FB: Southern Athletic Association

[jknezek]

SAA pre-season poll is out:  Trinity gets seven first place votes and one second, BSC, Berry, Centre very tight for second. 

Sewanee got the other first place vote ...    

https://saa-sports.com/news/2022/8/24/trinity-picked-to-repeat-in-saa-football-preseason-poll.aspx

1. Trinity - 63 pts. (7)
2. Birmingham-Southern - 48 pt.
T3. Berry - 45 pts.
T3. Centre - 45 pts.
5. Hendrix - 27 pts.
6. Rhodes - 25 pts.
7. Millsaps - 18 pts.
8. Sewanee - 17 pts. (1)

I wonder if they have the same rule as some other conferences... you can't vote for yourself. And the Trinity coach maybe didn't want to vote for any of his rivals? Who knows.

[Ron Boerger]

I checked some of the other SAA preseason polls (not FB) and there were examples of unanimous first-place votes.  Also have a hard time believing Urban would do something like that but *someone* certainly picked Sewanee 1 and Trinity 2. 

[Ralph Turner]

I am guessing that Sewanee got:

one 1st place vote = 8 points
one 6th place votes = 3 points
six 8th place votes = 6 points
                                   17 points

[BSCpanthers]

Are there any head coaches in conference that played for or coached at Sewanee???

Figure someone is giving them the Spurrier vote he always gave Duke every season.  While he was HC he always gave Duke a vote in his poll.

[Cowboy2]

I'm sure each team/coach/school program is very optimistic at this point in the season. While Trinity has had a lot of spotlight in the recent couple years, re-emerging from some down years, the SAA is becoming very strong. They have a lot of premier players that received AA honors.  As I stated a few weeks back, the conference is wide open at this point. Yea it's cliche but every team has an opportunity. Who knows with injuries and how the pigskin can bounce. Game is won by inches each play. One team could hope for a .500 season and end up 8-2 how the ball bounces their way. Another team could be projected 8-2 and finish 3-7 with some close games they fold in with a couple of losses to superior teams. I see the vote playing out pretty true, but you never know. UoS returns a lot of players and could surprise a lot of people. Trinity is #9, BSC #25, Centre received votes, and Berry is Berry (amazing even after a down year of youth last season). Hendrix is a Covid year away from losing the SAA in AK and have talent across the board. Millsaps has a ton of athletes in that region, and Rhodes is a dark horse darling every year and always comes out on top against someone that most people didn't expect them to beat. I expect a great season of play from all schools. It will be interesting to see how the SAA does this year with Trinity playing Wheaton and Berry playing UWwhitewater. The conference continues to make strides and receive national recognition for its efforts. It will be nice if they can keep building and eventually break through 3+ round of playoffs but that's to be unseen until done. Trinity is loaded. BSC will have a top tier defense. Centre has the QB that can do it all. Berry has a stable of ponies to tout the rock and numbers at each position. I suspect Hendrix to play spoiler. Who knows. Millsaps, Rhodes, UoS, aren't to be taken lightly either. I think you could shuffle the top 4 and the lower 4 teams based on the coaches poll and it still wouldn't play out exactly how they voted due to the rise of this conference, with each team continually improving. Trinity has the target on their back, which they haven't had in a decade.....everyone will give them their best.

[tigerguy]

Anybody know how the scrimmage between Trinity/TLU went this evening?

[awadelewis]

I am guessing that Sewanee got:

one 1st place vote = 8 points
one 6th place votes = 3 points
six 8th place votes = 6 points
                                   17 points

As topsy-turvy as the world is at the moment, one might see our team win the conference.  But that's certainly in the possible but not highly probable category.   A favorable schedule opening with 4 home games in a row on the Mountain gives hope for a better result than last year and I'd be very happy should we go 0.500 on the season.   I'm just happy to see some football. :-)

[BSCpanthers]

How many SAA teams play JV football???  BSC does not, however, our roster has grown quite a bit and am wondering if JV football is in the future for BSC. 

[Cowboy2]

Most of SAA teams are too spread out for JV play. I know the SCAC and ASC had some internal JV games years back due to proximity, but not too sure if they still do much of it anymore.

[crufootball]

Most of SAA teams are too spread out for JV play. I know the SCAC and ASC had some internal JV games years back due to proximity, but not too sure if they still do much of it anymore.

UMHB, TLU, HSU and Southwestern all play each other and some of the prep schools in the area. Other programs used to but seem to have fallen off I would guess because of numbers.

[BSCpanthers]

Huntington, less than 2 hours from BSC has a 3 game JV schedule this season.  They play a couple prep schools and best I can tell a club team from a DII school that doesn't sponsor football. Seems like BSC could make a few game schedule and play schools within a couple hours of us and give the younger guys something to play for, even if it is only 3-4 games.

[jknezek]

Huntington, less than 2 hours from BSC has a 3 game JV schedule this season.  They play a couple prep schools and best I can tell a club team from a DII school that doesn't sponsor football. Seems like BSC could make a few game schedule and play schools within a couple hours of us and give the younger guys something to play for, even if it is only 3-4 games.

Could. It's just a matter of money. And it's sort of $2 for $1, since you have to balance money by Title IX requirements. Travelling a football team is not cheap, even just renting a bus for JV to go a couple hours each way.

[Hawks88]

The JV games can be very valuable if you are able to have them mainly just to get the young guys on the field in a game situation. In the past we have had freshmen who weren't dressing for home games with the varsity early in the season get noticed in the JV games and end up working their way into the regular playing rotation by the end of the season.

[BSCpanthers]

BSC has officially left campus heading to Little Rock for a match with McMurry at War Memorial. 

GO PANTHERS!!!!

[Cowboy2]

Centre trails Hanover 7 - 13 late in the 2Q.
Interception fest by both teams.
I don't see their starting QB in the game. Any news?