• Saturday's game will mark the first time the Trailblazers will start UAC play on the road.

• Utah Tech is 1-1 in its previous two UAC openers. The Blazers posted a win in their UAC debut, a 37-31 home triumph over former UAC member Stephen F. Austin (10/7/23). 

• However the Trailblazers were not able to fire up their home magic last season as eventual conference champion Abilene Christian handed Utah Tech a 55-30 loss (9/28/24) at Greater Zion Stadium.   

• Saturday's game will be the third meeting between the Trailblazers and Governors on the gridiron. 

• APSU has won both previous meetings, including a 30-17 decision in the first-ever game between the two sides in Clarksville during the 2023 season (11/11/13).

• The Governors also claimed a low-scoring affair last season in St. George (13-7; 10/19/24).

• Saturday's game will be the fourth time in five games overall this season that Utah Tech will face a ranked FCS opponent.    

• Utah Tech fell to 5-36 (4-35 overall vs. AFCA) all-time record vs. ranked opponents (FCS and D-II) following a 20-6 road loss at current No. 10/8 Idaho two weeks ago in Moscow.  

• The Trailblazers' overall record vs. ranked opponents includes a 1-4 record last season, and a 3-20 mark in its brief FCS era.

• The Trailblazers' last victory over a ranked team came last season at home against then-No. 9/11 Central Arkansas (34-21; 11/2/24).  

• Including APSU, seven of Utah Tech's 12 2025 opponents to date are ranked in both of this week's AFCA and Stats Perform top-25 polls. 

• Utah Tech's 2025 schedule is currently predicted as the 15th-hardest (out of 129 FCS teams) in the latest WarrenNolan.com ELO strength of schedule ratings.

LIVE STATS/AUDIO/STREAM INFO: Live stats and audio/video streaming information for this Saturday afternoon's game at Austin Peay can be found online at utahtechtrailblazers.com.

UTAH TECH ON THE AIR: All Utah Tech games this season are broadcast live on The Fan Sports Network (99.5/95.3 FM in St. George; 93.1 FM/1400 AM in Cedar City; www.thefansportsnetwork.com), while all home games will be streamed live online on ESPN+.

        The "Voice of the Trailblazers" Rod Zundel is in his fourth season calling the play-by-play action, and will be on the call this Saturday from Clarksville, Tenn., on The Fan Sports Network.  

        As part of this season's game day broadcast coverage, Utah Tech airs a 60-minute comprehensive pregame show, and 30-minute post-game show, both of which air live on The Fan Sports Network and streamed live on YouTube on Trailblazer SportsVision (youtube.com/TrailblazerAthletics).

        Along with complete Game Day coverage, Zundel hosts "The Lance Anderson Coaches Show" every Tuesday night on The Fan Sports Network and streamed on Trailblazer SportsVision at 6 p.m. (MT).

A TRAILBLAZER WIN ON SATURDAY WOULD...: Mark just the second time in the program's brief FCS era that Utah Tech will have won consecutive games. A Trailblazer victory would also be the team's second UAC season-opening win in three tries, and would be the first against a program located east of Mississippi River (0-10). 

"UNITED" FOR ONE MORE SEASON: The 2025 campaign will mark an end of an (brief) era as Utah Tech will compete as a member of the United Athletic Conference for the third, and final, season. The Trailblazers were one of the original charter members of the UAC, which was established in 2023, after they competed in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) in football in 2022.

GOING "BIG" IN 2026: This past June 25, Utah Tech announced that it had accepted an invitation to join the Big Sky Conference beginning on July 1, 2026. 

            Starting in the 2026-27 season, 13 of the Trailblazers' 16 sports, including football, will compete in the premiere FCS conference in Division I.

THE MIGHTY MISSISSIPP, THE OLD MISS, THE OLD MAN: Not only is Saturday's game at Austin Peay Utah Tech's second visit to the state of Tennessee, it also marks the first time this season, and seventh time overall, that the Trailblazers have played a game east of the Mississippi River.

            All six of the Trailblazers' previous trips over that iconic national landmark have come during their brief FCS tenure, and unfortunately all those trips have resulted in losses, including a pair of UAC setbacks at both North Alabama (14-60; 10/5/24) and at Eastern Kentucky (17-28; 10/26/24).  

            Utah Tech's first game back east came during the 2021 spring season at Kennesaw State (L, 27-37; 3/20/21), while trip No. 2 took place later that year for a game at Delaware (L, 10-17; 10/30/21).

