CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (Sept. 15, 2023) – The ETSU football team will head to Clarksville to wrap up non-conference play as the Buccaneers take on Austin Peay on Saturday night. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET at Fortera Stadium.   

IN-STATE NON-CONFERENCE CLASH

Date: Saturday, Sept. 16

Time: 7 p.m. ET

Location: Clarksville, Tenn. | Fortera Stadium

Teams: ETSU (1-1) at Austin Peay (0-2)

Weather: 77° | Partly Cloudy | Winds NNW @ 5 mph

Live Video: ESPN+

TV Crew: Barry Gresham (pbp); Ethan Schmidt (analyst); Isabella Christenson (sideline)

Live Audio: WXSM-AM 640 | 104.9 NASH ICON

Radio Crew: Jay "Voice of the Bucs" Sandos (pbp), Matt Wilhjelm (analyst), Robert Harper (sideline)

Live Stats: LetsGoPeay.com (StatBroadcast)

Twitter: @ETSUFootball

BUCS PITCH A SHUTOUT

ETSU blanked Carson-Newman last Saturday, 42-0, thanks to the Buccaneer defense holding the Eagles to 204 yards of total offense (85 rushing/119 passing) … The shutout was the first for the Bucs since beating Gardner-Webb 45-0 back on Oct. 6, 2018 … In that game, ETSU held the Runnin' Bulldogs to 221 yards of offense (59 rushing/162 passing) … This season, six FCS teams have pitched a shutout – Eastern Illinois (27-0 vs. Indiana State), Illinois State (41-0 vs. Dayton), Central Conn State (44-0 vs. American Int'l), Houston Christian (66-0 vs. Arkansas Baptist) and South Dakota (24-0 vs. St. Thomas (MN).

BUCCANEER DEFENSE IN THE SOCON

Through two weeks of the season, ETSU's defense leads the SoCon in total defense (284.0) and passing defense (123.0) … The Bucs limited Jacksonville State to 364 yards of total offense (127 passing) in week one, while last week, the Blue & Gold only surrendered 204 yards to Carson-Newman (85 rushing/119 passing).

BUCS IN THE FCS RANKINGS

Chris Hope enters the weekend ranking eighth nationally in solo tackles (7.5) and 41st in total tackles (9.0) … Nate Brackett is 12th in punting (44.4), while Einaj Carter is fourth in punt returns (20.0) … Xavier Gaillardetz ranks 15th among all FCS players in yards per reception (22.6) and Khalik Anderson is 13th in interceptions per game (0.5).

SPECIAL TEAMS COMES THROUGH BIG IN HOME OPENER

ETSU's special teams stepped up in a big way in Saturday's win over Carson-Newman ... The Bucs scored on a blocked punt by Teddy Wilson as Ray Coney pounced on the ball in the end zone for a touchdown ... Einaj Carter (4 returns for 80 yards) and Xavier Gaillardetz (2 returns for 39 yards) combined for six punt returns for 119 yards... Nate Brackett averaged nearly 51 yards per punt, including three inside the 20 and a career-long 70-yard punt ... Ewan Johnson was 6-fo-6 in PATs and had seven kickoffs for 436 yards.

BRACKETT NAMED SOCON STUDENT-ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

Following a stellar performance in Saturday's win over Carson-Newman, punter Nate Brackett earned SoCon Student-Athlete of the Week honors … Brackett averaged nearly 51 yards per punt in last Saturday's 42-0 win over Carson-Newman inside William B. Greene, Jr. Stadium. The Rockwood, Tenn. native finished with six punts for 305 yards (50.8 average), including a career-long 70-yard punt that pinned the Eagles down to the three-yard line in the second quarter. The 70-yard punt is the fourth-longest punt by an FCS player this season and the 11th longest by a Buccaneer. Three of his punts landed inside the 20-yard line with Carson-Newman being forced to start drives at the 3-, 6- and 17-yard lines … Brackett, who is majoring in rehabilitative health sciences and minoring in nutrition, also had punts of 51 and 55-yards on Saturday. The Buccaneer punter has a 3.60 cumulative grade-point-average and is a three-time SoCon Honor Roll member.

