The Austin Peay Governors (2-4) will take on the UT Martin Skyhawks (1-2) at Fortera Stadium on Sunday.
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The game (3 p.m. ET start time) won’t be on TV, but anyone in the US can watch UT Martin vs Austin Peay football live on ESPN+ right here:
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UT Martin vs Austin Peay Preview
The Governors are coming off a 49-42 overtime win against the SEMO Redhawks last weekend. Quarterback Draylen Ellis went 23-43 for 262 yards, a whopping six touchdowns and an interception in the win, while his favorite target, wideout Baniko Harley, caught four of those scores, finishing with eight catches for 76 yards.
“We really emphasize in our offense throwing the ball down the field,” Austin Peay head coach Scotty Walden said after the game. “That’s who we are and what we’re going to do.”
Walden also gave a shout out to his quarterback after the overtime victory, who he says is maturing before our very eyes. “I’m proud of Draylen’s maturation. I think he grew up before our eyes today. He knew the plays I was going to call before I called them. … He’s starting to get a feel for, ‘Alright, this is what coach likes to call in this situation,’ and the biggest thing today is, when he made a mistake or his eyes were in the wrong spot, he looked over at me and said, ‘That’s on me,’ and he was really calm… Whenever he was really calm and collected and regrouped, he went out and executed.”
On the other side, UT Martin is coming off a disappointing 37-20 loss to Jacksonville State last week. The Skyhawks jumped out to a double-digit lead in the first quarter before failing to score more than a field goal in the next two. Quarterback John Bachus III went 24-43 for 252 yards and a touchdown, playing a solid game in a losing effort that saw the Skyhawks’ run game get completely stifled. UT Martin gained just 29 yards on the ground all game on 20 carries after a few flashes early on.
“We got off to a great start in the first quarter getting up 10-0,” UT Martin head coach Jason Simpson said. “It seemed like we were able to run the ball and get the play action going a little bit. Once we scored that first drive, they said forget it, we are going to load this box up and play man coverage. Then once we had the fumble on their red zone it just started to snowball from there. They got their run game going and found balance. We just couldn’t match that. It is disappointing but we are all in this together and we will get it fixed.”
A fast start won’t be necessary in order to win this game, but a far more consistent effort across all four quarters, particularly from the run game and offensive line, will be.