'Preparing to go freaking win a game': How Austin Peay approaches opponents like No. 9 Tennessee
Scotty Walden is entering just his third season as head coach at Austin Peay, but he’s already taken his Governors to play at Alabama and Ole Miss. The Govs opened last season at Western Kentucky and played last week at Southern Illinois, too.
And when Austin Peay plays in those games, it’s about more than just collecting a paycheck from a bigger school.
Entering those kind of daunting matchups, like Austin Peay (0-1) faces against No. 9 Tennessee (1-0) at Neyland Stadium on Saturday (5 p.m. Eastern Time, ESPN+/SEC Network+), is all about the mental game.
“I think it means a lot to our guys,” Walden said this week during an appearance on WNML 99.1-FM in Knoxville. “I think their mindset going into games like this is really important.”
‘The biggest thing is you gotta win the mental battle first’
It has to be a mindset of competition. And not one that gives in before the opening kickoff.
“Whenever you play up, I think that the biggest thing is you gotta win the mental battle first,” Walden said. “And it’s understanding that we’re not going there to lose a game. We’re preparing to go freaking win a game. We’re preparing to go compete, to win and put our best foot forward. And play to earn respect. And I think that’s what’s important.
“Not looking at it as an off week or, all right, we know what this game’s about, the money game. We don’t view it like that and our kids don’t view it like that. They want to go in there, they want to win, they want to have success.”
The 33-year-old offensive-minded Walden, a Texas native who made previous coaching stops at Sul Ross Community College, his alma mater, East Texas Baptist and Southern Miss, is 17-11 at Austin Peay.
The Govs opened the season with a 49-23 loss at Southern Illinois, trailing 42-3 early in the fourth quarter before scoring the game’s final 20 points. They lost 34-0 at Alabama in November, ending a 7-4 season, and lost 54-17 at Ole Miss in September 2021.
No. 9 Tennessee vs. Austin Peay, Saturday, 5 p.m. ET, ESPN+
For an FCS program, these kind of games are about exposure, too. It’s a big stage and a big spotlight for Austin Peay, especially against an in-state power.
“We want to look at it as an opportunity to get the Austin Peay Governor brand out there and show people what our program is about,” Walden said. “And we get to do that on a national scale and what it means for our kids. I grew up in the state of Texas and I can tell you this, I would’ve killed to get to play down there in Austin, Texas, at the University of Texas. Or got to play in College Station there at Texas A&M.
” … We have 38 players from the state of Tennessee, and those guys, they grew up dreaming of playing in Neyland Stadium. So it’s an awesome, awesome opportunity for them and their families to get to play in such an environment.”
