Jaden Barnes slipped down the right sideline behind a busted coverage. Austin Smith's pass floated into Barnes' arms. Barnes strolled across the goal line, dropped the ball on the ground and formed his fingers into a heart sign.
Austin Peay football coach Jeff Faris' Fortera Stadium debut began with a 43-yard touchdown pass within 10 minutes. But the lead didn't last.
APSU (0-2) lost 31-17 to FCS No. 10 Southern Illinois Saturday in Faris' first game at home. The Salukis (1-1), who defeated the Governors 49-23 in Week 1 last season, ended the game on a 24-7 run as APSU lost its home opener for the first time in eight years.
Faris, a former assistant at Duke and UCLA , made his head-coaching debut last Saturday as the Govs fell 62-0 at Louisville .
"I'm proud of the way our guys fight in all three phases," Faris asid. "I think we really, really improved from Week 1. Our kids give relentless effort. It's really just the little things."
APSU will be on the road next Saturday to face Central Arkansas (1-1) in its United Athletic Conference opener. The Govs beat the Bears 14-12 last November to win the conference championship and clinch an FCS playoff berth.
Austin Smith leads successful APSU passing attack
Smith didn't begin the season as the Govs' starting quarterback. Saturday, he made his case to remain in that role.
Smith came in against Louisville after Mason Garcia left with an injury. Against SIU, he got the start and went 24-for-37 for 265 yards and two touchdowns. Romon Copeland Jr., his top receiver, caught nine passes for 151 yards.
The Eastern Michigan transfer began the game by connecting on a string of short and intermediate passes before uncorking the opening touchdown to Barnes. In the third quarter, Smith found Copeland on the run for a 19-yard touchdown pass to cut SIU's lead to 21-17.
"I went into this week calm, cool and collected, I think it's a big part of my game," Smith said. "I have a great team around me that supported me, rallied around me, gave me the confidence that I needed to go out there and play at a high level.”
Mistakes hold Austin Peay back
Barnes had another big-play opportunity on the next drive after his touchdown, but dropped Smith's pass after beating his defender for what could have been a 74-yard score. Later, he fumbled at the SIU 32 after a 19-yard reception, leading to an eight-play, 71-yard touchdown drive for the Salukis just seconds before halftime.
Austin Peay outgained Southern Illinois 269-184 in the first half and averaged 7.9 yards per play but went into the locker room trailing 14-10. The Govs also missed a field goal in the second quarter.
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A coverage bust led to the Salukis' third touchdown, a 35-yard pass from DJ Williams to a wide-open Ryan Schwendeman over the middle of the field, which made it 21-10 in the third quarter. Smith also threw an interception that gave SIU the ball at the Austin Peay 15.
"I think it's a combination of them making plays and us shooting ourselves in the foot," Faris said. "We've got a lot of older players in age, but maybe not as much experience, so we got to grow through these things."
Southern Illinois defense dominates fourth quarter
APSU went into the fourth quarter down by four points. But SIU, which had the No. 4 scoring defense in FCS last season, clamped down and held the Governors to negative yardage over the final 15 minutes.
That was largely thanks to the Salukis' pass rush, which sacked Smith seven times — six of those coming in the fourth quarter. Linebacker Ben Bogle had 11 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks all by himself. Faris said that APSU falling behind led to more drop-back passing situations and subsequently, more sacks.
"When we’re at our best, we’re playing with tremendous balance and you saw that," Faris said. "... If anybody drops back as much times we did in the fourth quarter, you’re gonna have sacks."
The Governors didn't earn a first down on any of their final five possessions.
Jacob Shames can be reached by email at jshames@gannett.com and on Twitter @Jacob_Shames.
This article originally appeared on Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle: Austin Peay football falls to Southern Illinois in first home game under Jeff Faris
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