C-N tabbed third in preseason SAC Coaches Poll
ROCK HILL, S.C. – Carson-Newman’s football program has been picked to finish third in the South Atlantic Conference in the annual preseason SAC Coaches’ Poll, released by the league office Monday morning.
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ROCK HILL, S.C. – Carson-Newman's football program has been picked to finish third in the South Atlantic Conference in the annual preseason SAC Coaches' Poll, released by the league office Monday morning.
C-N, with its league-best 21 SAC titles, has been picked to win the league in all but 11 of the last 36 preseason rankings.
Carson-Newman was picked eighth in the preseason poll last season before winning its first seven games of the year en route to a Mountain Division title and an NCAA playoff appearance. The Eagles had two first-place votes this year and 79 points overall.
With Limestone's closure and the departure of Barton for Conference Carolinas new football league, the SAC moves away from divisions and back to the traditional conference model that defined the first 47 years of its existence.
Lenoir-Rhyne, which did not play for the SAC title last season, was picked first with 85 points and six first-place votes. LR went 10-3 overall and 6-2 in the SAC in head coach Doug Socha's first season en route to an NCAA playoff appearance and 37-34 win at West Alabama.
Reigning SAC champion Wingate was picked second with two first-place votes. The Bulldogs finished a point ahead of C-N for second with 80 points.
Emory & Henry and Mars Hill follow C-N in fourth and fifth with 63 and 56 points, respectively.
Catawba was tabbed for a sixth place finish after going 1-7 in the conference last year. However, that record featured four losses by a combined 13 points and injuries to starting QB Preston Brown, all-league WR Bo Pryor and star tailback LJ Turner. Both brown and Pryor return.
Newberry checks in in seventh place with 45 points, while Anderson, UVA Wise and Tusculum round out the bottom three in the poll.
Carson-Newman opens the season Aug. 30 at noon against West Virginia State inside Burke-Tarr Stadium. Pregame coverage on the Eagle Sports Network begins at 11 a.m with the AEC Countdown to Kickoff on Joy 620 (WRJZ-AM, Knoxville), Mix 105.5 (WSEV-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live. A video stream is available with a subscription to FloCollege at cneagles.com/FloFB.
2025 SAC Preseason Football Coaches' Poll
|
Pl. |
School (1st place) |
Pts |
|
1 |
Lenoir-Rhyne (6) |
85 |
|
2 |
Wingate (2) |
80 |
|
3 |
Carson-Newman (2) |
79 |
|
4 |
Emory & Henry |
63 |
|
5 |
Mars Hill |
56 |
|
6 |
Catawba |
48 |
|
7 |
Newberry |
45 |
|
8 |
Anderson |
34 |
|
9 |
UVA Wise |
26 |
|
10 |
Tusculum |
24 |
