Kennesaw State Voted 2020 Preseason Football Favorite
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (www.BigSouthSports.com) – For the fourth consecutive year, Kennesaw State University has been tabbed the favorite in the conference’s annual preseason football poll for the 2020 campaign as voted by the league’s head coaches and media panel, it was announced today.
The Owls collected eight of the 12 first-place votes and finished with 68 points to become just the second team to earn the league’s top preseason ranking four-straight years. Kennesaw State, which reached the FCS Second Round as an at-large qualifier last season and was ranked No. 8/13 in the final polls, returns 45 letterwinners, 18 starters and six All-Conference players. KSU went 11-3 last season (5-1 in the Big South) and ranked first in the nation in rushing offense with 342.4 yards per game while ranking fifth in the country with a Big South single-season record 88.4 rushing yards allowed.
Defending champion Monmouth was second in the 2020 preseason balloting with 57 points and received three first-place votes. The Hawks announced on Monday, July 27, that they will forgo playing this fall due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Charleston Southern claimed third-place in the poll with 43 points and received the remaining first-place nod. Campbell was predicted fourth in the preseason ranking with 42 points, while Hampton, which announced on July 13 it was suspending fall sports competition due to COVID-19, was predicted to finish fifth in the 2020 preseason poll (23 points). Gardner-Webb landed in the final spot with 19 points.
Associate member North Alabama is not eligible for the preseason ranking again this year as part of its transition to Division I. The Lions are not eligible for the Big South regular-season championship until 2022 and their games will not count in the conference standings this coming season.
Preseason balloting was conducted in June, and the poll results reflect the voting at that time.
2020 PRESEASON FOOTBALL POLL
| Rank - School (first-place votes) |
Points |
| 1 - Kennesaw State (8) |
68 |
| 2 - Monmouth (3) |
57 |
| 3 - Charleston Southern (1) |
43 |
| 4 - Campbell |
42 |
| 5 - Hampton |
23 |
| 6 - Gardner-Webb |
19 |
Note: points are based on a weighted system, with first-place votes receiving 6 points, followed by 5 points for second-place, and so on.