CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – In a program first, Austin Peay State University's football team has been named as one of the top-10 programs in the nation by the Football Championship Subdivision playoff selection committee in its first public in-season rankings of 2026. 

Since 2016, the FCS selection committee has released public in-season rankings during the regular season. For the first time in program history, Austin Peay is among the programs publicly lauded by the committee as one of the top-10 in the country during one of these releases; for the Oct. 20 list, Austin Peay checks in at No. 9. 

The Govs, ranked ninth in both the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Poll and the Stats Perform poll, currently sit at 6-2 overall and 2-1 in the United Athletic Conference. Austin Peay's only losses this season have come against FBS foe Vanderbilt and Tarleton State, which ranked No. 2 in the initial rankings reveal. 

The Govs, who are seeking the program's third postseason berth, continue the regular season this weekend with a road trip to Florence, Alabama for a 6 p.m., Saturday contest against North Alabama. 

The committee used results of games played through Oct. 17, and these in-season rankings serve as a snapshot as to where the committee has teams ranked heading into the final four weeks of the regular season.

This year in selecting at-large teams, the FCS championship committee will consider each team's won-lost record, their strength of schedule, Regional Advisory Committee rankings/feedback and games reviewed by the committee on video. A secondary tool are four metrics that may be considered, all including only games from the current season (KPI, Massey Ratings and ESPN's two Football Power Indexes).