2026 Vanderbilt Football Early Opponent Preview, Game 1: Austin Peay – Sports Illustrated

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The new era of Vanderbilt football begins this fall with a roster full of new faces. Notably, the Commodores lost its starting quarterback Diego Pavia and its starting tight end Eli Stowers. But with big departures comes fresh players ready to help Vanderbilt continue on the positive movement the program has seen over the past two years.
Vanderbilt’s football season begins with a date against Austin Peay. It is the first time since 2015 that the two programs are meeting, which means the first time that head coach Clark Lea will get to see the Governors from Clarksville, Tennessee.
While it is a game that Vanderbilt will be more than expected to win, there has to still be a mutual respect for Austin Peay going into this game. Austin Peay was an above .500 team at the FCS level a season ago and only allowed SEC Champion Georgia to score 28 points on it in Athens.
Here is a breakdown and the game information for Vanderbilt’s first opponent of the 2026 season.
A season ago, Austin Peay had one the best offenses in the FCS. The Governors were top 15 in the FCS in total offense and they were led by their quarterback in Chris Parson. Parson threw for 3,003 yards and 23 touchdowns last season and tacked on 743 rushing yards and 14 rushing touchdowns to his stats.
This season, Parson is back again and is looking to make Austin Peay a playoff contender in the FCS. The dual-threat quarterback helped Austin Peay score 35.1 points per game behind the offense of Quinn Billerman. Austin Peay was 14th in passing offense and 25th in rushing offense a season ago.
Austin Peay could not have done that without its offensive line. That was an area that the Governors also tried to beef up this offseason. Austin Peay added two offensive lineman transfers to its roster with Jeff Burton from Georgia State and Joshua Miller from Syracuse.
Austin Peay was not as good on the defensive side of the ball a season ago. In addition to being 47th overall in the FCS defensively, Austin Peay was 76th in scoring defense as it allowed 27.3 points per game.
The Governors did not bring in any defensive transfers, either. Austin Peay did lose a couple of defenders to the transfer portal as well. If Austin Peay is to improve defensively, it will have to come from the coaching from its defensive coordinator Greg Jones.
Vanderbilt is the only FBS team that Austin Peay is playing this season. The Governors went to Georgia last season and lost 28-6 the last time they played a SEC opponent. Austin Peay’s schedule is split up into seven home games and five road games.
The Governors begin the season at home against Gardner-Webb before ending their season on the road against Central Arkansas. They do have three consecutive home games in the middle of the season, which could certainly help in terms of stringing wins together.
The outlook for Austin Peay’s season should be an interesting one. With guys like Parson returning, it gives itself a good opportunity to build off of last season and make a run for a FCS playoff spot this season.
The outlook for Vanderbilt’s game against Austin Peay the first weekend of September, however, is a different story. It is a night game in FirstBank Stadium, which means Vanderbilt fans should show up and their team should show up as well. This is a game in which the Commodores are going to have opportunities to build chemistry and get good in-game experience for the new faces on offense and defense.
Date: Sept. 5
Time: 6 p.m. CT
TV: SEC Network+
Location: FirstBank Stadium, Nashville, Tennessee
Series history: 2-0 Vanderbilt
Last meeting: Vanderbilt beat Austin Peay 47-7 Sept. 19, 2015
Coach: Jeff Faris, third year, X-X record
Offensive coordinator: Quinn Billerman
Defensive coordinator: Greg Jones
2025 record: 7-5 (4-4 UAC)
2025 rankings: 13th in total offense, 47th in total defense
Top Newcomer: Joshua Miller, offensive lineman transfer from Syracuse
Biggest Question: Can Austin Peay quarterback Chris Parson take Austin Peay to another level after a 7-5 season?
Location: Clarksville, Tennessee
Founded: 1927
Enrollment: 11,185
Nickname: Governors
Colors: Red and Black
Mascot: The Gov
Last win in series: Never beat Vanderbilt
FCS championships: None
FCS Playoff Appearances: Two (2019, 2023)
August 27: vs. Gardner-Webb
September 5: at Vanderbilt
September 12: vs. Morehead State
September 19: at West Florida
September 26: vs. UT Martin
October 3: vs. New Haven
October 10: vs. Tarleton State
October 17: at West Georgia
October 24: at North Alabama
November 7: vs. Eastern Kentucky
November 14: vs. Abilene Christian
November 21: at Central Arkansas
This is the first story in Vanderbilt on SI's early preview series of all 12 regular-season opponents for Vanderbilt football in 2026"
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Graham Baakko is a writer for Vanderbilt Commodores On SI, primarily covering football, basketball and baseball. Graham is a recent graduate from the University of Alabama, where he wrote for The Crimson White, WVUA-FM, WVUA 23 as he covered a variety of Crimson Tide sports. He also covered South Carolina athletics as a sportswriting intern for GamecockCentral.
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