San Diego holds off Drake in Mid-Major Poll

Sep 4, 2007, 20:18 GMT

Philadelphia, PA - San Diego held off a late charge from Azusa Pacific to win 42-32 in its season-opening game on Saturday night and the Toreros held off a late rush by Drake to retain first place in The Sports Network Mid-Major Poll, released Tuesday.

San Diego, the preseason No. 1 ranked team, received 15 of 26 first-place votes to edge Drake by two points, 229-227. The Toreros played without All- American quarterback Josh Johnson, who was suspended for violating team and school policy for the game.

Drake, which scored a 27-24 upset over Illinois State on Thursday night, had 11 first-place votes. The Bulldogs stunned an Illinois State team that was ranked No. 7 in The Sports Network's FCS Top-25 and a Redbirds squad that had advanced to the quarterfinals of the playoffs last season.

It was the first game for Drake's new coach, Rob Loney. Loney replaced Rob Ash, who spent 18 years at Drake before going to Montana State as its new coach this spring.

Albany dropped a heartbreaking 13-11 decision to Colgate, but remained third in the poll with 146 points.

Dayton, coming off a solid 23-12 victory over Robert Morris, skyrocketed from ninth to fourth in the poll. Robert Morris had been No. 7 in the preseason poll and dropped to 10th with the loss.

Monmouth fell one spot to fifth following a competitive 21-14 loss at Maine, while Davidson used its 31-21 victory over UNC-Pembroke to advance from eighth to sixth. It was the first football game in school history for Division II Pembroke.

Central Connecticut State was another team to play well in an encounter with a team from a larger conference, but the Blue Devils' 20-10 loss cost them one spot in the poll, as they fell to No. 7.

Duquesne tumbled three slots from fifth to eighth following its 28-19 loss to Bucknell.

Stony Brook surged into the poll at No. 9 with a 35-28 victory over Patriot League opponent Georgetown. The Seawolves, who are playing as an independent this season before moving to the Big South and out of Mid-Major football next year, were 11th in the preseason balloting.

The Sports Network FCS Mid-Major Top 10 poll includes the 20 programs of the MAAC, NEC, and Pioneer Leagues, which play at a non-scholarship or limited scholarship level. An updated poll, which is based on the votes of selected media members and FCS mid-major Sports Information Directors, is announced each Monday during the regular season.

© 2007 The Sports Network