West Chester and IUP Picked First on PSAC Coaches Preseason Football Poll
Preseason Football Information
Lock Haven, Pa. – 2013 NCAA Division II Semifinalist West Chester and Western Division perennial powerhouse IUP have been predicted to win their respective division in 2014 according to a poll conducted amongst the league head football coaches.
With seven first-place nods, West Chester sits atop the PSAC preseason poll for the first time since 2010 and for the third time in program history. IUP snagged five first-place votes, marking the third-consecutive season the Crimson Hawks have appeared at the top of the preseason poll and the eighth straight year they’ve been ranked in the top three.
West Chester enters the 2014 campaign coming off its second ever appearance in the NCAA Division II Football Semifinals. West Chester gained entry into the semifinals with a 28-7 victory over Shepherd to win the Super Region One Championship. The Golden Rams’ lone previous appearance in the semifinals came in 2004 when they fell to Valdosta State, 45-21. Their semifinal appearance marked the first in the PSAC since California made three straight semifinal appearances from 2007-09. West Chester’s 13 wins in 2013 set a new school single-season standard for wins, while its 564 points ranks fourth all-time in PSAC single-season history.
The Crimson Hawks finished 2013 with a 9-2 record, including wins in each of the last four outings, and ranked 10th in the Division II Super Region One rankings. Two seasons ago IUP captured its first PSAC Championship crown since 1987 and advanced to the NCAA Division II Super Region One finals to cement an 18-15 overall Division II playoff record in 15 appearances, the most by any PSAC school. IUP returns six to a unit that finished 2013 ranked fifth in scoring defense in Division II by giving up just 15.4 points per game.
Second ranked California earned the remaining three first-place votes in the West. The Vulcans finished 2013 with seven victories and tied for third in the West standings. California was pegged to finish fourth in the 2013 preseason poll, marking the first time since 2005 the Vulcans were not given at least a share of the Western Division crown.
Slippery Rock edged Mercyhurst for third in the rankings by just two points. The Rock has been selected third in the preseason poll for four consecutive seasons, while Mercyhurst’s fourth-place ranking is two spots down from last season.
Slots five through eight mirror last season’s preseason poll with Gannon taking fifth followed by No. 6 Edinboro, No. 7 Clarion, and No. 8 Seton Hill.
No. 2 East Stroudsburg earned the final first-place vote in the East to improve three spots from the 2013 preseason poll. The second place ranking marks the best for the Warriors since they were slated to win the division in 2005. East Stroudsburg returns Harlon Hill candidate quarterback Matt Soltes to lead an offense that finished first in the Eastern Division in scoring (40.8ppg) and total offensive yards (508.1ypg) last season.
Defending PSAC Champion Bloomsburg finished third on the preseason poll, marking 19 consecutive years that the Huskies have been ranked in the top three. In 2013 the Huskies made their program’s 10th appearance in the NCAA playoffs, their fourth trip in six years.
No. 4 Shippensburg’s seven victories in 2013 marked the first time since 1952-54 that the Red Raiders have posted seven or more wins in three straight seasons. Kutztown finished fifth in the voting and just three points ahead of No. 6 Lock Haven. Rounding out the East is No. 7 Millersville and No. 8 Cheyney.
The results of the coaches’ poll are listed below. First-place votes are in parenthesis.
Eastern Division
1. West Chester (7)
2. East Stroudsburg (1)
3. Bloomsburg
4. Shippensburg
5. Kutztown
6. Lock Haven
7. Millersville
8. Cheyney
Western Division
1. IUP (5)
2. California (3)
3. Slippery Rock
4. Mercyhurst
5. Gannon
6. Edinboro
7. Clarion
8. Seton Hill