| Year: | 2023 |
| Team: | Austin Peay Governors |
| Sport: | football |
| Conference: | United Athletic Conference |
| Short Conf: | UAC |
| Statsrank: | 13 |
| Fcscoachrank: | 10 |
| Record: | 9–3 |
| Conf Record: | 6–0 |
| Head Coach: | Scotty Walden |
| Hc Year: | 4th |
| Cooff Coach1: | Jared Kaster |
| Cooc1 Year: | 1st |
| Cooff Coach2: | Lanear Sampson |
| Cooc2 Year: | 1st |
| Codef Coach1: | J. J. Clark |
| Codc1 Year: | 1st |
| Codef Coach2: | Chris Jones |
| Codc2 Year: | 1st |
| Stadium: | Fortera Stadium |
| Champion: | UAC champion |
| Bowl: | NCAA Division I First Round |
| Bowl Result: | L 21–24 vs. Chattanooga |
The 2023 Austin Peay Governors football team represented Austin Peay State University as a member of the United Athletic Conference during the 2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by fourth-year head coach Scotty Walden, the Governors played at Fortera Stadium in Clarksville, Tennessee.
After the 2022 season, the ASUN and the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), which had been partners in a football-only alliance in the 2021 and 2022 seasons, jointly announced that they would merge their football leagues.[1] [2]
See also: 2023 Tennessee Volunteers football team.
| Statistics | PEAY | TENN |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 19 | 17 |
| Total yards | 75–339 | 65–456 |
| Rushing yards | 34–79 | 32–228 |
| Passing yards | 260 | 228 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 29–41–1 | 21–33–0 |
| Time of possession | 39:01 | 20:44 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austin Peay | Passing | Mike DiLiello | 29/39, 260 yards, TD, INT |
| Rushing | Mike DiLiello | 21 carries, 36 yards | |
| Receiving | Trey Goodman | 3 receptions, 70 yards, TD | |
| Tennessee | Passing | 21/33, 228 yards, 2 TD | |
| Rushing | 13 carries, 118 yards | ||
| Receiving | 5 receptions, 52 yards, TD |
The Governors, won the UAC Conference Title outright receiving the automatic bid for the postseason tournament, with a first-round pairing against Chattanooga.[5]