We're gonna be just fine.

If you had any doubts about this Austin Peay football team competing in a newer and better conference this season, I hope those are dispelled after watching Saturday's performance. If they aren't… I am not sure what else you could be looking for.

Western Kentucky was the No. 1 passing offense in the FBS last season, averaging 433.7 yards per game. The Govs held the Hilltoppers to just 276 passing yards, that is the lowest single-game total by a WKU quarterback since Tyrrell Pigrome threw for 180 yards against Georgia State in the 2022 Annual Lendingtree Bowl.

And to that you may say that Western Kentucky was using a brand-new quarterback and it was his first game in the system… well that "brand-new" quarterback was a DII National Champion that threw for 7,464 yards and 78 touchdowns in just two (2) seasons at West Florida.

The Hilltoppers also averaged 535.3 yards of total offense per game last season. So, you must be wondering what they racked up against the Govs in the season opener? Just 383 yards. Western Kentucky was held under 500 yards of total offense just five times last year, let alone under 400 yards and that only happened once. The Govs are the first team to keep WKU under 400 yards of total offense since Middle Tennessee held them to 352 yards on Nov. 6, 2021.

Now let's talk points. 44.2 per game for the Hilltoppers last season, they scored 40-plus points in ten games last season and hung a 59-spot on UT Martin – the last FCS team they played. Austin Peay was the first team to hold the WKU offense to under 40 points since Oct. 23, 2021, when FIU allowed just 34 points to the Hilltoppers.

On the other side of the ball, it wasn't a perfect start for the Governors offense and debut quarterback Mike DiLiello – he threw a pick on his third play from scrimmage. But that's not the important thing here. On the very next drive, DiLiello led the Govs 51 yards down the field on 12 plays and set up a Maddux Trujillo field goal. On the next Austin Peay drive, DiLiello and Co. needed just seven plays to go 83 yards and this time they got six.

I believe the quote is "It's not about how hard you can hit; it's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward."

DiLiello and the rest of the offense proved they can take a hit. And they showed it again in the second quarter, because DiLiello responded again. This time with an 11-play, 60-yard drive that he capped off with a one-yard touchdown run to bring the Govs within four points just before halftime.

Head coach Scotty Walden said it best, "We are looking forward to focusing on both the positives and negatives of today's game… We played an elite team that played for a Conference USA Championship last season and won a bowl game. We knew they were a very good football team, and I think we gave them everything they wanted.  One thing we talked about going into this one was earning their respect and the respect of others, and I think we did that today. Obviously, it hurts losing a game because we expect to win every game we play in and compete at a high level. It's disappointing that we did not walk away victorious, but it was not from an effort, attitude, and belief standpoint. Our guys fought."

The positives and the negatives. The positives are great, but you learn from the negatives. And even with the turnovers and other negatives that happened… the Govs were in a one-possession game with less than five minutes to play against an FBS team that won nine games, a bowl game, and led the nation in a whole lot of offensive categories a season ago.

"We are just a few plays away from executing a very good or perfect football game. We have to take away the turnovers and miscues," said DiLiello. "I was telling the guys in the locker room to keep their heads up because we played a very good football team today and played a very good football game too. We just have to execute the little things. It's a game of inches."

Execute the little things. The Govs have time for that and there is a lot to look forward to this season. Cause every little thing gonna be all right, see you at Fortera Stadium on Saturday.