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Salukis picked fifth in Missouri Valley Football Conference Preseason Poll
July 22, 2008
By Jeff Honza ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Southern Illinois University was voted fifth in the Missouri Valley Football Conference Preseason Poll, the league announced Tuesday during its annual media day at the Hilton Airport Hotel. OL Aaron Lockwood, OLB James Cloud, ILB Brandin Jordan, P Scott Ravanesi and OLB Chauncey Mixon (honorable mention) earned preseason honors for the Dawgs, who were picked to finish no higher than fourth for the third-consecutive year. "I feel like I'm one of the new kids on the block. The challenge is big," said first-year Saluki head coach Dale Lennon. "This league is what you look for. There's not going to be an easy Saturday on the schedule." A lot of talk swirling around this year's event was the addition of North Dakota State and South Dakota State. NDSU, tabbed as the favorite to win the league after earning 289 points and 13 first-place votes, is picked as high as No. 2 nationally in some preseason football publications. The Bison edged defending league champion Northern Iowa (275). "It doesn't offend me that North Dakota State is joining the conference," said Lockwood. "They are a highly respected program." The next three teams were tightly bunched for the third-, fourth- and fifth-place spots, as 10 points separated Youngstown State (3rd-209), Western Illinois (4th-202) and SIU (5th-201). Each of the top-five teams in the poll received at least one first-place vote. SDSU (149), was picked sixth, while Missouri State (105), Illinois State (104) and Indiana State (41) rounded out this year's poll. "Overall, I'm excited to be at SIU," said Lennon. "We have a fairly young team and will look to build on the winning tradition of Saluki Football."
The MVFC also announced its television schedule for the 2008 season. The Salukis will have two games as part of that package -- vs. Indiana State (Oct. 11) and at Missouri State (Oct. 25). All conference-produced games will air live or taped on FSN Midwest and live on Fox College Sports (FCS), which has a national distribution of seven million homes. SIU opens its season against Hampton on Saturday, Sept. 6. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m., CST, at McAndrew Stadium. 2008 Valley Football Preseason Poll (first-place votes) SIU's Top-25 Preseason Rankings |
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