CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – For the first time under head coach Jeff Faris, Austin Peay State University's football team takes the field at Fortera Stadium when it battles No. 10 Southern Illinois in a 6 p.m., Saturday showdown in Clarksville, Tennessee.

Austin Peay and Southern Illinois last met during the 2023 season opener in Carbondale, with the Salukis picking up a 49-23 victory. SIU has not made the journey south to Clarksville since the 1991 season.

Last week, Austin Peay traveled to Louisville, where it dropped a 62-0 contest to the Cardinals. The Governors are looking for their first win of the Faris Era and their eighth-straight win in a home opener when they return to Fortera Stadium, where they went 5-1 last season and are 28-8 dating back to the 2017 season.

Southern Illinois also dropped its 2024 season opener, falling to BYU, 41-13, in Provo, Utah. The Salukis were 4-3 on the road last season and are 22-30 away from home under ninth-year head coach Nick Hill.

Austin Peay was picked to finish fifth in the United Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches Poll, while the Salukis were tabbed to finish fourth in the Missouri Valley 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 24 straight games on the Govs' offense line, while Knifeley Jr. led the team with four sacks last season. The Govs also have 37 players who made their Austin Peay debuts, including seven who made their collegiate debuts in the Week 1 opener at Louisville.

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 Alex Gould and Ethan Schmidt 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 (47) and Eastern Kentucky (40) 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 61 newcomers on its 2024 roster. The 61 newcomers are made up of 26 true freshmen and 35 transfers, including nine players who have been at the Power 5 level. APSU's 35 transfers are made up of 21 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 two starts at center. Hosea Knifeley Jr. has 13 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 16 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 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 SALUKIS

• Saturday is the ninth meeting between Austin Peay and Southern Illinois; the Salukis lead the all-time series, 6-2
• Southern Illinois won both previous meetings in Clarkville in 1987 and 1991.
• The Governors have not beaten the Salukis since 1939.
• After going 8-5 overall and 4-4 in the MVFC, Southern Illinois qualified for the 2023 FCS Playoffs and beat Nicholls, 35-0, before losing to #4 Idaho, 20-17, in overtime in the Kibbie Dome. This season, the Salukis were tabbed to finish fourth in the MVFC Preseason Poll; they were also picked in that same spot in the HERO Sports and Stats Perform preseason MVFC polls.
• The Salukis have a pair of Second Team Preseason All-MVFC selections on offense in wide receiver Vinson Davis III and offensive lineman Chase Evans. Davis III, who was an All-MVFC and MVFC All-Newcomer selection in 2023, is SIU's top-returning wide receiver after leading the team with 54 receptions last season; he also ranked second on the team in receiving yards (659) and receiving touchdowns (3) last year.
• Last season, the Salukis ranked fourth in the FCS in total defense (282.3) and scoring defense (16.2) while ranking fifth in rushing defense (94.2), sixth in sacks per game (3.0), and seventh in turnovers gained (25). SIU has a pair of Second Team Preseason All-MVFC selections on defense in linebacker Colin Bohanek and defensive back Ubayd Steed. Steed totaled 83 tackles, 2.0 TFLs, two interceptions, and four PBUs last season; he is SIU's top-returning tackler after ranking third on the team last season. Bohanek posted 62 tackles, 6.5 TFLs, 2.5 sacks, and a PBU in 2023.
• After spending four seasons at Murray State, quarterback DJ Williams, who was the 2021 OVC Freshman of the Year, transferred to SIU for the 2024 season. In 24 games at Murray State, Williams passed for 2,532 yards and 14 TDs while rushing for 631 yards and six TDs. In his one start against Austin Peay in 2021, Williams went 18-of-31 for 140 yards and a TD and led the Racers with 75 rushing yards, but the Govs won the game, 47-6.

UP NEXT

After Saturday's home opener against Southern Illinois, Austin Peay kicks off UAC play with a rematch of last year's conference championship game against Central Arkansas at 6 p.m., Sept. 14, at Estes Stadium in Conway, Arkansas. The Week 3 battle between the Governors and Bears will be streamed on ESPN+.

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