Preseason rankings

Now that the SoCon media day has come and gone, and we have the two preseason polls released from the conference, I thought it would be interesting to compare these polls to the the power rankings we released back in May.

Purple & Gold's power ranking 
1. Chattanooga
2, Western Carolina
3. Samford
4. Wofford
5, Furman
6. The Citadel
7, Mercer
8. VMI

Media poll
1. Chattanooga
2. Western Carolina
3. Samford
4. Wofford
5. Furman
6. Mercer
7. The Citadel
8. VMI

Coaches poll
1. Chattanooga
2. Samford
3. Western Carolina
4. Wofford
5. Furman
6. Mercer
7. The Citadel
8. VMI

Looking at the points of agreement -
All three agree on the placement of four of the eight teams. First, Chattanooga is the team to beat, and VMI is the team in the cellar. We all also agree that Wofford comes in at #4, and Furman at #5.

Looking at the points of disagreement -
Western and Samford - Both our power ranking and the media poll place Western at #2 and Samford at #3, while the coaches reverse that order.  The Citadel and Mercer - Both the media poll and coaches polls place Mercer at #6 and The Citadel at #7, while our power ranking, reverses that order.

Why did we place WCU at two and Samford at three?  Mainly on the basis of two factors: 1) this year's game is played in Cullowhee (home field advantage)  2) a new head coach at Samford.
I do think that this season, Whitmire Stadium will give the Cats that advantage we've been lacking for as home field advantage in the past. The Cats have not defeated Samford since their entry into the SoCon, and this should be the year to get that monkey off our back. While many have predicted the Bulldogs won't skip a beat with the exchange of Chris Hatcher for Pat Sullivan, but I'm not so sure. With a new head coach, there is always changes in a program. how will those changes affect the Bulldogs, we have to wait an see their on field play.

As far as The Citadel and Mercer placement, I just don't see Mercer winning in Charleston.  Yes, the Bears performed in-conference better than most expected had expected in 2014, but they will not be underestimated this season like most teams probably did last year. As for the Citadel, they closed out last season on a good run, winning 3 of their last 4 games,  This will also be Mike Houston's second year in the Citadel, and I expect he will improve on last years win-loss record.

At this point in the preseason, I think our power rankings are holding up pretty good,  Of course, the real proof is once the season starts, and the teams actually meet on the field.

So, what do you think?

I can't wait until September 5th


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