Vulcans picked No. 7 in D2Football.com poll

LIBERTY, Mo. (Aug. 24) – The California University of Pennsylvania football team will start the year ranked No. 7 in the D2Football.com Top 25 preseason poll, which was released on Tuesday morning. Seniors Dan Jordan (Tionesta, Pa./Redbank Valley) and Terrance Moore (Key West, Fla./Key West/Mesa C.C.) were both named preseason Second-Team All-Americans by D2Football.com.

This marks the third-consecutive year in which the Vulcans have opened the season ranked in the Top 10 of the D2Football.com poll.

The Vulcans return to the gridiron after posting an 11-4 mark last season with a third-straight appearance in the NCAA Semifinals. Cal U also earned back-to-back berths to the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championship for the first time in program history. In 2009, the Vulcans began the season ranked No. 9 before finishing the year ranked at No. 7.

Defending-National Champion Northwest Missouri State is the preseason favorite, while runner-up Grand Valley State is in second. North Alabama, Abilene Christian and Central Washington rounds out the top five in the preseason poll.

Cal U is scheduled to face a pair of nationally-ranked opponents in the first three weeks of the season before starting divisional play. The Vulcans open on the road against No. 12 Saginaw Valley (Mich.) before returning to Adamson Stadium on Sept. 18 to face No. 16 East Stroudsburg – the only other nationally-ranked PSAC team.

Jordan and Moore were two of seven players from the PSAC to earn preseason All-America honors, including three first-team selections.

A mainstay on the offensive line, Jordan has started 28 games at left guard over the last seasons. Last year, he helped anchor an offensive line that allowed less than 25 sacks on over 400 pass attempts and cleared lanes for a rushing attack that averaged over 175 yards per game.

Moore developed into one of the nation’s premier wide receivers in 2009. In his first season with the program, he finished second in the conference with 1,094 yards and 13 touchdowns on 58 receptions. Moore is one of only four players in school history with 1,000 receiving yards in a season.