Mulerider football picked first in GAC Preseason Poll

[Seminole Indian]

RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – On the heels of a 9-3 season and an appearance in the 2016 Live United Bowl, the Southern Arkansas football team will enter the 2017 campaign as preseason favorites in the challenging Great American Conference after the Muleriders received a total of 110 points and five first-place votes in the league's annual preseason coaches' poll.

The predicted first-place finish is the highest for the Muleriders since joining the GAC in 2011. Not far behind SAU in the poll is reining GAC Champion, Harding. The Bisons, who made a deep run in the NCAA Playoffs a year ago, received 107 total points and matched the Muleriders' five first-place votes. One point back of Harding is three-time GAC Champion Henderson State as the Reddies totaled 106 points while receiving the remaining two first-place votes.

Ouachita was tabbed fourth with Southeastern Oklahoma and Arkansas Tech representing slots five and six. Southwestern Oklahoma was voted seventh and SAU-rival Arkansas-Monticello was picked eighth. Northwestern Oklahoma, East Central and Oklahoma Baptist took the next three spots in the poll with Southern Nazarene wrapping up the rankings in 12th.

Last year, the Muleriders were picked to finish fifth in the GAC, but the team exceeded those expectations and turned in a 9-3 record and finished second in the league behind Harding. The 9-3 campaign was the Muleriders' fifth-straight season with a .500 or better winning percentage. In that time, the Muleriders are 35-19 (.648) overall; which includes a 19-3 (.864) mark at home.

http://www.muleriderathletics.com/news/2017/8/8/mulerider-football-picked-first-in-gac-preseason-poll.aspx