CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (October 27, 2023) – With both teams coming off dramatic wins, the University of North Alabama football team will pay a visit to Clarksville, Tenn. to take on nationally-ranked Austin Peay this Saturday, Oct. 28 at 3 p.m.
Both the Lions and Govs are coming off tight victories against schools from Utah. UNA edged Utah Tech in a 31-30 thriller in Florence last week, which ended with a broken-up two point conversion pass with 31 seconds to go. Meanwhile, Austin Peay flew to Southern Utah and scored a walk-off touchdown for a 48-45 overtime victory.
The Govs will be hosting UNA for its Homecoming this weekend and look to extend a five-game win streak. The Lions, however, are hunting the upset as Austin Peay enters as the No. 20 team in both major FCS polls.
For a list of "Things to Know" for Saturday's game, including ticket and parking information, where to watch, how to listen and how to follow live stats,
click here.
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Game: North Alabama vs. Austin Peay
Date: Saturday, October 28
Time: 3:00 p.m.
Location: Clarksville, Tennessee
Stadium: Fortera Stadium
Capacity: 10,000
TV: ESPN+
Radio: WLX 98.3 / 103.5 FM
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Tickets: TicketMaster
Social Media:
@UNAFootball
UNA Game Notes |
Opponent Game Notes |
UAC Website
ABOUT THE LIONS
- North Alabama is 3-5 overall and 1-3 in the United Athletic Conference following its first conference win of the season last week against Utah Tech.
- Tied 24-24 with just over six minutes remaining in regulation, UNA ran the ball eight times and got near the red zone with 1:37 to go. After a Utah Tech timeout, UNA switched things up with a pass play, as quarterback Noah Walters connected with Dakota Warfield for the go-ahead score. Down 31-24, Utah Tech stormed back down the field and scored with 31 seconds to go. Instead of playing for overtime, UT decided to go for two and failed the conversion thanks to a pass-breakup by Gregory Reddick. UNA's JJ Evans recovered the onside kick and Walters knelt out the clock to win it.
- A pair of Lions scored their first career rushing touchdowns last week, including redshirt senior Jakob Cummings and true freshman Dennis Moody. Cummings spent five seasons on UNA's defense before moving to offense as an H-back this season, punching it in for the first time 45 games into his career. Meanwhile, Moody scored in the third quarter and had a career-high 52 yards.
- UNA has the second-toughest total strength of schedule in FCS, according to NCAA.org based on win percentages. UNA's opponents have a combined record of 50-30 this season. Using the same metric, UNA has the toughest remaining schedule in FCS with two nationally-ranked FCS teams and FBS No. 4 Florida State remaining.
- Walters rushed for over 100 yards on Saturday, leading all rushers and becoming the first UNA quarterback to record 100 rushing yards in a game since Christian Lopez in the 2018 season opener at Southern Utah — UNA'S first-ever game as a member of FCS. The last UNA QB to run for over 100 yards at Braly was Jacob Tucker in 2016 vs. Valdosta State.
- Redshirt senior Takairee Kenebrew is the leading target for Walters with 29 catches for 479 yards and six scores. He ranks third on the all-time career receiving touchdown list at UNA with 22, needing one more to tie Jason Messing (2004-07) for second all-time and three more to tie Dre Hall (2014-17) for first all-time.
- Moving from wide receiver to running back this offseason, sophomore Demarcus Lacey leads the Lions with 112 rushing attempts for 580 yards and three touchdowns. He also has 21 catches for 121 yards to account for 701 all-purpose yards. He and Jalyn Daniels were both averaging over 70 rushing yards per game before Daniels suffered a season-ending injury three games into the season.
- Redshirt sophomore Edwin White Schultz continues to lead the defense from the safety position with 68 tackles, ranking third in the UAC with 8.5 tackles per game.
- The UNA defense had a rare game without a forced turnover last week, but still ranks 15th in FCS with 14 turnovers gained. On the flipside, UNA's offense also did not have a turnover in an efficient effort.
- The Lions are in their 75th season of football in 2023 with an all-time record of 483-303-16.
