CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Looking to pick up its first United Atletic Conference win of the season, Austin Peay State University's football team takes on the league's newest member when it travels to West Georgia for a 1 p.m. (CT), Saturday contest at University Stadium in Carrollton, Georgia.

Austin Peay (1-4, 0-2 UAC) and West Georgia (1-3, 0-3 UAC) meet for the first time in the Wolves' inaugural season in the UAC. The Governors are 6-2 all-time in the UAC after falling to Southern Utah, 28-17, at Fortera Stadium last time out. The Wolves have dropped three-straight conference games after opening the season with a 28-17 win over Samford in their first game as a Division I program.

The Govs have averaged 302.5 rushing yards per game in their last two outings, running for 331 yards against Alabama A&M and 274 yards against Southern Utah. La'Vell Wright has led Austin Peay's rushing attack, running for 142 yards and three touchdowns against Alabama A&M before totaling 140 yards on the ground against Southern Utah.  

Defensively, Sammy Anderson Jr. has recorded an interception in a program-record four-straight games and leads the FCS with four picks this season. In addition, Dion Hunter and Jaden Lyles are averaging 8.2 and 8.0 tackles per game, respectively, those marks rank second and third in the UAC. The Govs' defense has held teams to just 104.0 rushing yards per game in its last two contests.

Last time out, West Georgia lost to North Alabama, 25-16, to fall to 1-1 at home this season. In turn, the Governors are 0-2 on the road this season and are 0-1 on the road in UAC contests.

Austin Peay was picked to finish fifth in the UAC Preseason Coaches Poll, while the Wolves were tabbed to finish last in the league's preseason poll.

Austin Peay returns a pair of starters from the 2023 UAC Championship team, with both Chandler Kirton and Hosea Knifeley Jr. being picked as Preseason All-UAC selections. Kirton has started 28 straight games on the Govs' offensive line, while Knifeley has 17 career starts and 12 consecutive starts on the defensive line. The Govs also have 54 players who have made their Austin Peay debuts, including nine who made their collegiate debuts in the first five weeks of the season.

Saturday's game will be streamed on ESPN+ with Logan Maddox and Parker Gore on the call; Carlie Pair 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 by re-airing the Austin Peay Football Coaches Show at noon (CT), followed by pregame coverage, which begins an hour before kickoff.

NOTABLY

REPEAYT CHAMPS

For the first time in program history, Austin Peay 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 conferences – since 2019.

The Times They Are a-Changin'

Dating back to 2017, Austin Peay's 51 victories are tied for the 10th most in the FCS and are tied for eighth-most among current FCS programs. The Govs' 51 wins are tied with Central Arkansas for the most among UAC members since 2017, with Eastern Kentucky (43) having the third-most wins. The Governors' 51 victories in the past eight seasons are the most in any eight-year stretch in program history and are equal to the 51 victories they had in 19 seasons from 1998-2016. The Govs also have five winning seasons since 2017 after posting just eight winning seasons in their first 39 years in the FCS (1978-2016).

MEET THE GOVS

With just 35 returning letterwinners and 11 players that redshirted a season ago, Austin Peay has 60 newcomers on its 2024 roster. The 60 newcomers are made up of 26 true freshmen and 34 transfers, including nine players who have been at the Power 5 level. Austin Peay's 34 transfers are made up of 20 transfers from FBS programs, seven from FCS programs, and seven from Division II programs.

ALL THREE PHASES

Against Alabama A&M, Austin Peay scored an offensive, defensive, and special teams touchdown in the first quarter -- possibly for the first time in program history. The last game the Governors scored in all three phases was against ETSU (9/16/23); however, they weren't scored in a single quarter. Going deeper into Austin Peay's digital recording-keeping era indicates the only other occurrence of scoring touchdowns in all three phases was in a 34-27 win against No. 11 Tennessee Tech (10/1/94).

FARIS ERA, YEAR I

A Knoxville, Tennessee native, Jeff Faris was named Austin Peay's 22nd head football coach in December 2023. In his first season at the helm of the Governors football program, Faris looks to join Dave Aaron (5-4, 1946), James "Boots" Donnelly (8-3, 1977), Watson Brown (7-4, 1979), Rick Christophel (7-4, 2007), Mark Hudspeth (11-4, 2019), and Scotty Walden (4-2, 2020-21) as the seventh head coach in program history to post a winning record in their first season. A winning season for the Govs would mark the third-straight Austin Peay head coach to have a winning record in their debut season.

SCOUTING THE WOLVES

• Saturday is the first-ever meeting between Austin Peay and West Georgia.
• The Govs are 2-5 all-time against teams from Georgia and are on a two-game winning streak in games played in Georgia.
• After going 6-4 overall and 5-3 in the Gulf South Conference in their final season as a Division II program, West Georgia made the move to Division I and the United Athletic Conference for the 2024 season. The 1982 Division III National Champions and four-time GSC Champions were tabbed to finish last in the 2024 UAC Preseason Coaches Poll.
• West Georgia ranks second in the UAC with 212.8 passing yards per game this season. Quarterback Dylan Wydner has seen most of the action under center for the Wolves, completing 54 passes for 650 yards and two touchdowns. However, backup Quincy Casey threw for 201 yards and two touchdowns in Week 2 against Abilene Christian. Kentucky transfer Dylan Gary leads the Wolves with 278 receiving yards and three touchdowns on 15 catches, while Michigan transfer Karmello English has a team-best 19 receptions for 251 yards.
• Despite playing in just four games this season, West Georgia ranks second in the UAC with 12 sacks and sixth in the UAC with 29 tackles for loss; they would rank 23rd and 31st in the FCS, respectively, if they were not reclassifying. The Wolves also would rank seventh in the FCS in sacks per game (3.0) and 12th in tackles for loss per game (7.3). West Georgia has 10 players with multiple tackles for loss this season while ranking third in the UAC in rushing defense (154.5) and second with 3.57 yards allowed per carry.
• After spending three seasons at Buffalo, 6-6, 218-pound defensive end Solomanie Bambara transferred to West Georgia. Bambara is tied for second in the UAC in tackles for loss (5.0) and tackles for loss per game (1.25) – trailing only Central Arkansas' David Walker. Bambara also ranks fourth in the UAC in sacks (3.0) and second in sacks per game (.70). Bambara would rank 45th in the FCS in sacks and 48th in tackles for loss if West Georgia was not in a reclassifying season.

UP NEXT

After closing the first half of the season at West Georgia, Austin Peay is off during Week 7 before traveling to Utah Tech for a 3 p.m. (CT) UAC contest, Oct. 19 at Greater Zion Stadium in St. George, Utah. The Week 8 contest between the Governors and Trailblazers will be streamed on ESPN+.

Single-game and group tickets for Austin Peay's four remaining home games are available online at LetsGoPeay.com/BuyTickets, through TicketMaster, or by calling the Austin Peay Athletics ticket office at 931-221-PEAY (7329). The Governors return to Fortera Stadium for a 3 p.m., Oct. 26 UAC contest against Tarleton State on Homecoming.

For news and updates throughout the 2024 season, follow Govs football on X (@GovsFB) and Instagram (@GovsFootball) or stay tuned here at LetsGoPeay.com.