CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – With the United Athletic Conference Championship and an automatic qualifier for the FCS Playoffs on the line, the No. 12 Austin Peay State University football team hosts a 1 p.m., Saturday UAC showdown with No. 20 Central Arkansas in what is a de facto conference championship game at Fortera Stadium in Clarksville, Tennessee.

The winner of Saturday's game will receive the UAC's AQ for the FCS Playoffs. Austin Peay already holds a share of the conference championship and can clinch the title outright with a victory while Central Arkansas can claim a share of the title with a win on Saturday.

At 8-2 overall and 5-0 in conference play, Austin Peay is on a program-record eight-game winning streak that is tied for the second-longest active winning streak in the FCS. Central Arkansas has won its last two games to improve to 7-3 overall and 4-1 in UAC play with their lone conference loss coming against Tarleton State, Oct. 28.

The Governors are 4-0 at Fortera Stadium this season and have won 10 straight contests against FCS opponents at home. The Bears have won their last two road outings but are 2-2 away from Estes Stadium this season.

Saturday's game is Senior Day at Fortera Stadium and Austin Peay will honor 11 seniors – Jalen Armstrong, Mike DiLiello, Cedarius Doss, Jordan Goco, Tyler Long, Brady Odom, Conner Parsons, Gardy Paul, Darius Richmond, Michael Ruttlen Jr., and Jau'Von Young – prior to kickoff. Senior Day festivities start at 12:32 p.m. on Joe and Cathi Maynard Family Field.

Mike DiLiello leads the Governors offense and ranks second in the FCS in passing touchdowns (27) and passing yards (2,868). DiLiello also leads the FCS in points responsible for (192) while ranking third in the country in total offense (308.1). DiLiello has fired touchdowns to nine different receivers this season with seven Governors recording multiple touchdown catches. Tre Shackelford leads the wide receivers with 732 yards while Trey Goodman has a team-best seven scoring receptions.

On the ground, Jevon Jackson became Austin Peay's 10th 1,000-yard rusher and the first since 2011 with a 192-yard outing against Utah Tech, last Saturday. Jackson ranks sixth in the FCS with 1,119 rushing yards this season while his 111.9 rushing yards per game rank seventh in the country and lead the UAC.

Tyler Long, the reigning UAC Defensive Player of the Week, ranks 28th in the FCS and second in the UAC with 9.2 tackles per game this season. Teaming up with Long at linebacker, Sam Howard ranks 54th in the FCS and fourth in the UAC with 10.5 tackles for loss while recording a TFL in eight of 10 games this season. The Governors defense has held each of its last three opponents to less than 100 rushing yards.

Austin Peay boasts arguably the nation's most complete special teams unit. Returner Kam Thomas leads the FCS in punt return touchdowns (2) and ranks second in punt return average (22.2) this season. Punter Riley Stephens ranks seventh in the FCS and leads the UAC in punting average (43.7) while placekicker Maddux Trujillo ranks 13th in the FCS and leads the UAC in scoring with 8.2 points per game. Trujillo is 13-for-14 on field goals this season and broke the Austin Peay career field goal record with his first of three field goals last week against Utah Tech.

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). Special ticket offers and information on everything happening in and around Fortera Stadium can be found in this week's Fan Experience preview.

Fans can also purchase tickets to the Blazin' VIPeay Zone, presented by Buffalo Wild Wings, which is available at all home games this season. Buffalo Wild Wings will provide 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.

Saturday's game will be streamed on ESPN+ with Barry Gresham and Ethan Schmidt on the call, while Isabella Christenson is 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.

NOTABLY

REPEAYT CHAMPS

For the first time in program history, Austin Peay has won back-to-back conference championships with the 2023 United Athletic Conference and the 2022 ASUN Conference titles. When you add in the 2019 Ohio Valley Conference championship, the Govs have won three titles – in three different conferences – in the past five seasons. By leading the Governors to back-to-back conference championships, Scotty Walden also became the first head coach in program history to win multiple conference titles during their time at Austin Peay.

