*Thank you to JSUSoutherner on AGS for putting together our OVC previews
2015 Record: 0-11 (0-8 OVC)
Key Losses: QB Trey Taylor, LB Adam Nobel
Key Returnees: RB Kendall Morris, WR Jared Beard, DB Roderick Owens
Things haven’t been too great the last few years in Clarksville, Tennessee. The Governors are coming off another 0 win season, their second in three years. In fact, they only have one win in their past three years under Kirby Cannon, a 20-13 win over a visiting Murray State team that went on to a 1-7 OVC record in 2014. That win in 2014 snapped the longest losing streak in the FCS at the time, 18 losses in a row. Unfortunately, the Governors have lost 16 games since then to once again claim the longest losing streak in Division I football.
However, the future is bright in Clarksville and double digit losing streaks look to be a thing of the past.
APSU has been a hot topic (for a team that hasn’t had back to back wins in 5 years) this off season since Will Healy moved to town. Coach Healy was the former wide receivers coach, passing-game coordinator, and recruiting coordinator for the Chattanooga Mocs and will take the helm from an unproductive Kirby Cannon. Healy has so far looked productive for the Governors this offseason as he put together one of the Gov’s best recruiting classes in years. Coach Healy’s recruiting experience with the Mocs will likely prove to be useful as the Govs begin their rebuilding stage.
Healy has the Herculean task of turn the program around and that will be easier said than done. Last year APSU’s offense only managed 12 points a game and only averaged 248 yards a game. And to make matters worse a majority of those points and yards came in garbage time when they were getting blown out and teams had their backups in. Fortunately Healy engineered a passing game at UTC that was consistently ranked as one of the best in the nation. If he can bring implement his scheme with APSU’s personnel we may see some drastic improvement on the offensive side of the ball.
The other problem for APSU was defense. Last year the Govs gave up 451 yards and 39 points per game. New defensive coordinators Marcus West and Brandon Cooper, like Healy, spent time coaching for the Moc’s. During their tenure at UTC the Moc’s consistently had one of the top SoCon defense. However, they had numerous All-SoCon and All-American players on deck. This year they have no players on the preseason All-OVC list to work with. But with the amount of new talent the Govs brought in Cooper and West can start from scratch and it will be interesting to see how that goes.
Schedule and Predictions: 1-10 (1-7 OVC)
L 9/3 @ Troy
W 9/10 vs. Tennessee Tech
L 9/24 @ Eastern Illinois
L 10/1 vs. Murray State
L 10/8 @ UT-Martin
L 10/15 @ Jacksonville State
L 10/22 vs. Mercer
L 10/29 @ Southeast Missouri State
L 11/5 vs. Tennessee State
L 11/12 vs. Eastern Kentucky
L 11/19 @ Kentucky
Look for the Governors to make some progress this season, hauling in a win over Tennessee Tech at home. They will likely remain at the bottom of the conference but any success at all will be an improvement for APSU and this is only the beginning of a new era for Austin Peay football.
