WACO -- The ACU Wildcats will open the 2008 season ranked No. 8 in the nation, according to the American Football Coaches' Association NCAA Division II Pre-Season poll that was released Tuesday.
The Wildcats finished 10-3 last year and reached the second round of the NCAA Division II playoffs before losing a 76-73 triple-overtime heartbreaker at Chadron State (Neb.). The Wildcats return seven offensive and six defensive starters from last year's squad and have already been picked to win the Lone Star Conference South Division over three-time defending conference champion West Texas A&M.
The Wildcats will open the 2008 season on Aug. 30 at Northwest Missouri State, the three-time defending national runner-up. The Bearcats are ranked No. 3 in the pre-season poll, meaning the game will feature two top-10 teams in the season opener. Defending national champion Valdosta State (Ga.) is ranked No. 1 in the nation in the pre-season poll. Grand Valley State (Mich.) is ranked No. 2, followed by Northwest Missouri State at No. 3, North Alabama at No. 4 and California (Pa.) at No. 5.
ACU returns one of the most dangerous offensive trios in the nation in quarterback Billy Malone, running back Bernard Scott and wide receiver Johnny Knox. Malone is the all-time leader passer in the history of the LSC with 8,799 yards, while last year Knox set a conference single-season record with 17 touchdown catches.
Scott is the top returning running back in the nation after a 2007 season that saw him set two NCAA Division II single-season records (points scored with 234 and touchdowns scored with 39) on his way to a runner-up finish in the Harlon Hill Award voting. Scott ran for an LSC and ACU single-season record 2,165 yards and twice scored six touchdowns in a game in 2007.
ACU has made back-to-back playoff appearances -- one of only 15 schools in the nation to do so -- but if the pre-season poll is any indication, the Wildcats' road to a third straight playoff appearance won't be easy. The Wildcats, in fact, are only the third-highest ranked team in the NCAA Division II Southwest Region going into the season.
Northwest Missouri State (No. 3) and Nebraska-Omaha (No. 7) of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association are ranked ahead of the Wildcats, while four teams in the region are ranked below ACU, including West Texas A&M, which checks in at No. 10. Central Washington is ranked No. 11, Pittsburg State is ranked No.17 and LSC North Division favorite Texas A&M-Commerce is ranked No. 18.
ACU will host Texas A&M-Commerce in its home-opener on Sept. 13 and will travel to Canyon to play West Texas A&M in an LSC showdown on Oct. 18. Other LSC teams that received votes in the pre-season poll are Tarleton State (49 votes), Southeastern Oklahoma State (29 votes) and Midwestern State (9 votes). ACU will play all three of those teams in 2008.
