The Austin Peay State University football team wraps up its three-game road trip when it travels to No. 8 Jacksonville State for a 3 p.m. kickoff, Saturday.
The matchup between the Governors (2-2, 0-1 OVC) and the Gamecocks (2-1, 1-0 OVC) is the first Ohio Valley Conference Game of the Week of the 2018 season. As such, the game will be broadcast on ESPN3.
The Gamecocks won the OVC for the fourth consecutive season in 2017, and the Governors finished second in the league. In preseason polls by coaches and media, the teams were picked to finish in the same spots again this season, making this a critical matchup in determining the conference champion.
The matchup to watch in this game may come down to the Govs’ rushing offense against the Gamecocks’ rushing defense. The Govs have pounded opponents to the tune of 266.5 yards per game on the ground, which ranks 14th in the FCS. On the flip side, JSU has limited its opponents to just 57 rushing yards per game, which ranks fourth in the country.
“I think their scheme is really good,” head coach Will Healy said. “They make it difficult for you on some of the reads and option stuff that we do. I think they rally to the football: they get hats to the football and they’re going to get safeties involved in run fits. We’re going to have to win on the perimeter.”
Courtesy of APSU Athletics