By Matt Schabert, Morehead State Athletic Media Relations
GAME NOTES | ESPN+ | LIVE AUDIO | LIVE STATS
MOREHEAD, Ky. -- Morehead State football is back on the road this weekend when the Eagles face their second nationally-ranked opponent this season in No. 19 Austin Peay. The former OVC and PFL rivals kick-off at 3 p.m. ET in Clarksville, Tenn., Saturday.
"I told our team that we don't have to play the perfect game against Austin Peay, we just have to execute plays when it counts," said head coach
Rob Tenyer. "Obviously we have to take care of the football. We can't have the turnovers like we had at James Madison. I was pleased with our progress last week. Point didn't have a first down until the second quarter, so our defense was tough. And we made some improvements on offense and special teams too."
The game will air on ESPN+ along with the Eagle Sports Radio Network with Chuck Mraz, Jason Blanton and Tom Lewis. Air time is 2:30 p.m. on WIVY-96.3 FM, WGOH-100.9 FM/1370 AM, WMST-106.9 FM/1150 AM and MSUEagles.com.
THE SERIES
Â
Record vs. APSU: MSU leads 27-19
First Meeting: Oct. 13, 1962 (MSU won 36-7 at MSU)
Last Meeting: Sept. 15, 2018 (AP won 78-40 at MSU)
Record in Morehead: 18-8
Record in Clarksville: 9-11
Last 3 Meetings
9/15/18 - AP 78, @MSU 40
9/16/17 - @AP 69, MSU 13
11/11/06 - AP 23, @MSU 21
GAME NOTES
Â
• Morehead State faces a former OVC and PFL foe in Austin Peay this weekend. The Govs left the PFL after 2006 after joining in 2001 along with MSU. The Eagles never lost to the Govs while the two were in the PFL, going 6-0. APSU has claimed the last three meetings (2006, 2017, 2018) but the Eagles won 10 in a row in the series prior to that and lead the overall series 27-19.
• This will mark the first time since the 2014 season that MSU will face two top 25-ranked FCS foes in the same season.Â
• Graduate student QB
Mark Pappas is the reigning PFL Offensive Player of the Wek after a 286-yard, 5-touchdown effort against Point (Ga.). Pappas established his career high with the five TD tosses
• Of the 14 categories listed in the PFL stats, Morehead State ranks in the top three in the league in 10 of them. The Eagles lead the PFL in tackles for loss and rank second in passing offense, passing defense, interceptions and turnover margin.
• Senior WR
BJ Byrd leads the PFL in receptions per game (9.0) and receiving yards per game (114.0) and ranks second and ninth, respectively, in the nation among the FCS ranks. His 127 receiving yards (on a career-high nine catches) at James Madison was the 15th best single-game total in the FCS in the opening two weeks of action.
• Graduate student
Andrew Foster would rank eighth in the FCS in punting average (46.0) if he had the required 3.6 per game to qualify (Foster has only punted five times in 2021). He is looking to become the first Eagle to ever average more than 40 yards per punt for four consecutive seasons. Foster is on the FCS Punter of the Year Watch List.
•
Vaughn Taylor, Jr., once again sees himself leading the PFL in tackles for loss with four officially. He had a hand in a school-record six tackles behind the line of scrimmage against Point (Ga.), officially with 3.5 as the NCAA counts assists as a half tackle. Taylor Jr. has recorded 40 career TFLs.
• Morehead State's 62 tallies against Point (Ga.) was the 5th 50-point outburst in the
Rob Tenyer era and the most points scored since 76 against Valparaiso in the final game of 2012. It marked the second highest output of the Tenyer era (2013-) only behind the 73 versus KCU in 2019.
