Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Football Ranked #2 in ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll
08/09/2004 | 12:00:00 | Football
Aug. 9, 2004
NEW YORK -
The Southern Illinois University football team will begin the season ranked #2 in the nation, according to the ESPN/USA Today Division I-AA Coaches poll released Monday.
The coaches poll is one of two, "official" I-AA polls. The other official poll is a media survey conducted by the Sports Network.
The Salukis return 17 starters from last year's Gateway Conference co-championship team that recorded a 10-2 record. SIU lost to Delaware in the first round of the playoffs in 2003, and the defending champion Blue Hens begin the 2004 season where they left off last year, ranked number one.
Southern Illinois climbed as high as #2 in the polls last year. The last time SIU was ranked #1 was after winning the national championship in 1983.
(The ESPN/USA Today Division I-AA Top 25 Pre-season college
football coaches poll, with number of first-place votes,
last year's record in parentheses, and total points:)
1. DELAWARE (26) (15-1) 863
2. SOUTHERN ILLINOIS (6) (10-2) 791
3. MONTANA (9-4) 702
4. WOFFORD (1) (12-2) 685
5. COLGATE (15-1) 664
6. NORTHERN IOWA (1) (10-3) 644
7. MCNEESE ST (1) (10-2) 592
8. FURMAN (6-5) 532
9. GA SOUTHERN (7-4) 500
10. VILLANOVA (7-4) 466
11. MAINE (6-5) 428
12. WESTERN ILL (9-4) 414
13. NORTHRN ARIZONA (9-4) 392
14. WESTERN KY (9-4) 367
15. MONTANA ST (7-6) 308
16. GRAMBLING (9-3) 301
17. SFA (7-4) 280
18. NORTHWESTERN ST (6-6) 264
19. MASSACHUSETTS (10-3) 247
20. APPALACHIAN ST (7-4) 246
21. NORTHEASTERN (8-4) 234
22. LEHIGH (8-3) 192
23. EASTERN KY (7-5) 161
24. NO CAROLINA A&T (10-3) 151
25. SOUTHERN (12-1) 148
Others Receiving Votes: PENNSYLVANIA 133, NORTHERN COLO 85,
FLA ATLANTIC 85, BETHUNE COOKMAN 71, JACKSONVILLE ST 56,
GARDNER-WEBB 50, IDAHO ST 45, EASTERN WASH 33, HARVARD 27,
HAMPTON 24, SO CAROLINA ST 23, ELON 23, CAL POLY 18, ALCORN
ST 17, YOUNGSTOWN ST 16, MURRAY ST 16, WEBER ST 15, FLORIDA
A&M 14, YALE 10, PORTLAND ST 10, WILLIAM & MARY 7, SE
LOUISIANA 7, ILLINOIS ST 6, SOUTHERN UTAH 3, RHODE ISLAND 2,
ALABAMA ST 2, UC DAVIS 1, NICHOLLS ST 1, FORDHAM 1, FLORIDA
INTL 1, ALABAMA A&M 1.
