Scribes anoint
Knights, Cougs as favorites
From staff and electronic reports ©2011 Bonesville.net.
All rights reserved.
Sports journalists from around Conference USA
dubbed Central Florida and Houston as the premier teams in their
respective divisions in the Tulsa World's
2011 preseason football poll.
The panel of 24 voters, comprised of one
sportswriter and one broadcaster representing each of the
league's 12 teams, picked the defending champion Knights
to beat out Southern Mississippi and East Carolina in the East
Division race. ECU won back-to-back division and conference
titles in 2008 and 2009.
Houston, expected to get a jolt of extra
offensive firepower from the return of injured quarterback Case
Keenum, edged out Tulsa and Southern Methodist as the favorite
to win the West Division. SMU captured the division's spot
opposite UCF in the C-USA championship game last season, losing
the title tilt to the Knights 17-7.
The paper published the poll on Thursday,
three days ahead of the annual gathering in Memphis of coaches,
media members and sports information directors for the league's
media kickoff event.
Bonesville columnist Denny O'Brien served on
the voting panel. O'Brien was in sync with the consensus in
picking UCF as the East Division kingpin, but went against the
grain in tabbing SMU to emerge with West Division supremacy.
(See
the poll and
O'Brien's ballot below this story.)
O'Brien's fellow Bonesville staff member, Al
Myatt, will be in Memphis covering the media kickoff event on
Sunday and Monday.
Poll results and O'Brien's ballot:
Conference USA
Preseason Football Poll
(Conducted by the
Tulsa World; compiled from votes by a panel of 12 print
media members and 12 radio journalist from cities around the
league.)
EAST DIVISION
1. Central Florida (20 first-place votes) .... 139 points
2. Southern Miss (4) .... 122
3. East Carolina .... 93
4. Marshall ... 65
5. UAB ... 61
6. Memphis ... 24
WEST DIVISION
1. Houston (12 first-place votes) ... 127 points
2. Tulsa (8) ... 117
3. Southern Methodist (4) ... 116
4. Rice ... 60
5. Tulane ... 42
5. Texas-El Paso ... 42
Denny O'Brien's C-USA Preseason Football Poll Ballot
EAST DIVISION
1. Central Florida
2. Southern Miss
3. East Carolina
4. Marshall
5. UAB
6. Memphis
WEST DIVISION
1. Southern Methodist
2. Houston
3. Tulsa
4. Texas-El Paso
5. Rice
6. Tulane
PAGE UPDATED
07/29/11 04:03 AM.
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