How Austin Peay football went from nation's losingest team to brink of playoffs

Take yourself back to the day it all started.

Sept. 16, 2017. The day Austin Peay football — known as an abysmal, losing program — achieved relevancy for the first time in years.

Austin Peay's 69-13 win over Morehead State created chaos at Fortera Stadium. As the final seconds ticked off the clock, fans jumped down from the stands and sprinted to each goal post.

More:'Paul Finebaum Show' has Austin Peay coach Will Healy as guest on ESPN2

Tearing down goal posts is typically a symbol of an upset win. But when your football team has lost 29 straight games, any win will suffice. 

It took some time, and a bit of help from the players, but those pesky goal posts eventually came down. It was a dream the coaching staff hoped would materialize from the moment they stepped on campus. Scenes from the win went viral. Austin Peay became the national feel-good story of the week. 

How one win led to many more

That was two months ago. 

That win alone would've made this a successful season. Three wins would've tripled the team's win total from its previous four seasons combined. How about four, possibly five wins? That seemed to be more on the optimistic side of things, but if achieved, would've been a great building block to set up a winning season in 2018.

More:National FCS writers weigh in on Austin Peay football playoff chances

But  Austin Peay got a taste of winning, and went back for seconds and more. Week after week, program records were broken. More losing streaks came to an end. The  back-to-back top five recruiting classes began to develop and dominate on the field. The wins piled up.

Just nine weeks after ending the sixth-longest losing streak in Division I history, Austin Peay (7-4, 6-1 OVC) could possibly make the playoffs for the first time with a win at home over Eastern Illinois on Saturday (4 p.m.).

"It's exciting. It's legendary. It's everything that we've worked all summer for," defensive coordinator Marcus West said. "I've told them the past few weeks, you do your job, you set the stage. The stage is set. Now, it's time to perform."

Where this season ranks in APSU history

Austin Peay has won seven games this season. From 2011-16, Austin Peay won a total of six games. An eighth win on Saturday would give Austin Peay its most in 40 years.

A team that was once mocked around campus and on a national scale was honored at halftime of Wednesday's Austin Peay-Oakland City basketball game for winning the Sgt. York Trophy, awarded to the top OVC team in Tennessee. 

Coach Will Healy made the rounds this week talking to national media outlets, most recently appearing on ESPN2 on "The Paul Finebaum Show." It's proof the team hasn't slowed down since getting a single win two months ago. 

More:Austin Peay vs. Eastern Illinois: 5 things to know

"We've gone from 'Coach, I don't want any gear,' to 'Coach, how much gear can you give me so I can wear it to the mall and to class?'" Healy told ESPN's Peter Burns on the Finebaum show. "You go from people making fun of you for playing football at Austin Peay, now they want your autograph. It's been a drastic change in two months."

What expectations were for this season 

Cornerback Keawvis Cummings said he's seen an increase in students and fans approaching him to talk about Austin Peay football. "You guys are playing better than last year," people have told him. "You guys could really make the playoffs," people have said to him, with a hint of surprise in their tone. 

But it's nothing Cummings and his teammates haven't known since summer football began. The only difference? Others are starting to notice.

"A lot more people that we don't know are joining in on the buzz," Cummings said. "Everybody knows that we have a chance to go to the playoffs. Everybody is excited about it, and now people are telling us how good we're doing this season."

But there still is a big roadblock because Eastern Illinois (6-4, 5-2 OVC) is one of the better teams in the OVC. If Austin Peay wins, players and coaches could hear the Govs' name called during the FCS selection show Sunday at 10 a.m. on ESPNU. 

"I think our kids are embracing the challenge," Healy said. "I don't think the situation has gotten too big for them and if it is, then we're not ready to make the FCS playoffs. But this is a playoff-type feel to this game, and I think it means a lot to our kids that we're playing in this type of game this late in the year."

Reach Colton Pouncy at cpouncy@gannett.com or on Twitter @CTPSports.