            The Trailblazers are slated to cross the Mississippi River one more time this season, which will come on their final road trip of the season to West Georgia on Nov. 15. 

TAKING ON ALL COMERS: Since transitioning to NCAA Division I FCS status, Utah Tech has faced 24 top-25 teams (3-21) and 18 total FCS playoff teams.   

        In fact, Utah Tech's 2021 fall schedule was rated as the second-toughest schedule in the entire country and featured seven ranked teams and seven 2021 FCS Fall playoff teams, including the 2021 spring national champion (Sam Houston) and runner-up (South Dakota State).

            Utah Tech has also squared off against four FBS programs over that span - New Mexico State (2021 spring in El Paso, Texas), BYU (2022), Colorado State (2023) and UNLV (2024).

ABOUT THE AUSTIN PEAY "GOVERNORS": No. 25/23 Austin Peay enters play on Saturday with a 2-2 record, having split a pair of games against both D-I FBS and FCS  opponents in the early going. 

            The Governors opened the 2025 campaign with an impressive 34-14 road triumph at Conference USA member Middle Tennessee State (8/30), which was followed a week later with a tough 28-6 road loss at SEC powerhouse No. 3 Georgia (9/6). APSU went on to post a lopsided 56-7 triumph in its home opener vs. Morehead State (9/13), before opening UAC play with a 45-31 road loss at No. 13/12 Abilene Christian last Saturday. 

            Redshirt sophomore QB Chris Parson (5-11, 224) threw for 330 yards and four touchdowns in last week's loss at ACU. Parson has thrown for 822 yards on 62-for-95 passing and four total touchdowns, and has rushed for 128 yards and three more touchdowns overall. 

            Parson's favorite targets in the pass game are sophomore WR Jaden Robinson (6-1, 191) and junior tight end Jackson Head (6-1, 227). Robinson has caught 10 balls for 179 yards and two scores, which includes a seven-catch, 114-yard effort at ACU last Saturday. Meanwhile Head (11 rec./141 yds) also had a career day at ACU, hauling in seven passes for 132 yards and a score. 

            RS-sophomore RB Javious Bond (5-10, 178) is APSU's leading rusher, averaging more than 33 yards in four games (133 yards/15 carries) and 8.9 yards a carry.  

            Defensively, redshirt junior DB Ellis Ellis Jr. (6-1, 191) leads the Governors with 24 total tackles and four PBUs, while senior DL Charles Crews III (6-1, 267) has racked up a team-high 4.5 TFLs with one sack. 

YOU GOT TO HAVE AN ASA IN THE HOLE: Redshirt freshman RB Asa Chatman was named UAC Freshman of the Week on Monday for his efforts in the Trailblazers' 20-9 home victory over Northern Iowa last Saturday night.  

            Chatman posted career highs of 97 yards on 12 carries (8.1 ypc), highlighted by a 66-yard touchdown run on Utah Tech's first possession of the second half.

            The freshman's touchdown was his second rushing score of the young season, and was his longest collegiate run from scrimmage. The freshman enters this week second on the team with 190 rush yards on 35 carries (5.4 ypc).  

            Chatman has received the starting nod in each of Utah Tech's first four games this season. The freshman tallied a then-career high 63 yards on 11 carries and his first collegiate TD at Northern Arizona (9/6). 

RG5: Redshirt junior QB Reggie Graff did something in last Saturday night's win that no other Trailblazer had done in nearly three full seasons - run for at least 100 yards in a game.

            Graff rushed for a career-high 103 yards on a career-high tying 24 carries in the victory, and became the first Blazer in 28 games to eclipse the 100-yard plateau.

            Former Blazer RB Quali Conley was the last to achieve the feat when he went for 155 yards on 22 carries and a touchdown in a 2022 home win over Southern Utah (11/5/22).

            Graff, who also threw for 110 yards and a touchdown vs. UNI, saw his streak of multiple TD passes halted at four games in loss at Northern Arizona (9/6).

            However, Graff DID run for two second-half touchdowns, highlighted a career long 31-yard scoring scamper with just under six minutes to play in the third quarter. The southpaw signal caller then scrambled for an 8-yard touchdown with nine minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.

            Graff combined for 149 yards of total offense at NAU, including a team-high 74 rush yards to go with 75 yards on 12-for-24 passing. 

