A new season brings about new expectations for Harding University, but that doesn t automatically mean the current bout are any different than the previous ones.
Southern Arkansas, under first-year head coach Brad Smiley, is tapped to finish eighth among the 12 Great American Conference football teams this fall. The conference on Tuesday announced the results of its 2022 football preseason coaches' poll. Harding edged out Ouachita for the top spot by a single point. Last season, the Bisons posted an 11-2 record, won the GAC regular-season title and reached the second round of the NCAA Division II Playoffs. They received six first-place votes. The Bisons potent flexbone offense averaged 390.1 rushing yards per game - the highest single-season average in Division II since 2014. They must replace the conference's all-time leading rusher, Cole Chancey, who became the first player in league history to run for more than 5,000 yards in a career. Omar Sinclair ran for 878 yards on just 101 carries and Jhalen Spicer averaged 9.9 yards per attempt on 53 carries. The Harding defense ranked fourth in the country in scoring defense and second in r