ASU picked to win

GREENVILLE, S.C.— The media followed the coaches’ lead in overwhelmingly picking Appalachian to win the 2008 Southern Conference football championship today at the league’s annual rouser. The Mountaineers collected 29 of 30 first-place votes, with Georgia Southern grabbing the other.

Points were awarded based on each team’s position on each ballot, and the overall totals (nine for first, and so on) were led by Appalachian with 268 points, followed by Elon (215), Georgia Southern (191), Wofford (185), Furman (158), The Citadel (148), Chattanooga (83), Western Carolina (53) and league newcomer Samford (49).

The Mountaineers also placed nine players on the coaches’ preseason all-conference team, including quarterback Armanti Edwards. And one ASU player — CoCo Hillary — made it at two positions, wide receiver and return specialist. No other team had more than four on the squad, the number of spots collected by Georgia Southern.

Edwards was the preseason offensive player of the year, while Mountaineers linebacker Pierre Banks took defensive honors.—STAN OLSON