football ranked; nolan named all-american

Several magazines recently released their 2008 Division III preseason football polls, and Lindy’s said it best: “[The] Mules won’t sneak up on anybody this year.”

The Muhlenberg football team was one of the surprises in Division III in 2007, but this year expectations will be much higher. The Mules are ranked in the top 25 in three publications: No. 7 by Sporting News, No. 9 by USA Today Sports Weekly and No. 22 by Lindy’s.

The Centennial Conference preseason poll will be released on Wednesday, August 6.

After going 5-5 in 2006, Muhlenberg was picked to finish fifth in last year’s CC preseason poll and did not figure in any national outlooks. But the Mules posted the first undefeated regular season in team history, sweeping to the CC championship with a perfect 8-0 record, and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. They finished 11-1 and were ranked in the top 10 in the final poll by both D3football.com (No. 8) and the American Football Coaches Association (No. 10).

The team returns 16 of its 22 starters, including 10 of 11 on offense. One of the returning offensive starters, senior center Mike Nolan, was named a preseason All-American by Sporting News. The 320-pound Nolan (left) earned first-team All-CC honors each of the last two years – his first two as an offensive lineman for Muhlenberg. In his two seasons as a starter, Nolan has anchored an offense that dramatically improved in both yards per game (261.8 in 2005 to 284.4 to 377.7) and points per game (13.8 to 20.5 to 29.7). The Mules led the CC in scoring offense last year, and Nolan earned three “Big Hit” Awards from the coaching staff.

Muhlenberg will put its preseason ranking to the test when it opens with a Saturday night home game against Wilkes on September 6. Although none of the Mules’ opponents was ranked in the preseason polls, CC foe Dickinson was listed under “Others to Watch” by Sporting News.