MIAA Coaches: Mules ranked 6th among league's 10 football teams
Aug 5, 2008, 10:56 AM
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The 2008 Preseason Coaches’ Poll was released Monday at the MIAA football kickoff luncheon at Arrowhead Stadium and the Central Missouri Mules were picked to finish sixth out of the 10 teams.
The Mules compiled 47 points, just four behind Missouri Western in fifth, and eight behind Washburn, which was picked fourth.
Central Missouri finished in a tie for third in the MIAA last season with a 6-3 league mark and it returns eight All-MIAA starters to this season’s squad, including five on defense.
Northwest Missouri was picked to repeat as champions with 76 points, while newcomer Nebraska-Omaha was second (73 points), and Pittsburg State was third (64 points).
NWMSU grabbed six first-place votes after its third consecutive trip to the Division II National Championship, while UNO had three first-place nods after finishing the regular season undefeated in 2007. The Gorillas also tallied a first-place vote in the poll.
Every coach in each sport ranked the teams in the order they expected them to finish and were not allowed to vote for their own team. Points were awarded on a 9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.
