The Centre College football team has been picked to finish in a tie for third place in the 2006 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) preseason coaches poll as released by the SCAC.

The Colonels, which finished 7-3 overall and 3-3 in the SCAC a year ago, received 26 votes to tie Sewanee-University of the South for third place. Centre's conference mark was good enough for a fourth place finish in 2005.

Trinity University was tabbed as the favorite to win it's 14th consecutive SCAC crown, receiving 47 total votes, including five first place votes. DePauw University was second with 44 total votes and the remaining two first place votes. Trinity went 9-1 overall and 5-0 in the SCAC, while DePauw finished 7-2 overall and 5-0 in the conference.

Millsaps collected 23 votes for fifth place after finishing 2-7 overall and 1-5 in SCAC play in 2005. Rhodes College was sixth with 21 votes following a 2-8 and 0-6 campaign. Austin College, the newest member of the SCAC, rounds out the poll in seventh with nine votes. The Kangaroos were 1-9 overall and
1-8 in the American Southwest Conference last year.

The Colonels return 51 letterman and 13 starters from last year's team, including six all-conference selections. Among those six are seniors Adam Clark (Frankfort, Ky.) and Adam Blandford (Middletown, Ohio) and junior Matt Johnson (Ashland, Ky.) Clark, an SCAC Tri-Offensive Player of the Year a year ago, was the league's to receiver. Blandford led the conference in rushing and Johnson led the SCAC in tackles as a linebacker.

Centre will open its 2005 season, Saturday, Sept. 2, when they host Bluffton University. Kick-off is set for 1:30 p.m. at Farris Field on the campus of Centre College in Danville, Ky.