SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Both the Southern Conference football coaches and the SoCon Sports Media Association have selected Georgia Southern for a seventh-place finish in their respective 2010 preseason polls. Both polls tabbed Appalachian State as the preseason favorite to win the league crown in 2010 with seven top votes from the coaches and 22 from media members. The next two picks were identical in both polls with Elon selected second, earning two first-place votes and receiving 58 total points from the coaches and six first-place votes from the media, and Furman in the number-three spot.
In the coaches' poll, Furman led a pack of four teams separated by just five points. The Paladins were slotted third (41 points) with Samford (39) fourth, just two points behind Furman and two ahead of Chattanooga, which was tabbed fifth. Wofford was chosen to finish sixth in preseason balloting with Georgia Southern, under the direction of new Eagles' head coach Jeff Monken, in seventh place with 25 points.
Chattanooga, fourth in the media poll with 157 points, was just ahead of Wofford among the media members' selections with 152 points. Samford earned one first-place vote and its 141 points were good for sixth place in the preseason list. The Eagles 116-point total placed them seventh place in the media poll.
The Citadel (14) was picked eighth while Western Carolina (11) rounded out the coaches' picks. In the media poll, Western Carolina was eighth (52) with The Citadel in the final spot (45).
2010 SoCon Football Preseason Coaches Poll
Place School (First-place votes) Points
1. Appalachian State (7) 63
2. Elon (2) 58
3. Furman 41
4. Samford 39
5. Chattanooga 37
6. Wofford 36
7. Georgia Southern 25
8. The Citadel 14
9. Western Carolina 11
NOTE: Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own team
2010 SoCon Football Preseason Media Poll
Place School (First-place votes) Points
1. Appalachian State (22) 259
2. Elon (6) 231
3. Furman (1) 197
4. Chattanooga 157
5. Wofford 152
6. Samford (1) 141
7. Georgia Southern 116
8. Western Carolina 52
9. The Citadel 45
The 2010 Southern Conference football season begins on Saturday, September 4 when eight of the league's nine teams will be in action. Georgia Southern plays host to Savannah State at 6 p.m. that evening in a non-conference contest. The Eagles open their 2010 conference season in Paulson Stadium at 6 p.m. Saturday, September 25th against Elon in a game that will be broadcast on SportSouth as part of the SoCon Saturday series.
