Miami Picked Second in MAC East Preseason Football Poll
8/3/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 3, 2004
DETROIT -- Garnering 18 first-place vote and 257 total points, Miami University's football team has been picked to finish second in the Mid-American Conference East Division in a preseason poll by the MAC News Media Association. "It's a lot easier to get on top than to stay on top," said Miami head coach Terry Hoeppner said of his defending MAC Champions. "As much as we enjoyed last season, it's not going to stay the same for us. We're either going to get better or we're going to deteriorate. The reality is we're going to have to do the same things all over again, and even a little bit more, if we're going to remain competitive in a conference that has proven itself to be one of the most competitive in college football." Miami, which is defending the MAC Crown for the first time since 1987, finished just one point behind Marshall University, which picked up 21 first-place votes and 258 overall points. Marshall's one-point edge over the RedHawks matches last season's margin, when Miami was favored over the Thundering Herd by a single point. Since the league went to divisional play in 1997, no team other than Marshall or Miami has emerged as the MAC East Champion. The two meet in Huntington, W.Va., on Sept. 29. The University of Akron was picked third in the East, garnering 188 total points and one first-place vote, while the University of Central Florida was tabbed fourth, receiving 176 points and 11 first-place votes. Kent State University, Ohio University and the University at Buffalo, respectively, rounded out the projected order of finish in the MAC East. The University of Toledo, which visits Oxford on Nov. 2 for a nationally-televised game on ESPN2, was picked to reign in the MAC West, earning 278 points and 34 of the 46 first-place votes. The Rockets also were predicted to win the MAC Championship game. Northern Illinois University and defending MAC West Champion Bowling Green State University were tabbed to finish second and third, respectively, in the MAC West race. Bolstered by the momentum of a 12-game winning streak--the longest active winning streak nationally--Miami opens the season on Aug. 28 when Indiana State University visits Oxford in the first college football game of the 2004 campaign. The RedHawks, who report back to campus today to begin fall camp, will be showcasing a new scoreboard, new permanent lighting and the debut of the Cradle of Coaches Plaza during its season opener. Trips to the University of Michigan on Sept. 4 and the University of Cincinnati on Sept. 11 round out Miami's 2004 non-conference schedule, while a Sept. 18 home date with Ohio kicks off the MAC slate. "Obviously this year's team will have a new identity," Hoeppner said. "The challenge for our staff is to understand what the individuals on the field do best and utilize those skills, while eliminating weaknesses. We've got a lot of guys back on both sides of the ball, and I've been encouraged by what I've seen in the off-season. The potential is there, we just need to keep developing as a team."
