August 22, 2000



FURMAN RANKED NINTH IN ESPN/USA TODAY
NCAA I-AA COACHES POLL

GREENVILLE -- The Furman Paladins are ranked ninth in the ESPN/USA Today NCAA I-AA college football coaches' poll, which was released today.

Furman is one of three Southern Conference teams ranked in the Top 10, which featured defending national champion Georgia Southern as No.1 and Appalachian State at No. 8. Furman, Georgia Southern, and Appalachian State shared the 1999 league championship. The Paladins defeated Appalachian State 35-21 last year and also knocked off North Carolina 28-3 on the way to a 9-3 finish and NCAA I-AA playoff appearance.

"It's nice to be in the pre-season polls because last year we weren't in it and it took us five weeks to get in the rankings," said Furman head coach Bobby Johnson. "Now we have to prove we belong in the Top 10."

Furman's No. 9 ranking matches last week's Sports Network NCAA I-AA poll, which also had the Paladins ranked ninth.

Furman, which returns 17 starters, opens its 2000 season on Sept. 2 against Elon in Paladin Stadium.

The ESPN/USA Today Division I-AA Top 25 college football coaches poll,
with number of first-place votes, last season's record in parentheses,
total points and last year's final ranking: TEAM PTS PVS ---- --- --- 1. Geo Southern (30) (13-2) 862 2 2. Massachusetts (9-4) 754 11 3. Youngstown St (12-3) 698 9 4. Troy St (1) (11-2) 694 6 5. Illinois St (11-3) 661 5 6. Montana (1) (9-3) 654 7 7. Florida A&M (10-4) 638 15 8. Appalachian St (1) (9-3) 635 3 9. Furman (2) (9-3) 569 8 10. Hofstra (11-2) 473 4 11. Northern Iowa (8-3) 425 17 12. James Madison (8-4) 332 12 13. Delaware (7-4) 314 NR 14. Southern (11-2) 300 10 15. Jackson St (9-3) 272 14 16. Tennessee St (11-1) 268 1 17. Villanova (7-4) 263 25 18. No Carolina A&T (11-2) 257 16 19. Stephen Austin (8-3) 244 22 20. Eastern Ky (7-4) 216 NR 21. Portland St (8-3) 214 20 22. Lehigh (10-2) 179 13 23. Northrn Arizona (8-4) 177 19 24. South Florida (7-4) 155 23 25. Hampton (8-4) 142 NR