GOVS-WILDCATS POSTGAME NOTES

Notes following Austin Peay's 35-34 loss to No. 15 Abilene Christian in United Athletic Conference action on Stacheville's Salute to Service Day at Fortera Stadium in Clarksville, Tennessee.

FROM THE TOP

• Austin Smith passed for 308 yards and is the first Austin Peay quarterback with back-to-back 300-yard passing games since Mike DiLiello threw for 353 and 310 yards against North Alabama and Eastern Kentucky, respectively, in 2023.
• Jaden Barnes led Austin Peay with 179 receiving yards and is the first player in program history to post back-to-back 150-yard receiving games after recording 241 yards last week at North Alabama.

CAPTAINS/COIN TOSS

• Captains Garrett Hawkins, Chandler Kirton, and Harrison Wilkes took the coin toss for the Governors.
• Austin Peay won the coin toss and deferred its option until the second half. Abilene Christian elected to receive the opening kickoff.
• Austin Peay is 6-4 at the opening coin toss this season.
• The Govs fall to 1-5 this season when they win the opening coin toss.
• Weather in Clarksville at kickoff: 58 degrees, light rain, winds southeast at 6 mph.

SERIES UPDATE            

• Austin Peay falls to 0-1 all-time against Abilene Christian after dropping the first-ever meeting between the teams.
• The Governors now are 1-2 all-time against teams from Texas.

UAC WINS

• The Govs fall to 9-4 all-time in United Athletic Conference games.
• Austin Peay is 3-3 all-time at home in UAC contests.

DEFEND THE FORT

• Austin Peay now is 29-17 (.630) at Fortera Stadium since the start of the 2017 season.

THOSE ARE THE BREAKS

• Austin Peay drops to 4-1 this season when leading at halftime.
• The Governors fall to 0-5 this season when trailing after three quarters.

OFFENSIVE SPARKS

• Austin Peay totaled 425 yards of total offense, marking the first time this season they have topped 400 yards of total offense in back-to-back games.
• The Govs posted 400-plus yards of total offense in back-to-back games for the first time since recording 400-plus yards in six straight games during the 2023 season.
• Austin Peay passed for 300 yards in back-to-back games for the first time this season and the first time since it threw for 353 and 310 yards in consecutive games against North Alabama and Eastern Kentucky in 2023.
• Barnes led the Govs with six receptions and averaged 29.8 yards per reception.
• Barnes caught a career-long 73-yard touchdown and a 58-yard touchdown, all seven of his touchdown receptions this season have been 30 yards or longer.
• Romon Copeland Jr. added five catches for 54 yards and Malik Bowen-Sims have two catches for a career-high 55 yards.
• La'Vell Wright rushed 17 times for a team-best 66 yards and a touchdown; he leads the Governors with five rushing touchdowns this season.
• Austin Smith rushed nine times for 27 yards and a touchdown; he ranks second on the team with three rushing touchdowns this season.

DEFENSIVE STANDS      

• Dion Hunter led the Governors with 10 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, and a sack; it was his second game this season with double-digit tackles and the sixth time he has led the Govs in tackles this season.
• Jaden Lyles totaled eight tackles and Chase Allen recorded a career-best seven tackles – both had four solo stops.
• Davion Hood recorded three tackles and matched his season high with 1.5 tackles for loss.
• Hosea Knifeley Jr. and Bo Spearman each recorded a half tackle for loss.
• Ellis Ellis Jr. recorded a career-high three pass breakups, which is tied for the fifth-best single-game mark in program history and is the most by a Gov since Jevon McIver Jr. broke up three passes against Central Arkansas in 2023.
• Stephen Ellison II recorded his first-career forced fumble in a two-tackle performance.

SPECIAL TEAMS SYNOPSIS

• Carson Smith was 2-for-2 on field goals, connecting from 29 and 33 yards.
• Carson Smith also went 4-for-4 on PATs and scored 10 points in the contest.
• Dominik Stadlman punted four times for a 38.8-yard average and a 43-yard long.
• Romon Copeland Jr. returned three kicks for 55 yards with a long of 27 yards.

GOVS-WILDCATS POSTGAME QUOTES

Austin Peay head coach Jeff Faris

Opening Statement… "I am never satisfied with an outcome when we are not victorious, but I could not be more proud of our players' efforts and how they fought together as a team. We are going to continue to trust that blueprint of working and paying the price to play our best every single week to be playing our best ball."

On the passing-game success… "Austin Smith deserves all the credit. The way that he works Sunday through Friday and the way he studies – it is not easy to be a first-year player in a new system – he does not look like a first-year guy in a system. The work he puts in, not only in the film room, but with teammates, getting extra reps after practice, watching film with those guys, he deserves all the credit. He has been playing at a really, really high level."

On coming out of halftime better… "We did not score enough to win today. I think it is the little things that we have to clean up. We will study that when we watch the film tonight. But I am really proud of our effort on offense, defense, and special teams. These kids fought wire-to-wire; unfortunately, the outcome is nothing that anyone is satisfied with, but our guys fight and compete. We are going to find a way because we have great guys in our locker room who work their tails off every day."

On the second half… "I have a ton of respect for Abilene Christian, their defense, and the job they did today. We both made adjustments, but they made the right ones and made the play to win the game."

Austin Peay quarterback Austin Smith  

On the second half… "I think they [Abilene Christian] made some adjustments after halftime that I think we might not have been prepared for. But it was a little bit of us too, I don't think we executed to a high level, especially me as well. We have got to get going in the third quarter, I think they had 14 in the third quarter, and we didn't score at all. We had three three-and-outs I believe, so that set us back and allowed them to get back in the game.

On the final two games of the season… "I think we can finish strong and allow the seniors to exit the right way, I know they will love that, that's just the biggest thing and to get better. You know, we have two more weeks guaranteed with the brothers we have spent the time with since January, so just doing that and getting closer.

On his connection with the APSU receivers… "I don't think there was luck or anything, we just continued to put the work in each and every week, and it's just finally starting to show. We are a new team, with some new people, so it took us a minute to get clicking. I think each and every one of the receivers put in the work each and every week, and I think it's just now starting to show."

Austin Peay wide receiver Jaden Barnes  

On today's game… "We came out dry in the second half. It is frustrating, but at the end of the day we just have to keep our head up and keep working. At the end of the day, coach gives us the game plan and we have to go out and execute it."