CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – For just the second time this season, Austin Peay State University's football team plays at Fortera Stadium when it hosts Gardner-Webb for a 1 p.m., Saturday nonconference showdown in Clarksville, Tennessee.

Riding a three-game winning streak and coming off its bye, or "Opportunity Week," the Governors look to close their nonconference slate with their fourth-consecutive win. Austin Peay won its only other game at Fortera Stadium this season with a dominating 63-3 win over ETSU. Gardner-Webb is 0-3 on the road this season with losses to Appalachian State, Tennessee State, and East Carolina when away from Boiling Springs, North Carolina.

The Governors went 4-1 at Fortera Stadium last season and were 4-0 at home against FCS opponents. After beating ETSU in the 2023 home opener, the Govs have won eight straight games at Fortera Stadium against FCS foes, dating back to the 2021 season. The Govs lone home loss during that stretch was to an FBS-bound Jacksonville State team.

Before the bye week, the Govs rolled past Lindenwood, 52-10, behind 690 yards of total offense, which was the third-best single-game total in program history. The Governors defense also intercepted three first-quarter passes to go along with a fumble recovery in the rout of the Lions.

During the Govs three-game winning streak, they are outscoring opponents 137-33 and winning games by an average score of 45.7-11.0. Austin Peay has also outgained teams by an average of 536.7-340.7 yards on the winning streak.

Mike DiLiello, the catalyst for the Austin Peay offense, ranks eighth in the FCS in total offense (292.0), eighth in points responsible for per game (16.8), 12th in passing yards per game (269.0), 12th in passing efficiency (154.1), and 14th in completion percentage (.673), – he leads the United Athletic Conference in all five categories. DiLiello also ranks 12th in the FCS in passing touchdowns (12) and 18th in passing yards (1,345).

Jevon Jackson has also found another gear on the ground in the Govs last two outings, rushing for 177.5 yards and 1.5 touchdowns per game while averaging 7.25 yards per carry on 49 attempts.

Defensively, linebackers Tyler Long and Sam Howard rank fourth and sixth in the UAC with 8.6 and 7.8 tackles per game this season, respectively. After forcing just two fumbles in its first two games, the Austin Peay defense has recorded six interceptions and two fumble recoveries during the three-game winning streak. The Govs rank 18th in the FCS and third in the UAC with six interceptions despite not intercepting a pass in the first two games of the season, Austin Peay also ranks 22nd in the FCS and third in the UAC in turnovers gained this season.

Single-game and group tickets are available online at LetsGoPeay.com/BuyTickets, through TicketMaster, or by calling the Austin Peay Athletics ticket office at 931-221-PEAY (7329).

The Blazin VIPeay Zone, presented by Buffalo Wild Wings, is sold out for Saturday's game against Gardner-Webb. Fans can still purchase tickets for future games to enjoy all-you-can-eat food and drinks – including beer – in the Blazin VIPeay Zone, which will be located in the south end zone of Fortera Stadium under the scoreboard and will open one hour prior to kickoff, when the gates open, before closing at the end of halftime.

For more information on everything happening in and around Fortera Stadium on Saturday, be sure to check out the Austin Peay football Fan Experience preview for this week's home opener.

Saturday's game will be streamed on the ESPN+ with Barry Gresham and Ethan Schmidt on the call, Isabella Christenson will also be reporting from the sideline. Fans also can tune into the Governors Sports Network on ESPN Clarksville (104.1 FM/540 AM) or via the TuneIn app to hear Brian Rives and Van Stokes call all the action. ESPN Clarksville will kick off its coverage with a re-airing of the Austin Peay Football Coaches Show at 11 a.m., followed by pregame coverage which begins an hour before kickoff.

INSIDE THE FILM ROOM

Check out the Governors official YouTube channel each week for new episodes of Inside The Film Room, game highlights, and much more!