            Graff tossed a pair of touchdown passes and went 4-for-5 for 50 yards in the opener vs. UC Davis (8/30). He also became in the 14th different quarterback in Utah Tech's NCAA era to throw at least one touchdown pass in four-straight games, and was the fourth signal caller to throw for multiple touchdowns in at least four-straight games. 

            Former Trailblazer QB Griff Robles recorded at least one TD pass in a school record 18-straight games spread over two seasons with five-straight, multi-TD games in 2012-13, while Kobe Tracy was the first FCS-era signal caller to achieve the feat, doing so in nine-straight games in 2021-22, and had a six-game streak in 2023 with four-straight multi-TD games. 

            Graff joined Tracy, and current Tarleton State QB Victor Gabalis (at Utah Tech in 2022 - five-straight games with four multi-TD outings), as the only three quarterbacks in the program's FCS era to post streaks of at least four games with at least one TD pass. 

RUNNING THE BALL: Utah Tech racked up 239 yards rushing on the night, its most yards against an FCS opponent and the second most in the program's Division I era (257 vs. Fort Lewis; 11/13/21).

            While both Chatman and Graff were doing their thing, redshirt senior RB Bretton Stone rattled off a career-best 41 yards on 12 carries against the Panther defense.

PLAYING KEEP AWAY: After recording only six total scoring drives longer than five minutes last season, Utah Tech already has five five-plus minute scoring drives through four games in 2025.

            Two of those instances came last Saturday in the UNI victory, during which the Trailblazers put together scoring drives of 5:58 and 8:30 in the second half, both of which ended with field goals.

            Utah Tech's 8:30 fourth quarter scoring drive is the Trailblazers' longest in the program D-I era, and was 59 seconds longer than the previous long - a 7:31 second quarter touchdown drive at Colorado State (9/30/23) during the 2023 season. 

SECOND HALF STARTERS: Utah Tech has come away with points in all four of its second half opening possessions to this point of the season. The Blazers have scored touchdowns on three of those four drives, two via the run and another through the air.   

DIALING LONG DISTANCE: Redshirt junior PK Ilya Uvaydov had a day in the road loss at Idaho (9/13) as he became the first Trailblazer kicker on the program's NCAA era to make not one, but two 50-plus yard field goals in a single game.

            Uvaydov got the Utah Tech on the scoreboard as time expired in the first half with a school record tying 55-yard boot that just snuck over the crossbar. The junior struck again on the Blazers' first possession of the second half, blasting a 53-yarder, which matched his previous career high he set in last year's finale at Southern Utah (11/23/24).

            Uvaydov (3) joined former kicker Connor Brooksby (5; 2021-23) as the only two Blazer kickers to have multiple 50-plus yard field goals in their careers. In fact, Brooksby nailed a pair of 55-yard field goals in consecutive seasons at home vs. SUU (11/522) and Eastern Kentucky (10/28/23). 

            In all, four Utah Tech kickers have made field goals of at least 50 yards or more, including Jameson Schulz (1 - 50-yd FG vs. Colorado Mesa, 9/10/11) and James Baird (1 - 50-yd FG vs. Fort Lewis, 3/27/21). 

SACK GEORGE CITY: Utah Tech's defense enters Saturday's game at Austin Peay tied for SECOND in the FCS ranks with 13.0 total sacks over the first four games, including six sacks vs. UC Davis (8/30), and four more last Saturday night vs. UNI.

            Redshirt freshman OLB Dallin Havea has accounted for three of those 13 sacks, including two vs. UCD and another at NAU (9/6), which is good for second in the UAC, it also ties him for 35th-overall in the FCS ranks through four full weeks of actions. 

            Four different Trailblazers recorded sacks in the UNI win. Three of the sacks were notched by seniors, including DB Devyn Perkins, who picked up his first sack since the 2021 fall season, while OLB Moon Ashby (strip sack) and DL Laytan Tanuvasa also got into the act. Not to be outdone, freshman ILB Daylen Lovecollected his second collegiate sack and provided the exclamation point for the Blazer defense on the Panthers' final offensive play late in the fourth quarter.

            Meanwhile, the six sacks vs. UCD were the third-highest team total in the FCS in Week #1, the most in a season-opening game in the Trailblazers' NCAA era, and tied for the fifth-most in a single game in the program's four-year history.

STAYING UPRIGHT: While the Blazer defense is doing its thing, the Utah Tech offensive line has surrendered only ONE official sack in 16 quarters this season, which leads the UAC and is tied for FIFTH in the FCS ranks to this point of the season.