THE FLYING BARON

Baron May made the most of his first collegiate start last week as he rushed for 109 yards and threw for 139 yards and two touchdowns … May, who scored on a 29-yard run in the first quarter, became the first Buccaneer quarterback to run for over 100 yards since the great Austin Herink totaled 134 rushing yards in the win over Kentucky Wesleyan back on Nov. 21, 2015 … May also threw his first collegiate touchdown as he found Will Huzzie for a 14-yard strike in the third quarter and capped off his scoring with a 32-yard bomb to Xavier Gaillardetz.

PERSONAL MILESTONES

Several Buccaneers on the defensive side of the ball enter Saturday's game in search of some personal milestones … Zach West is two tackles shy of 100, Stephen Scott needs seven hits to get to 100 and Max Evans is eight tackles away from registering his 100th career tackle.

HUZZIE REACHES THE 2K MARK

Speaking of personal milestones, ETSU redshirt senior wide receiver Will Huzie made history last Saturday as he became just the third Buccaneer receiver to eclipse the 2,000 receiving yard mark for a career … Huzzie has now totaled 2,039 receiving yards in 40 career games with the Bucs … B.J. Adigun (1994-97) is the all-time Buccaneer leader with 2,802 receiving yards and Cecil Moore (1999-02) is second with 2,488 yards … Huzzie also has 154 receptions, which rank third all-time … Huzzie needs eight catches to pass Moore for second and 19 catches to break B.J. Adigun's school record of 172 … In his 40 games played, Huzzie has posted 17 touchdown receptions … The Duluth, Ga. native needs two more touchdown catches to move into the top three Buccaneer leaders and 10 to break Adigun's record of 26.

FOUR BUCS SCORE FIRST COLLEGIATE TOUCHDOWNS

Last week, four Bucs notched their first collegiate touchdowns in the 42-0 win over Carson-Newman … Ray Coney was the first to accomplish the feat as he scored when Teddy Wilson blocked a punt and the freshman linebacker pounced on the ball in the end zone … Baron May threw his first collegiate touchdown in the third quarter when he found Will Huzzie in the corner of the end zone for 14 yards … Later in the third quarter, Xavier Gaillardetz hauled in his first collegiate touchdown – a 32-yard reception from May … Timmy Dorsey put the icing on the cake when he scored from five yards out in the fourth quarter.

A ROAD LESS TRAVELLED

This season marks the first time since 1973 the Bucs are playing non-conference games against two in-state teams … The Bucs take on Carson-Newman and Austin Peay this season, while in 1973, the Blue & Gold played Carson-Newman and Chattanooga.

