MONMOUTH, IL (08/01/2019) A divisional realignment has put an interesting twist on the Midwest Conference football season where Monmouth and St. Norbert are again favored to battle for the league title in a vote of the conference’s coaches.
Monmouth leads the Midwest Conference Preseason Coaches’ Poll in the MWC South Division, but by just one point after the University of Chicago and Lake Forest switched divisions for the start of the 2019 campaign. Chicago, now in the South, picked up five of the division’s first-place votes to trail Monmouth for the top spot 66-65. The Scots, the defending division champions, garnered seven first-place votes. Illinois College with 46 votes was a distant third.
St. Norbert was the unanimous choice to win the North, where the Green Knights netted 72 points and all 12 first-place votes. Ripon and divisional newcomer Lake Forest are predicted to lock horns for second in the division after the Red Hawks netted 52 points, one more than the Foresters.
Championship Week on Nov. 16 will pit the winners of each division battling for the league crown. The remaining teams will meet their divisional equals to determine the remainder of the Midwest Conference standings. South Division teams will serve as Championship Week hosts this season.
Below are the full rankings from the 2019 Midwest Conference Coach’s Preseason Poll:
Team (1st place votes) Total Points
North
1. St. Norbert (12) 72
2. Ripon 52
3. Lake Forest 51
4. Macalester 40
5. Lawrence 24
6. Beloit 13
South
1. Monmouth (7) 66
2. University of Chicago 65
3. Illinois College 46
4. Knox 33
5. Cornell 30
6. Grinnell 12
