2023 Austin Peay Governors football team

2023 Austin Peay Governors football
2023 Austin Peay Governors football
UAC champion
NCAA Division I First Round, L 21–24 vs. Chattanooga
Conference	United Athletic Conference
Ranking
STATS	No. 13
FCS Coaches	No. 10
Record	9–3 (6–0 UAC)
Head coach	Scotty Walden (4th season);
Co-offensive coordinators	Jared Kaster (1st season); Lanear Sampson (1st season);
Co-defensive coordinators	J. J. Clark (1st season); Chris Jones (1st season);
Home stadium	Fortera Stadium

2023 United Athletic Conference standings

Team	W		L	W		L
No. 18 $^	6	–	0	9	–	3
Central Arkansas	4	–	2	7	–	4
Southern Utah	4	–	2	6	–	5
Eastern Kentucky	4	–	2	5	–	6
Tarleton State*	4	–	2	8	–	3
Abilene Christian	3	–	3	5	–	6
North Alabama	1	–	5	3	–	8
Utah Tech*	1	–	5	2	–	9
Stephen F. Austin	0	–	6	3	–	8

$ – Conference champion Note: Tarleton State and Utah Tech are ineligible for the UAC title and FCS postseason play due to transitions from NCAA Division II. Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2023 Austin Peay Governors football team represented Austin Peay State University as a member of the United Athletic Conference during the 2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by fourth-year head coach Scotty Walden, the Governors played at Fortera Stadium in Clarksville, Tennessee.

After the 2022 season, the ASUN and the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), which had been partners in a football-only alliance in the 2021 and 2022 seasons, jointly announced that they would merge their football leagues.^[1]^[2]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 2	6:00 p.m.	at Southern Illinois*		Saluki Stadium Carbondale, IL	ESPN+	L 23–49	8,327
September 9	4:00 p.m.	at No. 9 (FBS) Tennessee*		Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN	SECN+	L 13–30	101,915
September 16	6:00 p.m.	East Tennessee State*		Fortera Stadium Clarksville, TN	ESPN+	W 63–3	8,296
September 23	6:00 p.m.	at Stephen F. Austin		Homer Bryce Stadium Nacogdoches, TX	ESPN+	W 22–20	9,832
September 30	1:00 p.m.	at Lindenwood*		Harlen C. Hunter Stadium St. Charles, MO	ESPN+	W 52–10	2,816
October 14	1:00 p.m.	Gardner–Webb*		Fortera Stadium Clarksville, TN	ESPN+	W 41–14	7,503
October 21	7:00 p.m.	at Southern Utah	No. 24	Eccles Coliseum Cedar City, UT	ESPN+	W 48–45 ^2OT	3,547
October 28	3:00 p.m.	North Alabama	No. 20	Fortera Stadium Clarksville, TN	ESPN+	W 49–39	8,698
November 4	4:00 p.m.	at Eastern Kentucky	No. 19	Roy Kidd Stadium Richmond, KY	ESPN+	W 33–30 ^OT	10,067
November 11	1:00 p.m.	Utah Tech	No. 20	Fortera Stadium Clarksville, TN	ESPN+	W 30–17	7,116
November 18	1:00 p.m.	Central Arkansas	No. 15	Fortera Stadium Clarksville, TN	ESPN+	W 14–12	9,931
November 25	2:00 p.m.	No. 18 Chattanooga*	No. 13	Fortera Stadium Clarksville, TN (NCAA Division I First Round)	ESPN+	L 21–24	7,249
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

^[3]^[4]

Game summaries

at No. 12 Tennessee

Game Two – Austin Peay Governors (0-1) at No. 12 (FBS) Tennessee Volunteers (1-0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Austin Peay	3	3	0	7	13
No. 12 Tennessee (FBS)	3	10	10	7	30

at Neyland Stadium • Knoxville, Tennessee

Date: Saturday, September 9, 2023
Game time: 5:30 p.m. EST
Game weather: Cloudy, 78 °F (26 °C)
Game attendance: 101,915
Referee: Steve Marlowe
TV announcers (SECN+/ESPN+): Justin Kutcher (play-by-play), Dave Steckel (analyst)

Game information

First quarter

(11:06) PEAY — Maddux Trujillo 45-yard field goal (Drive: 8 plays, 48 yards, 3:54; Austin Peay 3-0)
(5:51) TENN – Charles Campbell 28-yard field goal (Drive: 4 plays, 2 yards, 1:01; Tied 3-3)

Second quarter

(8:15) PEAY – Maddux Trujillo 34-yard field goal (Drive: 12 plays, 67 yards, 6:39; Austin Peay 6-3)
(4:55) TENN – Charles Campbell 37-yard field goal (Drive: 8 plays, 65 yards, 3:11; Tied 6-6)
(0:15) TENN – Joe Milton III 6-yard run (Charles Campbell kick) (Drive: 11 plays, 67 yards, 2:04; Tennessee 13-6)

