Titans picked third in PAC football race

Why not stick with a winner?
Perhaps that was the thinking of conference coaches, sports information directors and members of the media when they selected the defending champion Yellow Jackets of Waynesburg College as the 2004 Presidents' Athletic Conference as preseason favorites.
The selections came recently at the 2004 PAC Football Media Day held at PNC Park.
Waynesburg on top
The Yellow Jackets, coached by Jeff Hand, earned 22 of 36 first place votes to lead the preseason poll. Waynesburg, which posted an overall record of 9-2 in 2003, recorded a perfect 5-0 standard in the PAC.
Following the Jackets in the preseason poll were Washington & amp; Jefferson with eight first-place votes, Westminster with four, Grove City, Thiel with two, and Bethany. Waynesburg had a substantial lead over second-place W & amp;J.
After winning the 2003 crown, its first PAC title, the Yellow Jackets advanced to the NCAA playoffs where they were turned back in a first-round encounter to Bridgewater (Va.), which was to become a national semifinalist.
W & amp;J also reached the postseason as the second place team in 2003 and the Presidents went on to capture the ECAC Division III Southwest Bowl with a convincing 41-19 victory at Wilkes.
Hand knows that the pressure is now on his Yellow Jackets and he's certainly hopeful his team can live up to that preseason billing.
Said Hand, "It's an honor to be chosen and recognized by our peers and the media. It's also a very challenging thing for us to live up to."
Hand is entering his sixth season as a head coach and his fourth at Waynesburg.
Westminster finished third in balloting from all three groups.
Finished third
The Titans ground out a 5-5 record last year, going 3-2 in the PAC for a third place finish. It was the 48th non-losing season in the past 52 years for Westminster football and fifth-year coach Jerry Schmitt would love to see the Titans do a little scrambling this season to finish better than the preseason polls have shown.
Schmitt has led his Titans to an overall record of 23-16 in his four years at Westminster.
The Titans have been prepping for their season opener for Sept. 4. Westminster journeys to Ohio Northern to mix it up with the Polar Bears on ONU's new Dial-Roberson Stadium at 1:30.
The PAC media day was held Aug. 10 and proved very popular with those attending. The press conference was held at 4 p.m. followed by individual interview sessions at 4:45 with dinner at 5:30 p.m.
Took in Pirates game
At 7:05 the group headed for the ballpark where the Pirates were taking on the San Francisco Giants. Needless to say, the Bucs staged a remarkable comeback to turn back Barry Bonds and the G-Men.
It was a great day, even better for the Yellow Jackets, who now have their work cut out.