CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Looking to pick up the first win of the 2024 season and the Jeff Faris Era, Austin Peay State University's football team is back at Fortera Stadium when it takes on Alabama A&M in a 6 p.m., Saturday nonconference tilt.

Austin Peay and Alabama A&M played their only previous meeting during the 2022 season, with the Governors picking up a 28-3 victory at Louis Crew Stadium in Huntsville, Alabama. Saturday will be Alabama A&M's first-ever trip to Clarksville.

Last time out, Austin Peay opened United Athletic Conference play with a 45-17 loss at No. 7 Central Arkansas. Jaden Barnes led the Governors with a 36-yard rushing touchdown and 36-yard receiving touchdown, but it was not enough to keep up with the Bears' rushing attack.

Alabama A&M dropped its season opener at Auburn, 73-3, and has since won back-to-back games against non-Division I opponents.

For the second time this season, Austin Peay is back at Fortera Stadium, where the Governors went 5-1 last season and are 28-14 since the start of the 2017 season. Alabama A&M is 0-1 on the road this season and 11-14 away from home under seventh-year head coach Connell Maynor.

Austin Peay was picked to finish fifth in the United Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches Poll, while the Bulldogs received four first-place votes but were still tabbed to finish fourth in the East Division of the Southwestern Athletic Conference'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 26 straight games on the Govs' offensive line, while Knifeley has 15 career starts and 10 consecutive starts on the defensive line. The Govs also have 42 players who have made their Austin Peay debuts, including eight who made their collegiate debuts in the first three weeks of the season.

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, 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 Ethan Schmidt and Colby Wilson on the call. 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 4 p.m., 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 50 victories are the 10th most in the FCS and the seventh-most among current FCS programs. The Govs' 50 wins are the most among UAC members since 2017, with Central Arkansas (49) and Eastern Kentucky (41) in second and third, respectively. The Governors' 50 victories in the past eight seasons are the most in any eight-year stretch in program history and are just one less than 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.

THE OLD GUYS

Preseason All-UAC selections Chandler Kirton and Hosea Knifeley Jr. are Austin Peay's two returning starters from the 2023 season. Kirton, who was named a 2024 Stats Perform FCS Preseason Third Team All-America selection, has started every game for the Governors over the past three seasons with 22 starts at right guard and four starts at center. Hosea Knifeley Jr. has 15 career starts and started 10 games during the 2023 season when he led the Govs with four sacks. Harrison Wilkes, who started 11 games in 2022 and 18 games in his career, opened the 2023 season as APSU's starter at left guard before a Week 2 injury forced him to miss the remainder of the season.

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 BULLDOGS

• Saturday is the second meeting between Austin Peay and Alabama A&M; the Governors lead the all-time series, 1-0.
• The Govs won the only previous meeting, 28-3, in 2022.
• After going 5-6 overall and finishing fourth in the SWAC East Division with a 3-5 conference record, Alabama A&M received four first-place votes and was picked to finish fourth in the SWAC East. Alabama A&M was ranked No. 14 in NCAA.com's Preseason HBCU Power Rankings and was most recently ranked No. 17 for Week 4.
• Running back Donovan Eaglin and wide receiver Jacolby Hewitt were named Preseason First Team All-SWAC selections, while offensive linemen Carson Vinson and Cameron Williams received Second Team honors. Eaglin leads AAMU on the ground with 37 carries for 193 yards and a touchdown, while Hewitt is the team's second-leading receiver with seven catches for 67 yards and a touchdown. Duke Miller leads the team in receiving with 16 catches for 266 and two touchdowns. Cornelious Brown and Aevon Smith have shared time at quarterback, but Brown leads the team with 579 yards and four touchdowns.
• Through three games this season, AAMU's defense ranks seventh in the FCS and leads the SWAC in rushing defense (87.0). After allowing 177 rushing yards against Auburn, the Bulldogs held Kentucky State and Georgetown (KY) to just 38 and 46 yards on the ground, respectively. Last season, the Bulldogs led the FCS in fumbles recovered (15) and ranked fifth in turnovers gained (26) -- they already have recovered four fumbles this season.
• After beginning his career at Maryland (2019-20) and Florida State (2021), linebacker Cortez Andrews is in his second season at AAMU. Andrews had 25 tackles and 3.0 tackles for loss in 2023 and has exceeded those marks in just three games this season. Andrews ranks sixth in the FCS in tackles for loss (5.5) and 11th in sacks (3.5) – he leads the SWAC in both categories. Andrews also ranks second in the SWAC in tackles (26) and tackles per game (8.7) after back-to-back double-digit tackle outings.

UP NEXT

Austin Peay returns to United Athletic Conference action when it hosts Southern Utah at 1 p.m., Sept. 28 at Fortera Stadium. The Week 5 contest between the Governors and Thunderbirds will be streamed on ESPN+.

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