ABILENE – The ACU Wildcats are ranked among the nation's top teams, according to a pair of pre-season football publications.
The Wildcats – who went 9-4 last season and reached the NCAA Division II playoffs for the fourth straight season – are ranked No. 14 in the country by The Sporting News and No. 17 in the nation by
Lindy's magazine.
The Sporting News has also tabbed senior offensive guard
Royland Tubbs and junior defensive end
Aston Whiteside as pre-season first team all-America selections.
Lindy's magazine tabbed senior offensive tackle
Trevis Turner and Whiteside as pre-season first team all-America selections.
Whiteside – a first team all-LSC South Division selection in 2009 – was among NCAA Division II leaders in both sacks (9.5) and tackles for loss (14.5) in 2009. He was the LSC South Division Pre-Season Defensive Player of the Year entering the 2009 season after an all-conference selection as a freshman in 2008.
Whiteside was a second team all-America selection in 2009 by Daktronics and an honorable mention pick by d2football.com. Last year Tubbs was a first team all-Lone Star Conference South Division selection, while Turner was an honorable mention all-LSC pick.
ACU leads five LSC teams in
The Sporting News poll as the magazine also has Tarleton State (No. 15), Texas A&M-Kingsville (No. 18), West Texas A&M (No. 22) and Midwestern State (No. 25) in its poll.
Tarleton State is ranked No. 8 in the Lindy's magazine poll, followed by Midwestern State at No. 10, ACU at No. 17 and Texas A&M-Kingsville at No. 22.
Tarleton State, Texas A&M-Kingsville and Midwestern State finished in a three-way tie for the LSC title last year and all three reached the playoffs. The Texans went to Kingsville and beat the Javelinas, 57-56, in a triple-overtime thriller, while the Mustangs fell to ACU, 24-21, in Wichita Falls.
Tarleton's season ended in the second round at Central Washingon, while ACU lost in the second round at Northwest Missouri State. West Texas A&M represented the LSC in the inaugural Lower Kanza Bowl in Topeka, Kan., and came away with a 31-25 win over Nebraska-Omaha.
Defending national Northwest Missouri State is ranked No. 1 in the country by both magazines with Grand Valley State – the team that the Bearcats beat last December to win the national title – ranked No. 2 in the country.
ACU's season is set to kick off at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 4, when the Wildcats take on Washburn in Topeka, Kan.
