Austin Peay football receives FCS playoff berth: See the Govs react
Austin Peay football held a watch party at F&M Bank Arena Sunday morning to watch the reveal of the FCS playoff bracket.
Austin Peay football looks to finish out the regular season with a perfect record at home.
The Governors (6-4, 4-3 United Athletic Conference) host Samford (1-9, 1-7 SoCon) in a non-conference game on Senior Day at Fortera Stadium on Nov. 15. APSU has won all five games it’s played in Clarksville this season, most recently a 41-38 win over Central Arkansas in Week 11.
Quarterback Chris Parson, who is third in FCS this season with 2,941 yards of total offense, threw two touchdowns and ran for another pair in the Govs’ win over the Bears. Parson leads an Austin Peay offense that ranks second in the United Athletic Conference in scoring, averaging 34.7 points per game.
The Bulldogs’ only win in 2025 was a 24-22 victory at VMI on Oct. 18; they’ve lost three straight games since then. Coach Chris Hatcher was fired after a 38-14 loss to East Tennessee State on Nov. 8.
The Govs need to beat Samford in order to keep their hopes of earning an at-large bid to the FCS playoffs alive. While beating the Bulldogs won’t get them into the field of 24 by itself, they’ll have another chance to make a statement for the selection committee when they face No. 6 Tarleton State (9-1) on Nov. 22.
Austin Peay vs Samford live score updates
Brady Stober’s pass is picked off by Montreze Smith, who returned it 35 yards to add to Austin Peay’s lead over Samford. The Governors are up 14-0 with 5:11 to go in the first.
Nate Garnett caught a short pass from Chris Parson, broke a tackle and raced 70 yards down the sideline for the first score of the game. Austin Peay leads Samford 7-0 with 7:49 left in the first quarter.
What time does Austin Peay vs. Samford start?
- Date: Saturday, Nov. 15
- Time: 1 p.m. CT
- Where: Fortera Stadium, Clarksville, Tennessee
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MORE: Chris Parson wins battle of former Nashville area stars against Destin Wade as Austin Peay beats North Alabama
Austin Peay football schedule 2025
All times Central
- Aug. 30: W 34-14 at Middle Tennessee State
- Sept. 6: L 28-6 at Georgia
- Sept. 13: W 56-7 vs. Morehead State
- Sept. 20: L 45-31 at Abilene Christian*
- Sept. 27: W 42-10 vs. Utah Tech*
- Oct. 4: W 44-30 vs. West Georgia*
- Oct. 11: L 34-20 at Eastern Kentucky*
- Oct. 25: W 56-28 vs. North Alabama*
- Nov. 1: L 33-17 at Southern Utah*
- Nov. 8: W 41-38 vs. Central Arkansas*
- Nov. 15: vs. Samford (1 p.m.)
- Nov. 22: at Tarleton State (4 p.m.)*
Jacob Shames can be reached by email at jshames@gannett.com and on X/Twitter @Jacob_Shames.
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