Saturday, Jevon Jackson posted an old-school stat line. A Walter Payton sort of effort. A Jerome Bettis, Curtis Martin kind of outing.

The man had 38 carries against Utah Tech. Thirty-eight. That's 30 – as in his previous career high – and then eight more on top of it, nearly all into the teeth of the Trailblazer defense. That's tied for the most carries in a game by an FCS player this season. That's two fewer than the single-game FBS high. In the NFL? No individual player has toted the ball 38 times in a single game since 2016.

Put this a different way – the Penn Quakers, nobody's idea of a swash-buckling pass-happy team throwing on first, second, and third down, haven't rushed the ball 38 times in one game as a team since Week 4 of last season.

Football isn't really played like that anymore, is the thing. The game is still won and lost in the trenches – anyone who wants to tell you otherwise is a liar or runs the Air Raid. But overall it's a vertical game now, baby – even, usually, for the Govs and their succession of successful signal-callers dating back to 2017 at this point, with 2023 quarterback (and potential/likely All-Conference performer) Mike DiLiello very much included.

"We're able to win games because of how potent we can be in all three phases of the game," said Austin Peay head coach Scotty Walden. "That's unique about this team; we're not a one-trick pony. We can beat teams in a multitude of ways. We're an explosive offense and a downfield offense but it's like being an NBA player – sometimes you walk into the gym and that three-point shot isn't falling, so you better do something else. You saw a lot of old-school counter and power plays today, and that's his cup of tea."

Running the ball straight into the line of scrimmage and bullying the people across the line from you until their will and resolve disintegrate along with their resistance? That's domineering football, straight out of the old John McKay/John Robinson playbook at USC (ask your grandad, youngsters).

We were all privileged to bear witness to this on Saturday. The Govs applied pressure on the line and ran Jackson into it until Utah Tech could not hold up anymore. And it's not because the Govs were having great success on the ground early – at halftime, Jackson was barely averaging three yards per carry. Utah Tech was hanging on, tackling surely, filling gaps, and overall flying around playing opportunistic ball.

Jackson finished with 5.1 yards per rush and 192 total yards on the ground. It's not because Utah Tech got worse after halftime. That is a tough, disciplined team with a lot of talent at the spots the Govs were rushing toward. But the Govs and Jackson hammered at one of the Trailblazer's perceived weak spots – Utah Tech came into the game averaging 219.8 yards per carry on the ground, a number that has plummeted all the way down to 218.5 after Saturday – until it broke, and the two and three-yard gains started becoming six and seven-yard jaunts into the second level, with Jackson receiving the bulk of the work to make this happen.

"He's unbelievable," Walden said. "He's the toughest runner I've ever coached. Being a running back at this level and getting that many carries under your belt, it's impressive because of how well he has to take care of his body to play like that. I told him before the game, I'm gonna ride you, but I don't know if he expected that many carries. He's just a workhorse who gets better as the game goes on; it's no surprise he had 123 [yards] in the second half."

There's no real moment that it flipped for the Govs. The lanes began to open before Jackson and he plowed through them every time and punished anyone who attempted to put a square hit on him. The Govs spammed the interior of the Utah Tech defensive front until it worked, and doing so helped them clinch at least a share of the conference title for a second straight season.  

"Once I get a feel for the game, I feel like I get a step faster and the defense wears down a little bit," Jackson said. "That's what we epitomize here at Austin Peay, is being stronger late in the game."

Hopefully, Jackson is spending this week in an ice bath made personally and specifically for him, both because he's going to need it ahead of another potentially bruising outing against Central Arkansas on Saturday, and because a 38-carry performance merits an ice bath drawn just for you.

One last thing: Jackson did some things and hit some marks that put him among the best at his position in Austin Peay history. He posted the program's 10th 1000-yard rushing season and stands at 1,119 yards entering the regular season finale, which is good for fourth all-time. The Govs are guaranteed one more game (they should be guaranteed at least two, but that's for other people to decide); based on how much stronger Jackson has gotten and how much more the Govs have leaned on him as the season goes on, some hallowed marks in Austin Peay history are within striking distance.

All it takes is a few more old-school efforts from an old-school runner.