Coming off its first winning season since 1991 and with a recruiting class that he considers "arguably the best in our five years here," University of St. Francis head football coach Mike Uremovich is expecting his team to build on its 7-4 campaign of one year ago.

The Mid-States Football Association - Midwest League thinks likewise tabbing the Saints to finish in fourth place in 2009, or one spot better than one year ago when USF won three conference games against four losses to tie for fifth place with Olivet Nazarene University.

This time around, the coaches' poll has the Saints tying with Quincy University (6-5 overall, 5-2 MSFA last year) behind frontrunner St. Ambrose University, Iowa (8-4, 6-1), McKendree University (6-4, 5-2) and William Penn University, Iowa (6-4, 5-2).

St. Ambrose, winner of each of the last three league titles, claimed six of the eight first-place votes and 62 points overall with McKendree and Iowa Wesleyan College receiving the other first-place votes. McKendree totaled 53 points in the vote followed by William Penn with 48 and USF and Quincy with 34 points each.

Iowa Wesleyan (3-8, 1-6) picked up 28 votes for the No. 6 spot with league newcomers Grand View University, Iowa (2-8) and Waldorf College, Iowa (1-10) rounding out the list with 21 and eight votes, respectively.

Grand View and Waldorf take the place of Olivet Nazarene and Trinity International University in the Midwest League, after the latter two teams moved to the Mid-States Football Association - Mideast League this past off-season.

USF hosts Marian University, Ind. in the first of back-to-back Thursday night contests for the Saints at Joliet Memorial Stadium on August 27 at 6 p.m.