            The Trailblazers' O-Line did not allow a sack in the opener vs. UC Davis (8/30), which marked the eighth time in Utah Tech's NCAA era that the Trailblazers did not allow a defensive sack. Utah Tech's line then repeated the feat at Idaho two weeks ago. 

DEFENSE (CLAP CLAP) DEFENSE: Utah Tech's defense enjoyed arguably the unit's most dominant performance in the program's brief FCS era in last Saturday's win over Northern Iowa. 

            The Trailblazers limited UNI to just 47 yards on the ground, and 207 total yards on the night. The 47 rush yards allowed was lowest single game total by a Blazer opponent in the program's FCS era, and the lowest total in nearly 10 full seasons overall (48 – vs. Simon Fraser; 10/10/15).

            Meanwhile, the 207 total yards of offense surrendered was the lowest total by an FCS opponent against the Blazers since the program transitioned to Division I status in 2020-21.

OPPOSING OFFENSES, YOU HAVE A PROBLEM: RS-senior safety Justin Houston continued his hot start to the season with a career-high tying 11 tackles and his second-career interception at NAU (9/6), which led to a Utah Tech first quarter touchdown.

            Houston's 11 stops at NAU tied a career high he set as a true freshman in 2020 while at Fresno State in a game against New Mexico (12/12/20). He then followed that up with eight tackles and a career-high two PBUs at Idaho two weeks ago. 

            Meanwhile, Houston's interception came nearly one-year-to-the-day of his first pick, which he recorded last season in the Bulldogs' win over New Mexico State (9/14/24).

            Houston's interception at NAU marked the second-straight week the senior had forced a turnover that resulted in Trailblazer points. In the UC Davis opener (8/30), Houston notched a first quarter strip sack, which was recovered by the defense and led to a Blazer field goal to open the scoring.

TRAILBLAZER QUICK HITS

• Utah Tech had split quarterback duties between Graff and RS-freshman Bronson Barben in the first three games to open the 2025 season, though Graff played the entire game vs. UNI after Barben was a late scratch due to injury. 

• Barben, who should return to action this week at APSU, received the starting nod and the bulk of the playing time in the opener vs. UC Davis (8/30) ... Barben threw for 222 yards 24-of-39 passing, and rushed for a team-high 28 yards on nine carries ... Barben recorded 61 yards passing at NAU (9/6), including a first quarter 9-yard touchdown connection with RS-senior WR Daniel Thomason.

• Thomason would snag his second TD pass of the young season, and fourth of his career, on a 5-yard toss from Graff just before halftime last Saturday vs. UNI, which was his first TD grab at home.

• Thomason's touchdown grab at NAU was his first since the 2023 season at Austin Peay (11/11/23) ... in fact, Thomason's first three touchdowns catches had come on the road, including his first collegiate TD at Stephen F. Austin (10/29/22) during the 2022 season. 

• RS-junior TE Eric Olsen led the Blazer receiving corps with three catches (on 4 targets) for 11 yards vs. UNI last Saturday. 

• Olsen was targeted a team-high 11 times and caught six of those passes for 46 yards in the opener vs. UC Davis (8/30), including a 1-yard TD catch, and a 31-yard reception on Utah Tech's last possession late in the fourth quarter ... Olsen was also targeted a team-high seven times at NAU (9/6) and hauled in three of those throws for 23 yards.  

• True freshman Dominic Oliver enjoyed a solid collegiate debut vs. UC Davis (8/30), during which he hauled in five passes for 50 yards. 

• RS-junior Tru Tanner collected three passes for 57 yards in the opener vs. UC Davis (8/30), 45 of which came on touchdown strike from Graff just 54 seconds into the second half.

• Sophomore Kaden Eggett also shined in his Trailblazer debut vs. UC Davis (8/30)  ... Eggett tallied a team-high 58 yards on three receptions, highlighted by a 27-yarder from Barben in the first quarter ... Eggett followed that up with three catches for 59 yards, including a 48-yard pass from Barben on the Blazers' opening drive.  

• For just the 10th time in their brief FCS era, the Trailblazers scored points in all four quarters at NAU (9/6) ... that feat broke a 16-game streak that saw Utah Tech not scoring points in all four quarters of a game.

• Utah Tech is 6-4 when it scores in all four quarters, with the last win coming, coincidentally, at NAU two years ago in Flagstaff (50-36; 9/16/23).

