VIDEO: Mike Clowney Interview

ROCK HILL, S.C. – Carson-Newman's football program has been picked to finish seventh overall in the South Atlantic Conference and third in the Mountain Division in the annual preseason SAC Coaches Poll, released by the league office Friday morning. 

"I think when you look at things from a numbers perspective, it's pretty much where we finished last year," Carson-Newman head football coach Mike Clowney said. "The challenge for our kids is to see how fast and far we can move up that chart. We have players here right now who are hungry and want to see us progress." 

The ranking is an improvement from last year, when Carson-Newman was picked to finish ninth.  C-N, with its league-best 21 SAC titles, has been picked to win the league in all but nine of the last 34 preseason rankings.

The top four teams in the poll are all from the Piedmont Division and all four teams garnered at least one first-place vote. 

Newberry, the winner of the inaugural SAC title game, was picked to repeat as champions with six first-place votes and 114 points. Wingate follows with 109 points and four first-place votes. Lenoir-Rhyne was a clear pick for third with a first-place vote and 101 points, while Limestone checks in fourth with the final first-place vote and 88 points. 

Three Mountain Division teams follow in Mars Hill (85 points), Tusculum (79) and C-N (58). 

The final two Piedmont teams are Barton (eighth, 48 points) and Catawba (11^th, 22 points).  While Emory & Henry and Wise check in in ninth and 10^th, while Erskine was picked to finish 12^th. 

Carson-Newman opens the season on Aug. 31 on Thursday night against Virginia Lynchburg.  Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network begins at 6 p.m. with the AEC Tailgate Show on Joy 620 (WRJZ-AM, Knoxville), Mountain Talk 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live. A video stream is available with a subscription to FloSports. 

2023 SAC Football Preseason Poll