SIAC Media Days: Albany State picked to finish fourth

MACON — Less than a week after earning a No. 3 national ranking in the first NCAA-sanctioned Black College Football Poll, defending SIAC champion Albany State was picked to finish fourth in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference’s Predicted Order of Finish, unveiled Wednesday during SIAC Football Media Day at the Harriet Tubman Museum.

The Golden Rams, now led by first-year head coach David Bowser, were slotted behind Edward Waters University, Benedict College and Tuskegee University in the preseason voting conducted by SIAC head coaches and athletic directors.

Bowser wasn’t surprised.

“With the number of new players on the roster, I am not totally surprised at the ranking,” Bowser said. “I do believe that our talented senior class warranted us the ranking in the top two.”

Albany State enters the season with one of the league’s most inexperienced lineups, returning just one offensive starter and two defensive starters from last year’s championship team. Yet Bowser said the Golden Rams’ tradition remains one of the program’s greatest strengths.

“I am grateful to be the head coach at Albany State, a great program with at least 20 years of success on the field,” Bowser told those in attendance during Media Day. “These young men that I coach understand what Albany State football means to the university and the community.”

That appreciation has become one of the cornerstones of Bowser’s first season. His team has adopted the slogan “Grateful, not entitled,” a reminder that while Albany State’s championship tradition carries high expectations, every team must earn its own success.

The conference predictions present an interesting contrast with last week’s inaugural NCAA-sanctioned Black College Football Poll. While SIAC coaches and athletic directors placed Albany State fourth, the national panel ranked the Golden Rams No. 3 in the country behind only Benedict and Johnson C. Smith. Edward Waters, the conference favorite, was ranked No. 9 nationally.

Edward Waters claimed the top spot in the SIAC’s Predicted Order of Finish behind preseason Offensive Player of the Year Johntarrius Thomas. The senior running back rushed for more than 1,000 yards last season and returns to lead a Tigers team expected to contend for the conference championship.

Albany State faced similar expectations entering last season after being picked to finish first in the conference. The Golden Rams rewarded those projections by winning the SIAC title. This year, Bowser inherits a program with championship pedigree but a roster filled with new faces, making the fourth-place prediction as much a reflection of roster turnover as the conference’s respect for its top contenders.

2026 SIAC Predicted Order of Finish

1. Edward Waters
2. Benedict
3. Tuskegee
4. Albany State
5. Kentucky State
6. Allen
7. Miles
8. Fort Valley State
9. Savannah State
10. Clark Atlanta
11. Central State
12. Morehouse
13. Lane College