GOOD DIRECTIONS

Dating back to 2017, Austin Peay's 49 victories are tied for 10th most in the FCS and are the most in any seven-year stretch in program history. The Govs' 49 wins are the most among United Athletic Conference members since 2017 with Central Arkansas (47, t-13th) and Eastern Kentucky (39, 36th) being the only other UAC programs to crack the Top 45 in the FCS. The Governors' 49 victories in the past seven seasons are two more wins than the 47 victories they had in 18 seasons from 1999-2016.

BREAKING THE STONE

For the 32nd week in the program's DI history, Austin Peay is ranked in one of the FCS national polls and ascended to its highest ranking in the modern era when it was ranked 12th in the Week 12 AFCA Poll. After being ranked twice in the 1970s, the Govs have appeared in the Stats FCS or AFCA FCS Coaches Polls 30 times since the start of the 2018 season. Since 2018, the Governors are 17-12 in games in which they are ranked and are 17-8 against FCS opponents in games where they are ranked. With Scotty Walden at the helm, Austin Peay is 8-5 overall and 8-4 against FCS opponents in games where it is ranked in the FCS national polls.

NOVEMBER AIR

Head coach Scotty Walden is 7-1 overall and 7-0 against FCS opponents in the month of November at Austin Peay. The Governors only loss in the 11th month under Walden came when they fell to No. 8 Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa in the 2022 season finale. Austin Peay has won 13-straight FCS games in November (see page 3) – with six wins on the road – and last dropped a game in the month when they lost at Eastern Illinois in 2018.

WALDEN; OR, LIFE AT AUSTIN PEAY

After just 38 games at Austin Peay, Scotty Walden's 25 wins are the fourth most 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 his first 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 five wins away from becoming the fourth APSU coach to win 30 games and is eight wins away from matching Emory Hale for the third most wins by a head coach in program history. With a 25-13 record at Austin Peay, Walden also joins Aaron (44-35-6) as the only coach that ranks in the top five in APSU history in wins while having a winning record. 

SCOUTING THE BEARS

• Saturday is the fourth meeting between Austin Peay and Central Arkansas, the Bears lead the all-time series, 4-0.
• UCA won both previous meetings in Clarksville in 1975 and 2019.
• Despite leading the UAC Preseason Coaches Poll with five first-place votes, Central Arkansas was tabbed to finish second in the league behind Eastern Kentucky. The Bears went just 5-6 overall last season but finished tied for the ASUN Championship with a 3-2 record in conference play.
• One of UCA's two running backs to be named to the Preseason All-UAC team, junior Darius Hale was the national runner-up for the Jerry Rice Award in 2021 when he rushed for 1,021 yards and 17 touchdowns as a freshman. This season, Hale is one of three UCA running backs with 375-plus rushing yards and four touchdowns. Hale has run for 439 yards and four touchdowns while Kylin James has added 391 yards and five touchdowns. Quarterback Will McElvain has also fired 23 passing touchdowns with just four interceptions this season.
• On a defense that had Preseason All-UAC selections Tamaurian Wilson, David Walker, and Logan Jessup, Jake Golday (70) and Demetrias Charles (64) have led UCA in tackles this season. However, Walker still ranks fourth in the FCS in TFLs (18.0) and eighth in sacks (8.5) while leading the UAC in both categories. Golday (6.0), Wilson (5.5), and Jessup (4.5) have all contributed to a defense that ranks 32nd in the FCS and third in the UAC with 6.3 TFLs per game this season.
• While playing for North Alabama last season, ShunDerrick Powell rushed for 207 yards and two touchdowns against Austin Peay on his way to leading the ASUN with 1,508 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns. After being a finalist for the Walter Payton Award, Powell transferred to UCA where he ranks third in the FCS in yards per carry (7.76), 11th in rushing yards (1,001), and 59th in rushing TDs (6). However, Powell has not run for a touchdown since Oct. 14 against Stephen F. Austin and has not topped 100 yards since Sept. 30 at Southern Utah.

UP NEXT

After Saturday's regular-season finale against Central Arkansas, Austin Peay turns its attention toward the FCS Playoff Selection Show at 11 a.m., Sunday on ESPNU. Austin Peay will host a watch party for the Selection Show at F&M Bank Arena, doors will open for the event at 10:30 a.m. and all are invited to attend as APSU celebrates its 2023 UAC Champions and watches the selection show live.

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