Eastern Kentucky picked to win OVC again
Being picked first in the Ohio Valley Conference preseason football poll won?t add that much pressure for the Eastern Kentucky Colonels.
That?s because the 16-time OVC-champion Colonels are usually the league?s premiere program regardless of who is picked to win the conference championship.
Eastern Kentucky has a streak of 28 consecutive winning seasons and is coming off a 7-4 (7-1 OVC) season a year ago, finishing second to Eastern Illinois.
?The football tradition at EKU is as strong as any tradition in Division I football. You don?t sneak up on people like that,? Eastern Kentucky coach Danny Hope said. ?Anytime a team beats Eastern Kentucky University, it?s a benchmark win for them. It comes with the territory, but it?s something to be proud of.?
The Colonels garnered 11 first-place votes and 120 points overall in a vote of league coaches and sports information directors, narrowly edging out Eastern Illinois, which picked up seven first-place votes and 117 points.
Hope?s team is returning 16 starters from last year?s team, including quarterback Josh Greco, the OVC 2005 Offensive Player of the Year. Greco passed for 2,861 yards a year ago, and threw 25 touchdown passes.
?This is the first time since I?ve been a head coach that I?ve had an experienced and healthy quarterback returning, and that?s a big deal,? Hope said.
Defending champion Eastern Illinois also returns 16 starters from a team that went 8-0 in conference play and went 9-3 overall. The Panthers are paced by tailback Vincent Webb, who rushed for 1,129 yards a year ago with 15 touchdowns.
?Holding on to that spot is the challenge for us,? Eastern Illinois coach Bob Spoo said. ?We have a strong nucleus returning, but we lost a couple of guys.
?Our concern going into this year is not so much that we have guys returning, but what is their mental state going into the year. Where is that leadership going to come from and do they have the same resolve as that team from last year? If we?re going to stay on top, we?re going to have to be better than last year, because the league has gotten better.?
Jacksonville State, which won five of its final six games to finish 7-4, was picked third in the preseason poll with 102 points. The Gamecocks return 15 starters, including nine on offense, from last year?s squad.
Samford was picked to finish fourth, totaling 75 points. The Bulldogs return 20 starters from last year?s team that finished 5-6.
The Murray State Racers (64 points) were predicted to finish fifth. Murray State, which was winless in OVC play last year, is under the direction of new head coach Matt Griffin.
Tennessee-Martin (6-5, 4-4 OVC in 2005) also has a new head coach as Jason Simpson takes the reins of the Skyhawks, who are picked to finish sixth.
Tennessee State, which returns all 11 starters, finished in a tie for seventh in the preseason poll with Tennessee Tech. Coach James Webster is in the second year of his rebuilding program, after the Tigers went 2-9 last year and 1-6 in league play.
Tennessee Tech (4-7, 3-5 OVC last year) will be under the direction of acting head coach and offensive coordinator Doug Malone. Head coach Mike Hennigan is on medical leave.
Southeast Missouri, under the direction of new coach Tony Samuel, was picked to finish last. The Redhawks finished 2-9 (2-6 in the OVC) last year.
Results of the Ohio Valley Conference preseaon poll released Tuesday. First-place votes in parentheses.
Predicted order of finish Pts
1. Eastern Kentucky (11) 120
2. Eastern Illinois (7) 117
3. Jacksonville State 102
4. Samford 75
5. Murray State 64
6. UT-Martin 46
7. Tennessee Tech 45
7. Tennessee State 45
9. Southeast Missouri 34