ABOUT AUSTIN PEAY

• Austin Peay has dropped its first two games of the season as the Govs fell at Southern Illinois 49-23 in the season opener and battled Tennessee 30-13 this past Saturday in Knoxville
• The Govs went 7-4 last season and finished 3-2 in ASUN play en route to winning a conference championship
• Austin Peay is 23-7 at home since 2017, resulting in a .767-win percentage … The Govs have won five of their last six home openers and are outscoring their opponents 277-85 over this six-game runDating back to 2017, Austin Peay has won 41 games, which tied for the 14th-most in the FCS entering the 2023 season … The Govs' 41 wins in the past six seasons are two more wins than the 39 victories they had in 14 seasons from 2002-16
• Four players earned All-United Athletic Conference preseason honors … Defensive back Kory Chapman, tight end Jordan Goco, offensive lineman Chandler Kirton and linebacker Tyler Long were the players to earn all-conference preseason accolades
• Fourth-year head coach Scotty Walden is coaching the Govs in their third different conference over his career in Clarksville … Walden coached Austin Peay in the OVC for his first two seasons, followed by the ASUN last year … This year, the Govs are in the United Athletic Conference
• Walden returns starting quarterback Mike DiLiello after he threw for over 2,400 yards and 21 touchdowns, while rushing for 446 yards and eight touchdowns last season … Last year, Austin Peay averaged 423.5 yards of total offense, marking the best single-season mark in program history
• In addition to DiLiello, the Govs return all five starting offensive linemen that accounted for 52 of their 55 starts last season
• Austin Peay returns just three starters from its defense – Kory Chapman, Jau'Von Young and Cedarius Doss … However, the Govs brought in five graduate transfers from the FCS level – Christian Lewis (DB, Albany), Tyler Long (LB, Norfolk State), Miles Richardson (DB, Wofford), Darius Richmond (DL, Incarnate Word) and Michael Ruttlen Jr. (DB, Princeton) … Entering this season, this group has played in 149 career games, accumulating 476 tackles, 23.5 TFLs, 8.5 sacks, nine interceptions and three forced fumbles
• Last season, Austin Peay passed for 2,580 yards – the fourth-best single-season total in program history – and return 2,511 yards or 97.33 percent of those passing yards … The Govs rushed for 2,082 yards and return 1,655 of those yards (79.97 percent) … It marked the first time in program history where they hit 2,000-plus passing and rushing yards in the same season
• Through two games this season, Austin Peay is averaging 296 yards of offense (237 passing/59 rushing) and allowing 444 yards (245.5 passing/198.5 rushing) … The Govs have turned the ball over five times in their first two games (3 INTs/2 fumbles) … Austin Peay has converted on 27 percent on third down (8/30), while opponents are hitting on just 33 percent of their third down chances (8/24)
• The Govs are being outscored 64-9 in the first three quarters in 2023
• Austin Peay held Tennessee to 30 points on Saturday, the fewest a ranked-FBS opponent has scored against APSU in program history … The Govs generated 339 yards of offense at Tennessee and led 6-3 with 8:15 remaining in the second quarter … From there, the Vols outscored Austin Peay 27-7 to rally for the win 

SERIES HISTORY

• ETSU leads the all-time series against Austin Peay, 15-12-2
• The Bucs won the last meeting 20-14 back on Sept. 21, 2019 inside Greene Stadium … ETSU scored 10 fourth-quarter points to rally past the Governors as the Bucs shutout Austin Peay in the second half … Quay Holmes scored the go-ahead touchdown with 6:58 remaining on a 2-yard run, while Tyler Keltner kicked a 37-yard field goal with 1:38 left in the contest … Austin Peay got to its own 42-yard line on the final drive but Artevius Smith intercepted a pass from JaVaughn Craig to seal the win
• The 2019 victory was the first for the Bucs over Austin Peay since Nov. 18, 1972 when ETSU won 20-16
• ETSU's last win in Clarksville came on Nov. 21, 1970 when the Bucs won 45-14
• ETSU has dropped the last four to Austin Peay in Clarksville, while this marks the Bucs' first trip to Austin Peay since Nov. 19, 1977 when ETSU lost 24-10 

COVERAGE

The Buccaneer Sports Network (BSN) will provide ETSU fans with complete pregame, in-game and postgame coverage on the Bucs' flagship station WXSM-AM 640 and affiliate station 104.9 FM NASH ICON. Click here for live audio. 

BSN begins its pregame programing one hour and 30 minutes prior to kickoff with the 30-minute Tennessee Lottery Tailgate Show, followed by the Pregame Show presented by Lafayette Heat & Air, which will lead up to 30 minutes prior to kickoff. The Appalachian Orthopedic Countdown to Kickoff will then lead into the final moments before kickoff.     

The broadcast team of "Voice of the Bucs" Jay Sandos, analyst Matt Wilhjelm and sideline reporter Robert Harper will provide ETSU fans all the information they need to complement their game-day activities. 

At halftime, the crew will have the Mr. Electric Halftime Show, while fans can tune into the Mullican Flooring Post Game Show for a full wrap up, with game statistics, players and coach interviews and other post-game information.  

Saturday's game will also be broadcast on ESPN+ with the team of Barry Gresham (play-by-play), Ethan Schmidt (analyst) and Isabellea Christenson (sideline) on the call. 

UP NEXT

Following its bye week, ETSU opens Southern Conference play against reigning champion Samford on Saturday, Sept. 30 in Birmingham, Ala. 

For more information on Buccaneer football, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the football tab.