• Utah Tech is 24-for-58 (.414) in third down conversions through four games this season ... the Trailblazers went 7-for-15 on third down last Saturday vs. UNI, and 7-for-16 vs. UC Davis (8/30), including a perfect 6-for-6 with four yards or fewer to go.

• In fact, Utah Tech is 13-for-17 (.765) on third downs of four yards or fewer, including a perfect 11-for-11 from 1-to-3 yards, through four games this season.   

• Coincidentally, Utah Tech's four opponents are also 24-for-58 (.414) on third down.  

• Utah Tech is 9-for-10 in red zone conversions with six touchdowns (3 R/3 P).

• However, for just the third time in since transitioning to FCS status, Utah Tech did not record a red zone chance at Idaho (9/13) ... that instance also happened twice last season (vs. Montana State 8/31/24; at North Alabama (10/5/24).  

• Perkins enjoyed his return to Trailblazer Nation as he tied a career high with seven total tackles in his first start of the year vs. UCD (8/30) ... Perkins, who played four games at Southern Utah last year after spending his first four collegiate seasons at Utah Tech, extended his personal streak of recording at least one tackle to 30-straight games overall after notching five more tackles along with his sack vs. UNI last Saturday. 

• Ashby announced his return to "The Palouse" with authority by racking up a game and career-high 10 tackles at Idaho (9/13) ... Ashby started his collegiate career across the border at nearby Washington State before transferring to Utah Tech.

• Love continued his solid start to his collegiate career with nine total tackles at Idaho last Saturday ... Love made quite the splash in his collegiate debut vs. UC Davis (8/30), against which he led the Blazer defense with 10 tackles. 

• Redshirt sophomore OLB Will Alovao co-leads the UAC and is tied for 11th-nationally in TFLs with 6.0, including 2.5 TFLs at Idaho two weeks ago, and another one vs. UNI last Saturday night.

• Alovao was one of seven Trailblazer defenders who accounted for the six total TFLs Utah Tech racked up in the UNI win. 

• Redshirt junior DL Fasitootai Sagapolu made his long-awaited return to action vs. UC Davis (8/30) and wound up tying a career high with five tackles, along with his second-career sack, and a pass break-up ... "Marley," who had four total tackles and one TFL at NAU (9/6), missed the entire 2024 season due to injury, this after he recorded 30 total tackles and 2.0 TFLs in 2023.

• RS-senior DL Cody Carlson posted his third-career fumble recovery as a Trailblazer and tallied five tackles vs. UC Davis (8/30) ... Carlson came up with the loose ball following the Houston strip sack, which set up Utah Tech's first points of the night. 

• In fact, Utah Tech scored 10 points on two Aggie turnovers on the night ... junior safety Brevin Czosnyka picked off an Aggie pass at the UCD 45-yard line, which set up the Graff-to-Tanner TD one play later. 

• Czosnyka collected a Utah Tech career high seven tackles at Idaho. 

• Junior punter Ryan Marks is leads the UAC and is ninth in the FCS ranks in punt average at 46.2 yards per kick ... Marks punted only three times, and only once after the first quarter, last week vs. UNI, but he did average 53.3 ypp, highlighted by a season-long 53-yard boot in the first quarter. 

• Uvaydov is tied for the conference lead and is t-sixth in the FCS ranks with six made field goals (6-for-7)

#AB3FOREVER: Redshirt senior running back Chris Street has once again been awarded the No. 3 jersey for the 2025 season. The senior is the fourth Trailblazer player to wear the coveted number since the 2021 spring season. 

            The awarding of the No. 3 jersey has become an annual tradition honoring the memory of former Trailblazer football player Abraham Reinhardt, who passed away unexpectedly on March 22, 2019.

            Head coach Lance Anderson noted last season that he took some time to get familiar with the story of Reinhardt, both as a student-athlete and as a young man. He quickly realized the importance and the impact this tradition has on the Trailblazer football program, a tradition he is very eager to continue.

        "Once I heard the story about Abe Reinhardt, the kind of person he was, the kind of football player he was, and his tragic passing, I was very touched and felt like this is something we need to continue," said Coach Anderson. "I felt it was very important that our team understands who he was and what this jersey truly represents."

NEXT UP FOR THE TRAILBLAZERS: Utah Tech wraps up the first half of the 2025 season next Saturday with the program's first-ever trip to "The Natural State" to square off against UAC foe Central Arkansas.

            Kickoff on the purple and gray turf at Estes Stadium in Conway is set for 3 p.m. (MT).