2020 Austin Peay Governors football team

The 2020 Austin Peay Governors football team represented Austin Peay State University during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Governors were led by Scotty Walden and played their home games at Fortera Stadium. They were competing as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference.

2020 Austin Peay Governors football
Conference	Ohio Valley Conference
Ranking
STATS	No. 21
Record	4–5 (4–2 OVC)
Head coach	Marquase Lovings (interim; fall season) (1st season) Scotty Walden
Offensive coordinator	Scotty Walden, Josh Cochran, Austin Silvoy (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Chris Kappas (1st season)
Home stadium	Fortera Stadium
Seasons ← 2019 2021 →

2020 Ohio Valley Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 8 Jacksonville State $^		6	–	1					10	–	3
No. 19 Murray State		5	–	2					5	–	2
No. 21 Austin Peay		4	–	2					4	–	5
Southeast Missouri State		4	–	3					4	–	4
UT Martin		3	–	4					3	–	4
Tennessee Tech		2	–	5					2	–	5
Tennessee State		2	–	5					2	–	5
Eastern Illinois		1	–	5					1	–	5
$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Note: Eastern Kentucky played only in the fall and opted out of the spring season. Rankings from STATS Poll

Schedule

Due to COVID-19, the OVC made the decision to postpone conference games to Spring 2021, allowing all member schools to play 3 non-conference games in the fall. However, OVC games were moved to Spring 2021.

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
August 29	8:00 p.m.	vs. No. 11 Central Arkansas*	No. 13	Cramton Bowl Montgomery, AL (FCS Kickoff)	ESPN	L 17–24	2,000	[1]
September 12	3:00 p.m.	at (FBS) Pittsburgh*	No. 13	Heinz Field Pittsburgh, PA	ACC Network	L 0–55	0
September 19	11:00 a.m.	at No. 13 (FBS) Cincinnati*	No. 13	Nippert Stadium Cincinnati, OH	ESPN+	L 20–55	0
February 21	1:00 p.m.	at Tennessee Tech	No. 13	Tucker Stadium Cookeville, TN	OVC on ESPN+	L 21–27	1,825
February 28	2:00 p.m.	Tennessee State		Fortera Stadium Clarksville, TN	OVC on ESPN+	W 27–20	831
March 14	2:00 p.m.	at Southeast Missouri State		Houck Stadium Cape Girardeau, MO	OVC on ESPN+	W 49–42 2OT	2,201
March 21	2:00 p.m.	UT Martin		Fortera Stadium Clarksville, TN	OVC on ESPN+	L 34–37	1,530
March 28	2:00 p.m.	at No. 7 Jacksonville State		JSU Stadium Jacksonville, AL	OVC on ESPN+	W 13–10	7,702
April 3	2:00 p.m.	No. 14 Murray State		Fortera Stadium Clarksville, TN	OVC on ESPN+	W 34–31	1,843
April 11	1:00 p.m.	at Eastern Illinois	No. 25	O'Brien Field Charleston, IL	OVC on ESPN+	Canceled
*Non-conference game Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

^[2]

Game summaries

Vs. Central Arkansas

See also: 2020 Central Arkansas Bears football team and FCS Kickoff

Game One – No. 13 Austin Peay Governors vs. No. 11 Central Arkansas Bears (Guardian Credit Union FCS Kickoff)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 13 Governors	7	3	0	7	17
No. 11 Bears	0	6	7	11	24

at Crampton Bowl • Montgomery, Alabama

• Date: Saturday, August 29, 2020
• Game time: 8:00 p.m. CDT
• Game weather: Cloudy • Temperature: 81 °F (27 °C) • Wind: NE 3 mph
• Game attendance: 2,000
• Referee: Bob Johnson
• TV announcers (ESPN): Matt Barrie (play-by-play), Mike Golic Jr. (analyst), Lauren Sisler (sideline)
• Pregame line: Central Arkansas by 5 • Odds to win: Central Arkansas 57.4% • Game summary: ESPN NCAA

Game information

First quarter (14:44) APSU – CJ Evans Jr. 75 yard rush, Grant Paulette kick (Drive: 1 play, 75 yards, 0:16; Austin Peay 7–0) Second quarter (11:38) APSU – Grant Paulette 28 yard field goal (Drive: 6 plays, 42 yards, 3:09; Austin Peay 10–0) (7:37) UCA – Hayden Ray 30 yard field goal (Drive: 12 plays, 63 yards, 4:01; Austin Peay 10–3) (3:51) UCA – Hayden Ray 27 yard field goal (Drive: 4 plays, 2 yards, 1:25; Austin Peay 10–6) Third quarter (14:00) UCA – Kierre Crossley 34 yard rush, Hayden Ray kick (Drive: 3 plays, 56 yards, 1:00; Central Arkansas 13–10) Fourth quarter (7:44) UCA – Hayden Ray 32 yard field goal (Drive: 6 plays, 36 yards, 1:13; Central Arkansas 16–10) (1:40) APSU – Jeremiah Oatsvall 1 yard rush, Grant Paulette kick (Drive: 7 plays, 60 yards, 2:36; Austin Peay 17–16) (0:34) UCA – LuJuan Winningham 10 yard pass from Breylin Smith, 2-point pass good (Drive: 6 plays, 78 yards, 1:06; Central Arkansas 24–17)

Statistics	APSU	UCA
First downs	16	23
Plays–yards	70–333	80–458
Rushes–yards	38–152	31–175
Passing yards	181	283
Passing: comp–att–int	14–33–1	26–49–2
Time of possession	32:06	27:54

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Austin Peay	Passing	Jeremiah Oatsvall	14/31, 181 yards, 1 INT
	Rushing	CJ Evans Jr.	10 carries, 98 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Jay Parker	3 receptions, 55 yards
Central Arkansas	Passing	Breylin Smith	26/49, 283 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Kierre Crossley	12 carries, 110 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Tyler Hudson	5 receptions, 82 yards

At Pittsburgh

	1	2	3	4	Total
Governors	0	0	0	0	0
Panthers	21	21	0	13	55

See also: 2020 Pittsburgh Panthers football team

At Cincinnati

	1	2	3	4	Total
Governors	3	0	3	14	20
No. 13 (FBS) Bearcats	14	14	14	13	55

See also: 2020 Cincinnati Bearcats football team