Third quarter

(13:30) TENN – Ramel Keyton 5-yard pass from Joe Milton III (Charles Campbell kick) (Drive: 5 plays, 66 yards, 1:21; Tennessee 20-6)
(6:33) TENN – Charles Campbell 22-yard field goal (Drive: 8 plays, 44 yards, 2:30; Tennessee 23-6)

Fourth quarter

(9:01) PEAY – Trey Goodman 52-yard pass from Mike DiLiello (Maddux Trujillo kick) (Drive: 6 plays, 90 yards, 2:30; Tennessee 23-13)
(8:03) TENN – McCallan Castles 43-yard pass from Joe Milton III (Charles Campbell kick) (Drive: 4 plays, 75 yards, 0:58; Tennessee 30-13)

Statistics	PEAY	TENN
First downs	19	17
Total yards	75–339	65–456
Rushing yards	34–79	32–228
Passing yards	260	228
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	29–41–1	21–33–0
Time of possession	39:01	20:44

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Austin Peay	Passing	Mike DiLiello	29/39, 260 yards, TD, INT
	Rushing	Mike DiLiello	21 carries, 36 yards
	Receiving	Trey Goodman	3 receptions, 70 yards, TD
Tennessee	Passing	Joe Milton III	21/33, 228 yards, 2 TD
	Rushing	Jaylen Wright	13 carries, 118 yards
	Receiving	Ramel Keyton	5 receptions, 52 yards, TD

Gardner–Webb

	1	2	3	4	Total
Runnin' Bulldogs	7	0	7	0	14
Governors	7	6	14	14	41

North Alabama

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
North Alabama	6	12	8	13	39
• Austin Peay	17	22	7	3	49

Date: October 28
Location: Fortera Stadium
Game start: 3:03 p.m.
Game attendance: 8,698
Game weather: 78, Cloudy, Wind N @ 8 mph
Referee: Zach Erdmann
Television network: ESPN+

Sources: ^[5]

Statistics	AP	UNA
First downs	23	20
Total yards	520	408
Rushing yards	167	57
Passing yards	353	351
Turnovers	0	0
Time of possession	34:39	25:11

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
AP	Passing	Mike DiLiello	20/25, 353 yards, 6 TD's
	Rushing	Jevon Jackson	30 carries, 160 yards
	Receiving	Trey Goodman	5 receptions, 129 yards, 1 TD
UNA	Passing	Noah Walters	29/52, 351 yards, 5 TD's
	Rushing	Noah Walters	9 carries, 31 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Dakota Warfield	7 receptions, 88 yards

Chattanooga–NCAA Division I First Round

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 18 Mocs	7	14	0	3	24
No. 13 Governors	7	0	14	0	21

The Governors, won the UAC Conference Title outright receiving the automatic bid for the postseason tournament, with a first-round pairing against Chattanooga.^[6]

References

^ "@ASUN_Football and WAC Release 2023 Schedule" (Press release). ASUN Conference. December 20, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
^ "ASUN And WAC Unveil 2023 Football Schedule" (Press release). Western Athletic Conference. December 20, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
^ "2023 Austin Peay Football Schedule". FBSchedules. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
^ "2023 Football Schedule". Austin Peay Athletics. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
^ "North Alabama vs Austin Peay Box Score". APSU Athletics. Retrieved June 2, 2025.
^ "The War on 24 Renewed: Govs Host Mocs in FCS Playoffs". letsgopeay.com. November 19, 2023. Retrieved November 19, 2023.

[1] "@ASUN_Football and WAC Release 2023 Schedule" (Press release). ASUN Conference. December 20, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2022.

[2] "ASUN And WAC Unveil 2023 Football Schedule" (Press release). Western Athletic Conference. December 20, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2022.

[3] "2023 Austin Peay Football Schedule". FBSchedules. Retrieved March 15, 2023.

[4] "2023 Football Schedule". Austin Peay Athletics. Retrieved March 15, 2023.

[5] "North Alabama vs Austin Peay Box Score". APSU Athletics. Retrieved June 2, 2025.

[6] "The War on 24 Renewed: Govs Host Mocs in FCS Playoffs". letsgopeay.com. November 19, 2023. Retrieved November 19, 2023.

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Austin Peay Governors football
Venues	Fortera Stadium (1946–present)
Bowls and rivalries	Tennessee State, Tennessee Tech, UT Martin: Sgt. York Trophy
People	Head coaches NFL draftees
Seasons	1930 1931 1932–1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942–1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2024 2025