REDLANDS, Calif. – The Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Football Preseason Polls were announced Monday, which were voted upon by the league's member head coaches.
The University of Redlands collected 46 points, which included five first place selections as they were tabbed to repeat for the 2022 SCIAC Championship Title. The Bulldogs posted an unblemished 6-0 record in conference play in 2021 to win the conference title outright and secure the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship in the SCIAC's first full season back from the COVID-19 pandemic having missed the 2020 campaign.
The Bulldogs finished last season 8-2 overall with both losses coming at the hands of Northwest Conference foe Linfield. The Bulldogs averaged 394.6 yards of offense that season, highlighted by averages of 201.4 yards through the air, and 193.2 yards on the ground. Redlands averaged 36.0 points per game and allowed just 22.2 points per contest while surrendering just 94.9 rushing yards per game.
After finishing tied for second in the conference standings a year ago, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (CMS) was voted to finish second in the preseason poll after receiving two first-place votes and 42 points. Chapman, which also tied for second in the standings in 2021, was picked to finish third with 38 points, followed by California Lutheran in fourth with 26 points. Pomona-Pitzer is slotted to finish fifth (21 points), while La Verne (15 points) and Whittier (8 points) are tabbed to finish sixth and seventh respectively.
The 2022 SCIAC football season will kick off on September 3 with a slate of five non-conference games. The conference portion of the schedule will begin on October 1 with six of the league's seven teams in action. The University of Redlands will open its conference schedule on October 8 against California Lutheran.
2022 SCIAC Football Preseason Poll
1. Redlands, 46 points (5)
2. CMS, 42 points (2)
3. Chapman, 38 points
4. Cal Lutheran, 26 points
5. Pomona-Pitzer, 21 points
6. La Verne, 15 points
7. Whittier, 8 points
Note: (first-place votes)