CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – The first half of the 2023 season comes to a close when Austin Peay State University's football team hits the road to battle Lindenwood for the first time in program history when the teams meet for a 1 p.m., Saturday tilt at Hunter Stadium in St. Charles, Missouri.

Austin Peay is riding a two-game winning streak after beating ETSU, 63-3, at Fortera Stadium and then going on the road to take down Stephen F. Austin, 22-20, in its first United Athletic Conference game. This Saturday's game will be the Governors first meeting with Lindenwood, who moved to the Division I level and joined the Ohio Valley Conference, which is competing as the OVC-Big South Football Association this season, before the 2022 season.

Like the Governors, Lindenwood is 2-2 this season after falling to Illinois State, 48-17, last week in Normal, Illinois. The Lions have picked up wins against Division III Wisconsin–Stevens Point and Western Illinois while also dropping their conference opener to No. 16 Southeast Missouri. The Lions are 1-0 at home this season and are 5-1 at Hunter Stadium since transitioning to the FCS level with their only loss at home coming against SEMO in Week 4 of the 2022 season.

The Governors are 1-2 on the road this season and are 9-9 on the road under head coach Scotty Walden. Against FCS opponents, the Govs are 1-0 on the road in 2023 and 9-5 with Walden at the helm.

In their Week 3 win over SFA, the Governors defense sparked a 13-point comeback with a Cedarius Doss pick-six late in the third quarter. On the drive following the pick-six, Doss intercepted another pass and set the Governors offense up for the game-tying drive, which Jevon Jackson capped with a 24-yard touchdown run on 3rd-and-Goal from the 24-yard line. Jackson paced the Governors offense with 197 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries against the Lumberjacks.

On defense, Sam Howard and Tyler Long lead the Governors with 9.3 tackles per game this season, that mark ranks 30th in the FCS and third in the UAC. After leading the Govs with nine and 11 tackles, respectively, at SFA, Kory Chapman and Jevon McIver Jr. are the only other Governors with 20-plus tackles this season; McIver Jr. is also the only Gov besides Doss with an interception this season.

Offensively, Mike DiLiello ranks sixth in the FCS in passing touchdowns (9) and 15th in passing yards (996). DiLiello has completed passes to 11 different wide receivers this season, with all 11 having multiple receptions and eight receivers having touchdown catches. Jevon Jackson headlines the ground attack with 49 carries for 289 yards and two touchdowns, while averaging 5.9 yards per carry, this season.

Kam Thomas has proved to be one of the nation's top all-around returners this season, ranking sixth in the FCS in punt return average (18.1), 42nd in kickoff return average (21.7), and third in combined kick return yards (322). Thomas is one of 14 players in the FCS with a punt return for a touchdown this season and his 89-yard punt return touchdown against ETSU is the longest punt return at the Division I level this season.

Saturday's game will be streamed on ESPN+ with Bob Ramsey and Zach Zook on the call. Fans also can tune into the Governors Sports Network on ESPN Clarksville (104.1 FM/540 AM) 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

GOOD DIRECTIONS

Dating back to 2017, Austin Peay's 43 victories are tied for the 15th most in the FCS and are the most in any six-year stretch in program history. The Govs lead all United Athletic Conference teams in wins since 2017 with Central Arkansas (42, t-17th) and Eastern Kentucky (36, t-34th) being the only other programs to crack the Top 45. The Govs' 43 victories in the past six seasons are four more wins than the 39 victories they had in 14 seasons from 2002-16.

WINNIN' AWARDS

A week after Mike DiLiello and Kam Thomas were named the United Athletic Conference's Offensive and Special Teams Players of the Week with a pair of record-setting performances, Cedarius Doss was named the UAC's Defensive Player of the Week after intercepting a pair of passes, and returning one 20 yards for a touchdown, to spark the Governors comeback win at Stephen F. Austin. Through the first four weeks of the season, Austin Peay and Tarleton State are the only UAC teams that have had a player earn Offensive, Defensive, and Special Teams Player of the Week honors. DiLiello, Thomas, and Doss were all named honorable mentions for the Stats Perform FCS National Player of the Week honors.

THE GANG GETS RECOGNIZED

Defensive back Kory Chapman, tight end Jordan Goco, redshirt offensive lineman Chandler Kirton, and linebacker Tyler Long were all named to the first Preseason All-United Athletic Conference team. Chapman averaged 8.2 tackles and 1.0 tackle for loss per game in the final seven games of the 2022 season while Long racked up 106 tackles last season at Norfolk State and ranked 19th in the FCS with 9.6 tackles per game. Kirton was a 2022 HERO Sports Freshman All-America and All-ASUN Conference selection after starting all 11 games at right guard for the Govs while Goco made nine starts and recorded 11 receptions for 127 yards in his first season at Austin Peay last year.

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 32 games at Austin Peay, Scotty Walden is tied for fifth in program history with 19 career wins. Walden's win against Stephen F. Austin tied him with Bill Schmitz and Fred D. Brown for fifth place – Schmitz and Brown both needed six seasons to reach their respective win total. With one more win, Walden would match Rick Christophel – who also coached six seasons – for the fourth-most wins in program history while becoming just the fifth head coach to win 20 games at Austin Peay.

SCOUTING LINDENWOOD

• Saturday is the first meeting between Austin Peay and Lindenwood, the Govs are 1-0 in games against first-time opponents this season and are 4-0 against first-time FCS opponents under Walden.
• Playing in just its second season at the FCS level, Lindenwood was picked to finish seventh in the Big South-OVC preseason poll. Lindenwood went 7-3 in its first FCS season – 4-3 against DI opponents – with wins against Central Arkansas and Murray State. The Lions are 2-2 this year with wins against DIII Wisconsin-Stevens Point and Western Illinois.
• Lindenwood returns a pair of 2022 Second Team All-OVC selections in offensive tackles Gareth Warren and Ethan Johnson. Through four games, the Lions rank second in the OVC-Big South in total offense (428.5), rushing offense (195.8), and passing offense (232.8). Robert Giaimo ranks second in the OVC-Big South in rushing touchdowns (3) and third in rushing yards per game (84.3).
• The Lions bring back 2022 First Team All-OVC defensive lineman Kobe McClendon and Second Team All-OVC defensive back Darion Bolden. However, linebackers Brenden Dye and Ethan Stuhlsatz lead the team and are tied for 10th in the conference with 6.5 tackles per game this season. Through four games, the Lions' defense has allowed 410.0 yards and 35.5 points per game. However, in its three games against DI opponents, Lindenwood is allowing 496.3 yards of total offense and 44.3 points per game.
• Quarterback Cole Dugger leads the Big South-OVC with 11 total touchdowns this season with 10 passing and one rushing score. Dugger ranks second in the league in passing touchdowns, second in passing efficiency (155.82), third in total offense (242.50), and fourth in passing yards (211.75). In a win against Western Illinois, Dugger completed 16 passes for 270 yards and five touchdowns.

UP NEXT

After wrapping up the first half of the season against Lindenwood, Austin Peay is off during Week 6 before hosting its final nonconference contest at 1 p.m., Oct. 14 against Gardner-Webb at Fortera Stadium. After the nonconference finale against the Runnin' Bulldogs, the Governors close the season with five straight United Athletic Conference games.

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