SAN ANTONIO -- For the first time since 2006 the ACU Wildcats weren't picked to win the Lone Star Conference South Division football championship as ACU finished just behind West Texas A&M in the pre-season poll, which was announced Tuesday at the league's annual Media Day.
The Wildcats -- picked to win the division championship in 2007, 2008 and 2009 following NCAA Division II playoff appearances -- finished second in this year's pre-season poll with three first-place votes and 103 total points. The Buffaloes -- who finished 7-5 last year, winning their last six games including a win over Nebraska-Omaha in the Kanza Bowl -- were picked to win the LSC South Division championship with nine first-place votes and 105 total points.
Midwestern State was picked to finish third in the LSC South (three first-place votes, 91 points), followed by Tarleton State (two first-place votes, 87 points) in fourth, Texas A&M-Kingsville in fifth (two first-place votes, 84 points), Angelo State in sixth (42 points) and newcomer Incarnate Word in seventh (20 points).
The Wildcats return 13 all-LSC South Division players, including eight first team selections and five second team picks. Junior defensive end
Aston Whiteside was selected as the league's Defensive Pre-Season Player of the Year for the second straight season. Whiteside led the Wildcats in sacks and tackles for loss on his way to first team all-LSC South Division, first team all-region and all-America honors.
"We believe we've got a really good team coming back, but when you look at this league you see a lot of great teams," ACU head coach Chris Thomsen said. " Almost our entire front seven is returning and we feel good about those guys. We've got to re-tool our secondary and we'll feel really good about our defense. Offensively we've got almost everyone back and we're really excited about the development and progress those guys have shown."
