2007 SCAC Football Predicted Order of Finish

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 24, 2007
Contact: Dwayne Hanberry, SCAC Associate Commissioner

Millsaps favorite to repeat as SCAC champion

SUWANEE, Ga. – After snapping Trinity University’s 13-year string of conference titles in 2006, Millsaps College is the preseason favorite to repeat as SCAC champions in 2007.

In exclusive preseason voting by the league’s head coaches, Millsaps was tabbed as the team to beat on six of nine ballots and received 68 points in the voting process.

Both Millsaps and Trinity entered the last regular season weekend of the 2006 season with identical 5-0 conference marks - setting up a winner-take-all scenerio in Jackson. With the SCAC title on the line, the Majors jumped out to a quick 27-0 lead and cruised to the 34-12 victory to earn the program’s first conference championship since 1996 and first outright title since 1991.

The Majors return 19 of 22 starters from that championship squad, including the entire defensive unit and 10 all-SCAC selections. Leading the offense will junior quarterback Juan Joseph - the 2006 SCAC Offensive Player-of-the-Year. Joseph rewrote the school’s record book last season - setting single-season marks in completions (224), attempts (374), passing yards (2,495) and touchdown passes (21) while setting single-game marks in completions (28, twice), attempts (49) and TD passes (five).

Defensively, junior Marcus Harris returns to anchor a unit that got stronger as the season progressed. A first-team all-SCAC defensive back and honorable mention Football Gazette all-American, Harris led the conference in passes defended (22 - tied for third nationally) and finished tied for third on the team in tackles (64). He also had five interceptions.

As victors of the SCAC, Millsaps made its second-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament, dropping a first-round matchup at 21st-ranked Carnegie Mellon, 21-0.

Millsaps, along with the rest of the conference, will be facing new competition this season as the league’s membership increases to an all-time high nine football-playing institutions with the additions of Birmingham-Southern College and Colorado College.

Birmingham-Southern, in the first year of its four-year provisional transition from Division I to Division III, will not be eligible for the conference championship and all conference games against the Panthers will not count in the league standings.

Trinity was the coaches’ second pick with 64 points, including three first-place votes. The Tigers look to regain its perch atop the conference standings and return to the NCAA Tournament after missing out on the postseason for the first time since 1996.

Rounding out the 2007 predicted order of finish: DePauw University was slotted third with 51 points and Rhodes College amassed 40 points to come in at fourth. The SCAC coaches tabbed Centre College as the fifth pick with 34 points followed by Austin College and Colorado College in a tie for sixth with 27 points. Sewanee-University of the South was eighth with 13 points.

In addition to Joseph and Harris, several outstanding players return to the SCAC gridiron in 2007, including preseason D3football.com all-American Drew Gallaugher of Colorado College. The senior defensive back had a team-leading seven interceptions, 12 pass-breakups and 69 tackles for the Tigers last season.

Senior running back Jeremiah Marks of DePauw, who led the league last season in both rushing (1,117 yards) and scoring (14 TDs), is currently ranked eighth in SCAC history in rushing yards (2,920) and his 104.3 yards per game career rushing average places him fourth all-time in that category. With 246 career points, Marks, a three-time all-SCAC back, is just 78 points from becoming the league’s all-time scoring leader.

Junior receiver Riley Curry, a first-team all-SCAC selection last season, continues the tradition of great wideouts at Trinity. Last season Riley finished second in the conference in catches (41), total receiving yards (561) and yards receiving per game (56.1). His 74-yard TD catch against Austin College was the longest reception of the 2006 season.

Led by first-team all-SCAC selections junior linebacker Desmond Hendricks and senior defensive back Jake McCart, defense was the name of the game last season for Rhodes. The Lynx led the SCAC in both rushing defense (75.0 yards allowed per game) and total defense (199.6 yards allowed per game). Hendricks finished second in the league in sacks (nine) and tied for third in tackles for loss (13). McCart is the team’s leading returning tackler and had 80 total stops a year ago (seventh in the SCAC).

Another team banking on a strong defensive performance in 2007 is Centre. The Colonels return seven starters, including three all-SCAC performers, on that side of the ball, led by two-time all-SCAC first team linebacker Matt Johnson. Johnson, a second team all-South region player a year ago, posted 86 tackles, including 3.5 for a loss and two interceptions in 2006.

Austin College led the SCAC in rushing last season, averaging 206.8 yards per contest, and the ‘Roos top two ground-gainers return to Sherman to lead the attack. Senior running back Ryan Cowley rushed for 809 yards (third in the SCAC) and 12 touchdowns (second in the SCAC) with an average of 5.7 yards per carry a year ago, while junior fullback Ross Hasten bullied his way to 469 yards (6.0 yards per rush).

Sewanee has a new head coach on the Mountain this season as Robert Black (Class of 1989) returns to his alma mater to lead the Tigers. Black will look to the leadership of senior running back Blake Mears, a first-team all-SCAC selection last season who rushed for 627 yards and six TDs - giving him 1,402 yards for his career (third among all active SCAC running backs).

Along with the announcement of its move from Division I to Division III, Birmingham-Southern decided to renew its football program, which had been dormant since 1939. Wasting no time, the Panthers turned to head coach Joey Jones to lead the program. Jones, who played at the University of Alabama under the legendary Paul “Bear” Bryant from 1980-83, compiled an impressive 13-year coaching mark of 125-38 (.767) in the Alabama high school ranks.

Also of note, the annual gridiron battle between DePauw and Wabash (114th meeting) will be nationally televised for the second consecutive year on the high definition network HDNet.

2007 SCAC Predicted Order of Finish
		No. of Votes	2006 Record
		No. of Votes	Conference	Overall
1.	Millsaps College Majors	68 (6)	6-0	7-4
2.	Trinity University Tigers	64 (3)	5-1	8-2
3.	DePauw University Tigers	51	3-3	6-4
4.	Rhodes College Lynx	40	3-3	6-4
5.	Centre College Colonels	34	2-4	5-5
6.	Austin College Kangaroos	27	2-4	4-6
	*Colorado College Tigers	27	n/a	5-5
8.	Sewanee-University of the South	13	0-6	2-8

*Colorado College was a Division III independent last season. #Birimingham-Southern, a Division III provisional member, was not considered in the pre-season conference rankings. Note: First-place votes (in parentheses) are worth eight points, second-place worth seven, on down to eighth-place votes being worth one.