, let's be clear, it's not Program A or Program B's fault that they got the nod for the FCS Playoffs over the Govs. Program A and Program B have historical relevance and tradition in FCS football, and that is what the selection committee chose to value for the 2022 FCS Playoffs.
Historically, the Govs may fall behind some other teams in the FCS, but recently that is just not the case. Since 2017, Austin Peay's 41 wins are the 14th most in the FCS – one behind Program A's 42 wins and three more than Program B's 38 wins. The Governors are one of 18 teams in the FCS that have won 40-plus games in the past six seasons.
Yet still, the Governors are remembered as the team that went 1-47 from 2013-16 with an 18-game and 29-game losing streak instead of a team that is 41-28 since 2017 with a pair of conference titles and a trip to the FCS Playoff Quarterfinals.
So, like Austin Peay Vice President and Director of Athletics Gerald Harrison said yesterday, "While the disappointment of not being selected for the FCS Playoffs while being 7-1against FCS opponents and defeating the nationally-ranked automatic qualifier from the ASUN on the field is real; I will not let the decision by the FCS selection committee or formulas set in a power ranking take our excitement for the future and all this 2022 football team and staff have done to bring another championship trophy to Stacheville."
There is a lot to look forward to with a football program that just posted its second-straight season and fourth season since 2017 with a winning record. We have the momentum, we have the coach, and now we have another chip on our shoulder. Just look at what some of the guys said after yesterday's heartbreaking news.
And then there are the alumni, who have been through it as players and know how the guys in the locker room feel…
So, with the 2022 season in the books for Austin Peay and all focus aimed at the 2023 campaign, I would say the Govs' schedule is a bad place to be next season. The Governors have four FCS nonconference games against Southern Illinois, ETSU, Lindenwood, and Gardner-Webb to go along with a game against Tennessee at Neyland Stadium.
The ASUN portion of the schedule is in the works, but the Govs will look to defend their 2022 ASUN Championship when that portion of the schedule kicks off. Until then, it's been a ride this season and we aren't hitting the brakes anytime soon. Full steam ahead, we've got 285 days until kickoff.
