Tigers, Bisons top GAC poll

Ouachita Baptist and Harding were separated by three points last year. There's an even slimmer margin separating the teams in this year's preseason poll of Great American Conference football coaches.

OBU, which beat Harding 31-28 in overtime last season, was picked as the favorite in the GAC in a poll of league coaches released Tuesday by the conference. The Tigers, who went 10-1 last year and won the GAC title, earned 113 points and six first-place votes to edge Harding, which went 9-2 last year and was picked second with 111 points and three first-place votes.

GAC preseason coaches poll

• A preseason poll of Great American Conference football coaches with first-place votes in parenthesis:

  1. Ouachita Baptist;113 (6)

  2. Harding;111 (3)

  3. Henderson State;101 (2)

  4. East Central (Okla.);89 (1)

  5. SE Oklahoma State;89

  6. Southern Arkansas;70

  7. Arkansas Tech;57

  8. SW Oklahoma State;49

  9. Arkansas-Monticello;41

  10. NW Oklahoma State;38

  11. Southern Nazarene;18

  12. Oklahoma Baptist;16

"It's nice to see other people showing the respect for your program and your kids," OBU Coach Todd Knight said. "But you've got to earn everything. There are a lot of us that are really even."

The Tigers and Bisons are followed in the poll by Henderson State, which had 101 points and two first-place votes, and East Central (Okla.) and Southeastern Oklahoma State, which tied for fourth. East Central received the final first-place vote.

Southern Arkansas was picked sixth, followed by Arkansas Tech, Southwestern Oklahoma State, Arkansas-Monticello, Northwestern Oklahoma State, Southern Nazarene and Oklahoma Baptist.

OBU returns 14 starters from the team that went 10-0 in the regular season before losing to Minnesota-Duluth 48-45 in overtime in the Division II playoffs.

During the regular season, the Tigers edged Harding 31-28 in overtime at Searcy. Based on the poll released Tuesday, coaches view the two programs just as close this season.

"I think Harding has a phenomenal program. They've been very consistent in what they do," Knight said. "You can really say that all those teams in the top six are right there."

The Tigers lost quarterback Kiehl Frazier, who had 2,753 yards of offense and earned second-team all-GAC honors last season. They also lost leading rusher Steven Kehner and Jalen Jones, who led the team in receptions. Knight said Austin Warford, a sophomore from Malvern who redshirted last year, will open practice as the top quarterback.

Harding went 9-2 last season, with its only losses coming to Ouachita Baptist and 59-42 to Pittsburg (Kan.) State in the Bisons' second appearance in the Division II playoffs. The Bisons, who are 27-6 over the past three seasons, lost their top three rushers and quarterback from last year.

Sports on 07/29/2015

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