Carnegie Mellon picked to 3-peat in PAC football preseason poll

Can the Carnegie Mellon football team make it a three-peat in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference?

The conference coaches, sports information directors and media think so.

The Tartans, who are ranked 16th in the country, received 36 first-place votes and were an overwhelming pick to win the conference with 415 points. They have won the past two seasons.

Washington & Jefferson (363) was picked second after receiving 11 first-place votes, Westminster was third (326) and Grove City, which received one first-place vote, was fourth (312).

The rest of the rankings had Case Western fifth (283) followed by Saint Vincent (204), Waynesburg (179), Geneva (152), Allegheny (145), Thiel (72) and Bethany (57).

CMU’s No. 16 national ranking is from the D3football.com Top 25, which is voted on by a panel of 25 coaches, sports information directors and media members from across the country and is published weekly. W&J received votes but did not crack the poll.

“We want to be great again, and we haven’t been great since 2018,” W&J coach Mike Sirianni said. “It’s a challenge. This conference is so strong with so many good teams, so many good coaches.

“We have a Carnegie Mellon team that probably should be the biggest favorite ever in the voting here with what they have coming back and what they did last year. They should be ranked in the top 10. It’s going to be a challenge for us to get back to being great.”

CMU returns eight starters on offense and 11 on defense. The Tartans won an NCAA first-round playoff game against DePauw, 45-28, and gave the eventual champion North Center (Ill.) a battle for three quarters before losing 28-7.

Heading the list of returnees is quarterback Ben Mills, who threw for 2,081 yards and 16 touchdowns. Wide receiver Ben Condemi had 40 catches for 554 yards and three touchdowns. Defensive back Adrian Williams, who had five interceptions and 18 pass break-ups, heads the defense.

“We appreciate the recognition from the PAC on being named first in this year’s preseason poll,” CMU second-year coach Ryan Larsen said. “This recognition is a testament to the hard work our players, coaches and administration has poured into our program over the past few seasons.

“With that in mind, we also understand that the competitiveness of this league, week in and week out, does not allow us to take any team lightly. Just like last year, we will take on each opponent with a 1-0 mentality, and we look forward to preparing for our opener against Geneva.”

This season, the 11 teams will be playing everyone in the conference. There are no nonconference games. Every game counts in the standings.

W&J will rely on junior quarterback Jake Pugh (Thomas Jefferson), who threw for 1,376 yards and 15 touchdowns last season.

Saint Vincent coach Adam Smetanka said he will find out where his team stands after the first two games: Sept. 2 at home against W&J and Sept. 9 at CMU. The Bearcats are coming off a 5-5 season, winning four of their final five games.

“It’s going to be a challenge, that’s for sure,” Smetanka said. “We just hope to continue to build the program.”

The Bearcats must find a new quarterback to replace Brady Walker. Smetanka said senior Austin Slye, who saw some action in 2022, will get the first look.

Here’s a look at what the other teams have back:

• Allegheny: The Gators return eight starters on offense and five on defense from a squad that finished 3-7. Heading the list is quarterback Jack Johnson and wide receiver Declan O’Brien (Norwin), who had 49 catches for 691 yards and six touchdowns.

• Bethany: The Bison will be relying on four starting wide receivers who are returning from a 1-9 team. De’Vaughn McWhorter caught 38 passes for 540 yards and six touchdowns. The others are Jacob Munoz (Mt. Lebanon), Tre Dean and Tim Mickens.

• Case Western Reserve: The Spartans return 18 starters from a squad that finished 6-4. The biggest void is finding someone to replace quarterback Drew Saxton (South Fayette). Junior Ian Kipp, who played in nine games, is the leading candidate.

• Geneva: The Golden Tornadoes return 10 starters on offense and eight on defense as they try to improve on a 3-7 season. Wide receiver Hilton McClain Jr. was a first-team all-PAC player. He had 30 catches for 728 yards and five touchdowns.

• Grove City: With 11 starters returning on offense and seven on defense, big things are expected from the Wolverines on the heels of an 8-3 season. Junior quarterback Logan Pfeuffer (Peters Township) threw for 2,145 yards and 20 touchdowns in 2022. Senior wide receiver Scott Fraser (Knoch) has 132 catches for 1,958 yards and 14 touchdowns the past two seasons.

• Thiel: The Tomcats return 34 lettermen from a squad that went 1-9. Senior tackle Jarren Daniels and junior guards Zak Dillingham and Chris Slaven anchor a strong offensive line.

• Waynesburg: The Yellow Jackets return a large roster as they attempt to build on a 4-6 season. Senior running back Justin Flack (Derry) returns after rushing for 811 yards and 11 touchdowns as the team returns seven offensive and seven defensive starters.

• Westminster: The Titans return nine offensive starters and seven defensive starters from a squad that finished 7-3 and won its final five games. Senior Ryan Games rushed for 1,024 yards and eight touchdowns. The defense is where the Titans shine. Back is sophomore linebacker Dylan Sleva (Moon) and tackle Carter Chinn.

The Dow Carnahan Media Award was given to the WJPA broadcast team of 40 years, Mark Uriah and Bob Gregg. Carnahan, who was the voice of Saint Vincent athletics, died suddenly April 29, 2016. Uriah and Gregg broadcast W&J football.

PAC football preseason poll

Teams are listed with last season’s record, voting points and first-place votes.

1. Carnegie Mellon (11-1) 415 (36)

2. Washington & Jefferson (9-2) 363 (11)

3. Westminster (7-3) 326

4. Grove City (8-3) 213 (1)

5. Case Western Reserve (6-5) 283

6. Saint Vincent (5-5) 204

7. Waynesburg (4-6) 179

8. Geneva (3-7) 152

9. Allegheny (3-7) 145

10. Thiel (1-9) 72

11. Bethany (1-9) 57