NOTABLY

GOOD DIRECTIONS

Dating back to 2017, Austin Peay's 44 victories are tied for the 15th most in the FCS and are the most in any six-year stretch in program history. The Govs' 44 wins are tied with United Athletic Conference rival Central Arkansas for the most wins in the league since 2017 with Eastern Kentucky (37, 35th) being the only other UAC program to crack the Top 45. The Governors' 44 victories in the past six seasons are five 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 and having its bye during Week 6, 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, Sept. 18, after DiLiello threw for an APSU-record 441 yards and 5 touchdowns and Thomas returned a punt 89 yards for a touchdown -- the longest return in DI football in 2023. Cedarius Doss was named the UAC's Defensive Player of the Week, Sept. 25, after intercepting a pair of passes, and returning one 20 yards for a touchdown, to spark a comeback win at Stephen F. Austin. Finally, Garrett Hawkins was named the UAC's Freshman of the Week, Oct. 2, after leading the Govs with nine tackles at Lindenwood.

OPPORTUNITY WEEK FOR THE WIN

During the Scotty Walden Era, Austin Peay is 3-1 overall and 3-0 against FCS opponents when coming off a bye week, or "Opportunity Week." In three post-bye week games against FCS foes, the Governors have won by an average of score of 49.3-21.7 and have outgained opponents by an average of 489.0-285.7 yards of total offense per game. The Governors only loss off a bye week under Walden was when they dropped a 40-16 contest to Jacksonville State (10/29/22) at Fortera Stadium.

LION CHASERS

43 returning letterwinners and 17 players that redshirted a season ago have combined with 45 newcomers to make up the 2023 Austin Peay football roster. The returning letterwinners include nine returning starters on offense and a trio of returning starters on the defensive side. 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 Govs also added five junior college transfers, one Division II transfer, and one NAIA transfer for the 2023 season.

WALDEN; OR, LIFE AT AUSTIN PEAY

After just 33 games at Austin Peay, Scotty Walden is tied with Rick Christophel for the fourth most wins 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 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 10 wins away from becoming the fourth APSU coach to win 30 games and is 13 wins away from matching Emory Hale for the fourth most wins by a head coach in program history.

SCOUTING GARDNER-WEBB

• Saturday is the third meeting between Austin Peay and Gardner-Webb, the Runnin' Bulldogs won the two previous meetings in 2007 and 2008.
• Gardner-Webb is making its first trip to Clarksville since 2008, when it beat the Governors, 31-15.
• After winning the 2022 Big South title and beating Eastern Kentucky, 52-41, in the first round of the FCS Playoffs, Gardner-Webb's season ended when they fell to No. 5 seed William & Mary, 54-14, in the second round of the FCS Playoffs. This year, the Runnin' Bulldogs received a pair of first-place votes but were picked second behind Southeast Missouri in the Big South-OVC Association's preseason poll.
• Gardner-Webb returns its two leading rushers from 2022 in three-time All-Big South selection Narii Gaither and Jayden Brown. Gaither led GWU with 105.2 yards per game and seven touchdowns last season, he is averaging a team-best 84.5 yards per game with one TD this season. Brown, who rushed for 36.7 yards per game and five touchdowns as a freshman in 2022, is averaging 33.4 yards this season and leads GWU with three rushing scores.
• A defense that returns five All-Big South selections from 2022, GWU brings back its leaders in tackles, sacks, tackles for loss, and interceptions. William McRainey leads GWU with 40 tackles this season after picking up 104 tackles last season. Jamari Brown, AJ Thomas, and Josiah Wright each had a team-leading three picks last season, but Wright is the only one of that trio with an interception this year.
• The 2022 Big South Defensive Player of the Year, Ty French was tied for fourth in the FCS and led the BSC with 11.5 sacks last season; he also ranked 19th in the FCS and second in the BSC with 15.0 TFL. This season, French ranks 37th in the FCS with 0.70 sacks per game and his 1.7 tackles for loss per game rank eighth in the country. French ranks third on Gardner-Webb with 27 tackles to go along with 3 pass breakups and a forced fumble.

UP NEXT

Austin Peay kicks off a season-ending stretch of five-straight United Athletic Conference contests when it takes on Southern Utah at 7 p.m. (CT), Oct. 21 at Eccles Coliseum in Cedar City, Utah. After taking on the Thunderbirds, the Governors return to Fortera Stadium for a Homecoming contest against North Alabama, Oct. 28.

For news and updates throughout the 2023 season, follow Govs football on X (@GovsFB) and Instagram (@GovsFootball) or stay tuned here at LetsGoPeay.com.