For the Southwestern Athletic Conference football teams, and its fans coming out of SWAC Media Day on Tuesday. All of the 12 teams are undefeated with the hope of hoisting the 2024 SWAC championship trophy when the season begins Aug. 29.
On Tuesday, the SWAC announced its preseason All-SWAC Teams and put a bull’s-eye on the teams picked to win the East and West Divisions based on the voting poll of SWAC head coaches and sports information directors.
Jackson State had five players chosen to the preseason all-conference teams, and the Tigers were selected to finish third in the East Division. What the Tigers need to remember is the games are played on the field and not in polls. The scoreboard is the only thing that matters.
Preseason polls are nothing more than speculation until they are backed up with results on the field.
As ESPN’s Lee Corso would say, “Not so fast, my friend.”
Take a look at the 2023 preseason polling. Five players selected to the first team offense on the preseason All-SWAC team in July didn’t make the end-of-season All-SWAC team, and three more made only the second team. The coaches and SIDs picked Southern to win the West; the Jaguars finished third. Prairie View A&M was predicted to finish fifth in the division; the Panthers shared the West’s best record (6-2) with Alcorn State.
Heading into the 2024 season, here are three of the prognosticators’ predictions that may be proved off target.
A healthy Irv Mulligan could mean huge rushing numbers for Jackson State
Jackson State running back Irv Mulligan was left off the preseason All-SWAC teams. If healthy, look for Mulligan to have a chance to rush for 1,500 yards.
In 2023, Mulligan led the SWAC in rushing with more than 600 yards through six games. He was injured in the seventh game against Alabama State. Mulligan missed the next three games and…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/swac-preseason-voting-overlooked-jackson-100549122.html
Author : The Clarion Ledger
Publish date : 2024-07-22 10:05:49
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