Missouri State football coach Dave Steckel hadn’t heard the results of the preseason poll for the Missouri Valley Football Conference when he hopped on a teleconference for league coaches on Tuesday morning.
“I haven’t seen it, but if was voting, I’d probably pick us last,” the second-year Bears coach said.
That’s exactly where his team landed, 10th in the 10-team Valley in voting by league coaches, media members and sports information directors.
The 39 ballots returned left Missouri State solidly in 10th, with 41 points. Ninth-place Indiana State had 115 points.
At the other end of the poll, five-time defending national champion North Dakota State collected 37 first-place votes and 388 points, with Northern Iowa netting the other two first-place picks and 343.