- This season is the sixth for UNA since transitioning to NCAA Division I and the second as a full-fledged FCS member. UNA has an all-time record of 18-37 versus FCS opponents, but seek their first win over a ranked FCS team after 13 unsuccessful tries.
- The Lions are charter members of the newly-formed United Athletic Conference, along with Abilene Christian, Austin Peay, Central Arkansas, EKU, Southern Utah, Stephen F. Austin, Tarleton State, Utah Tech and UTRGV, who will be joining in 2025. Former Gulf South Conference rival West Georgia announced its move to NCAA Division I and will join the league in 2024.
- The Lions are led by first year head coach Brent Dearmon, an Alabama native and offensive guru who made stops at Kansas, Middle Tennessee State and Florida Atlantic. Prior to those places, Dearmon was the head coach at Bethel (TN), where he led the team to a 10-1 record and a top-five NAIA national ranking in 2018.
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North Alabama remains the second-winningest program in the state of Alabama since 1990 with 256 wins in the last 33 years, ranking second only to the University of Alabama with 302 wins. The Lions boast 21 NCAA playoff appearances, 17 conference championships and three national championship victories.
ABOUT THE GOVS
- After an 0-2 start, Austin Peay has rattled off five straight wins to enter with a 5-2 overall record. The Govs followed a loss to then-FBS No. 9 Tennessee with wins over ETSU, Stephen F. Austin, Lindenwood, Gardner-Webb and Southern Utah.
- The Govs entered moved up from No. 24 to No. 20 in both the FCS Coaches Poll and the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 this week. This marks the second ranked opponent on UNA's schedule this season, though two others (Chattanooga and UT Martin) entered the polls after playing UNA.
- The Govs average 37.4 points per game to lead the UAC in scoring, while allowing 24.4 points per game to also lead the UAC in fewest points allowed per game.
- Austin Peay is led at quarterback by Mike DiLiello, who ranks sixth in FCS in total offense with nearly 300 yards per game. He also ranks eighth in passing yards (1,926) and 10th in passing touchdowns (15). Eight different receivers are responsible for the 15 touchdown catches. DiLiello has a connection to UNA coach Brent Dearmon as the graduate transfer played at MTSU before going to Austin Peay.
- The Govs are in a similar situation with UNA at running back, as CJ Evans Jr. suffered a season-ending injury. This has left the workload to Jevon Jackson, who now averages 138.8 yards per game on the ground. Jackson ranks 17th in the FCS in rushing yards (647), 17th in rushing yards per game (92.4), and 15th in rushing touchdowns (7).
- Defensively, Tyler Long leads the Governors with 70 tackles this season after matching his career-high for the second time this season with 17 tackles at Southern Utah. Long ranks 17th in the FCS and second in the UAC with 10.0 tackles per game while Sam Howard ranks 54th in the FCS and fifth in the conference with 8.1 tackles per game.
- Austin Peay is coached by Scotty Walden, who is in his fourth season at the helm. Walden has a 22-13 record at the school and a 30-19 overall record following one season at NCAA Division III member East Texas Baptist and an interim stint at Southern Miss. Walden led the Govs to a share of the 2022 ASUN Football Championship with a 7-4 record.
SERIES HISTORY
- Saturday marks the 20th all-time meeting between the schools since UNA continued football full-time in 1949. The Lions are 13-6 in the previous meetings.
- UNA and Austin Peay met last season for the first time in 44 years. The Govs won a thriller at Braly Stadium, holding off the Lions for a 38-35 win. UNA was down 38-28 with 16 seconds to go before Walters hit Lacey for a 32 yard touchdown. Kicker Sam Contorno made the extra point, then recovered his own onside kick to give UNA a chance to tie or win. An interception on the final play sealed it for the Govs.
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Prior to 2022, the last meeting between the Lions and Govs came in 1978, where UNA won 10-6 in Clarksville.
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UNA and APSU played regularly from 1949 to 1962, as UNA went 11-3 in that span. The series continued for four season in 1975 before the Govs made the jump to the newly-formed Division I-AA (now known as FCS).
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UNA owns a 67-46-2 record against the state of Tennessee, including 19 wins over UT Martin and 13 wins over the Govs.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
