Bearkats tabbed sixth in preseason poll
8/1/2009 2:30:00 AM | Football
LAKE CHARLES, La. – Texas State, coming off its first outright Southland Conference title and its first league football championship since 2005, is favored by both the coaches and sports information directors to repeat as conference champion in 2009, the league announced Wednesday at its annual media day gathering at the L'Auberge du Lac Resort.
The Bobcats received two first-place votes in the coaches' poll and five in the SID poll, giving the defending champs seven first-place votes. Voters could not vote for their own team.
Coach Brad Wright and the Bobcats return 13 starters, including eight on offense, and 43 lettermen. Texas State, which finished 8-5 overall and 5-2 in Southland play, will be trying to record back-to-back winning seasons since the 1990 and 1991 seasons.
McNeese State, which won back-to-back Southland championships in 2006 and 2007, is picked second in both polls. The Cowboys will be bolstered by the return of tailback Toddrick Pendland, the 2008 Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Year. McNeese, which received one first-place vote, returns just nine starters, but has 46 lettermen back from a squad that finished 7-4 overall and 4-3 in 2008. The Bobcats edged the Cowboys by three points, 42-39, in the coaches' poll and by just two votes, 45-43, in the SID poll.
Northwestern State was picked third in the coaches' poll and received two first-place votes for 38 total points. Central Arkansas was tabbed for a third-place finish in the SID poll, getting 38 votes. The Bears, which will not be eligible to compete for a league championship until the 2010 season following their transition to Division I, were picked fourth in the coaches' poll with 37 points. The Demons were picked fourth in the SID poll with 26 points.
Central Arkansas enters its third season in Southland play and is coming off its best season since joining the league, going 10-2 overall and boasting the best record in conference play at 6-1. The Bears, which return defensive end Larry Hart, the Southland's defensive player of the year in 2008, join the Bobcats as the only teams to receive at least two first-place votes in both polls.
Stephen F. Austin was picked to finish fifth in both polls, netting 24 points in the coaches' poll and 20 points in the SID poll. The Lumberjacks, which return wide receiver Duane Brooks, the 2008 Newcomer of the Year, received one first-place vote in the coaches' poll.
The remaining sixth-, seventh- and eighth-place teams in the coaches' poll are Sam Houston State (17), Nicholls (14) and Southeastern Louisiana (13), respectively. The Bearkats were also picked sixth in the SID poll though the Lions and Colonels switched spots to seventh and eighth, respectively.
Southland Conference Preseason Polls
Coaches' Poll
Pl. School (First-Place Votes).................. Pts.
1. Texas State (2)......................................... 43
2. McNeese State (1).................................. 39
3. Northwestern State (2).......................... 38
4. Central Arkansas (2)............................... 37
5. Stephen F. Austin (1)............................. 24
6. Sam Houston State................................. 17
7. Nicholls.................................................... 14
8. Southeastern Louisiana......................... 13
Sports Information Directors POLL
Pl. School (First-Place Votes).................. Pts.
1. Texas State (5)......................................... 45
2. McNeese State (1).................................. 43
3. Central Arkansas (2)............................... 38
4. Northwestern State................................ 26
5. Stephen F. Austin................................... 20
6. Sam Houston State................................. 19
7. Southeastern Louisiana......................... 18
8. Nicholls.................................................... 15
