CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – Former OVC rivals Austin Peay (2-1, 0-0) and East Tennessee State (1-2, 0-1) will face off for the first time since the 1978 season Saturday, Sept. 21.
The two teams first met in 1951 and played annually until one year after ETSU left the OVC in the 1977 season.
Austin Peay has a 6-1-1 record, including four wins in a row in the series. The Bucs hold an 8-4-1 advantage in games played in Johnson City.
Last week in their first road test of the season, Austin Peay picked up a 48-34 victory over Mercer, marking the team’s first road non-conference victory over a scholarship program since the 2007 season.
Through three games the Gov defense has been solid, ranking second nationally in rush defense, third in defensive touchdowns with two and eighth in both total defense and tackles-for-loss.
Austin Peay quarterback Jeremiah Oatsvall remains sidelined indefinitely after suffering an ankle injury in the Governors week two matchup against Central Arkansas. JaVaughn Craig stepped up in Oatsvall’s absence against the Bears, going 18-of-32 with 252 passing yards and one touchdown.
East Tennessee State will be playing its third-straight home game after opening the season at FBS foe Appalachian State. The Bucs defeated Shorter in week two before falling in overtime to VMI who ended the FCS’s longest conference losing streak at 22 games in the process.
ETSU’s Trey Mitchell completed 17 passes for 250 yards and two touchdowns while Jacob Saylors rushed for a game-high 112 yards (12.4 ypc) and a touchdown in the loss against VMI.
ETSU did not field a football team from 2004 through 2015 and last year was 8-4, making the FCS Playoffs for the first time since 1996.