The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference football coaches have spoken and as far as a league's top dog for 2011 is concerned, they once again like what they see in the University of Minnesota Duluth.
In their annual preseason poll released today, they league coaches have picked the three-time defending NSIC champion Bulldogs to finish first in both the North Division and in the overall standings. The NSIC is a 14-team circuit and, for football, is broken down into two, seven-school divisions.
UMD, the reigning NCAA II titleholders which rolled to a 15-0 record in all games last fall and its third 10-0 league mark in as many years, were unanimous favorites, garnering 11 of a possible 13 votes (coaches could not vote for their own team) and 167 points. St. Cloud State University, a member of the North Division, was next (155 points and the remaining three, first-place votes), followed by Augustana College, which captured the South Division title one year ago (145), Winona State University (125) and Minnesota State University-Mankato (115). The Bulldogs will meet each of those four schools during the regular season, including a 2011 opening-night clash at Augustana College on Sept. 3.
In addition, Bulldog senior outside linebacker Rob Huberty was chosen the North Division Preseason Defensive Player of the Year and junior quarterback Chase Vogler landed the North Division Preseason Offensive Player of the Year honor.
Huberty, a 2010 NSIC All-North Division first team selection, ranked sixth among Bulldogs in tackles last fall with a career-high 63 and was first in both stops for a loss (12.0) and quarterback sacks (7.5). The Lena, Wis. product and 2011 UMD team co-captain also came up with five fumble recoveries, three of which he returned for touchdowns -- a Bulldog program first.
Vogler, a 2011 beyondsportsnetwork.com Preseason All-American who like Huberty is entering his third season of starting activity, completed 127 of 205 passes (62.0 percent) for a career-high 1,913 yards and 17 touchdowns last seasonl while throwing just three interceptions. He also sported the NSIC's best passing efficiency rating at 164.78 en route to attaining All-North Division first team status. Since taking the No. 1 signal caller role as a true freshman three games into the 2009 season, the Inver Grove Heights, Minn., native and his Bulldog mates have gone 25-1.
UMD will enter 2011 armed with a school-record 30-game NSIC winning streak (four games shy of the league record), having not tasted defeat against conference competition of any kind since Oct. 27, 2007 when it fell to then-North Central Conference rival University of North Dakota 31-14. The last NSIC club to derail the Bulldogs was Winona State, which did so via a 24-17 victory in Winona, Minn., in the 2003 season finale.
The Bulldogs, who have been chosen as the NSIC preseason favorite during each of their last five years of league membership (2011, 2010, 2009, 2008 and 2003), return some 45 lettermen from a year ago, including eight starters on offense and six on defense.
UMD opens preseason practice this Saturday evening (August 13) at James S. Malosky Stadium.
2011 NSIC Preseason Coaches Poll
