Georgia Football 2018 Preview: Austin Peay Governors

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CINCINNATI, OH – AUGUST 31: Jerron Rollins #26 of the Cincinnati Bearcats runs the ball as Kordell Jackson #13 of the Austin Peay Governors makes the tackle from behind at Nippert Stadium on August 31, 2017 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

Who were they in 2017?

Austin Peay was about as low as a program could get beginning last season. Between 2011 and 2016, they won 6 games. Yes, you read that correctly, 6 wins in 6 years. when new head coach Will Healy arrived, the team had lost 16 straight games. He proceeded to lose his first 11 and the team went winless in his first season, the second year in a row they had won zero games.

But 2017 was a turnaround for the program. They won 8 games and put together a very respectable season. Considered one of the worst football programs in the nation, they rebounded with a season that nearly ended in a place in the FCS playoff.

In a lot of years, that 8-4 record would have been enough. The Governors finished 7-1 in their conference and earned credit when they played Cincinnati close to start the season. One of those losses was to an undefeated UCF team that likes to pretend it was last years national champions. I guess the point here is that last year, Austin Peawasre pretty decent.

Yes, they are an FCS team, but they are not as bad as some might think. That terrible stretch was fully banished by the 2017 team. A lot of the players that contributed last year were young and will be back for the following season. In a lot of ways, last year was the building block this school needed.

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