Smith, Barnes enter Austin Peay record book in 31-17 win over North Alabama

FLORENCE, Ala. (AP) — Austin Smith threw for 406 yards, four touchdowns and completed a program record 88.5% of his passes and Austin Peay beat North Alabama 31-17 on Saturday in a game it never trailed.

Following Carson Smith’s 37-yard field for the Governors (4-5, 3-3 United Athletic), Smith threw a 57-yard touchdown to Jaden Barnes, followed that with a 31-yard touchdown to Barnes and closed the first half with a 14-yard scoring pass to Romon Copeland Jr. for a 24-3 lead.

The Lions used the third quarter to get within a touchdown when quarterback TJ Smith ran it in from the 14 a minute-and-a-half in. With 5:40 left in the third, Smith threw a 19-yard touchdown to Ben Harris to reduce the deficit to 24-17.

Austin Peay ended the scoring with a 49-yard touchdown to Barnes with 7:21 left. Smith completed 31 of 35 passes and Barnes hauled in 12 catches for 241 yards and three touchdowns.

Austin Smith’s completion percentage is a single-game program record with a minimum of 10 passes thrown. In 2003, Jesse Kellogg set the previous record throwing for 87.5% against Kentucky Wesleyan.

Barnes’ reception total ties him for the second-most in a single game in program history with Drae McCray (2022 against Alabama), Pat Curran (2003, Kentucky Wesleyan) and Michael Farrell (1999, Virginia-Wise). His 241 yards ranks second all-time in program history behind 250 yards by Harold Roberts in 1969 against Murray State.

TJ Smith threw for 278 yards and ran for 62 yards for the Lions (3-6, 3-2).

Austin Peay has won the last three meetings between the two, including a 38-35 win in 2022 at Braly Stadium and a 49-39 win last season in Clarksville.

Despite the Governors’ win streak, North Alabama leads the all-time series with a 14-7 record.

___

AP college football: Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football