Austin Peay (0-1) at No. 9 Tennessee (1-0), Saturday, 5 p.m. ET (ESPN+, SEC Network+)
Line: No line, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
Series record: Tennessee 1-0.
WHAT’S AT STAKE?
Tennessee has moved up three spots inside the Top 10 after an opening win. Now the Vols must work out a few more kinks from their season-opening win before they start the Southeastern Conference schedule at Florida. Tennessee is looking for its 10th straight victory at Neyland Stadium. Austin Peay is trying to recover from a 49-23 loss to Southern Illinois in its debut. Scotty Walden goes into his fourth year in charge of the Governors. Austin Peay runs a spread offense that managed 214 passing yards in the opener.
KEY MATCHUP
The big question for Tennessee is the Vols' pass defense. The Vols are using several different combinations in the secondary to get the job done. Tennessee is rotating in fresh defensive ends while moving starters inside to ramp up pressure on the quarterback. How that translates against a spread offense that generated just 39 net yards on the ground last week will be interesting. Austin Peay has all five starters on the offensive line back from last year.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Austin Peay: Quarterback Mike DiLiello will have a target on his back when he gets under center against Tennessee. DiLiello completed 20-of-34 passes for 214 yards and two touchdowns last week. The Vols had 11 tackles for loss against Virginia.
Tennessee: Dee Williams: Even though he had a fumble in the opener, Tennessee’s speedy return specialist still made a positive impact in the victory over Virginia. Vols coach Josh Heupel even lauded Williams for his “maturity” not letting frustration from the fumble affect his play. Williams finished with 105 yards on three punt returns, including a 55-yarder.
FACTS & FIGURES
Tennessee played 13 freshmen in its opening game … The only other time Austin Peay met the Vols was in 2013 in Knoxville. Tennessee won 45-0. … Governors running back CJ Evans has started 21 games in his career. He has 1,186 rushing yards and 488 receiving. … Tennessee had seven TD drives against Virginia. The longest was 4 minutes, 52 seconds with the average scoring drive was 2:45. ... Austin Peay is playing four of its first five games on the road. ... Austin Peay last beat an FBS opponent in 1987, downing Kansas State. The Governors have never beaten a team from the Southeastern Conference.
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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college -football and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll
