BATON ROUGE - Southern football was picked to finish 5th in the SWAC West for the 2026 season, a poll said.Southern finished its last season 2-10 overall and 1-7 in conference play. They will be lead by new head coach Marshall Faulk this season, opening against the Alabama State Hornets in the SWAC Birmingham Classic. Kickoff is at 2 p.m. on Aug. 29.The predicted order of finish was voted on by SWAC head coaches and sports information directors.View the full list below:SWAC EastAlabama State ndash; 131 points (16)Jackson State ndash; 122 points (7)Bethune-Cookman ndash; 71 pointsFlorida AM ndash; 70 pointsAlabama AM ndash; 66 points (1)Mississippi Valley State ndash; 29 pointsSWAC WestPrairie View AM ndash; 130 points (19)Grambling State ndash; 93 points (2)Alcorn State ndash; 90 points (1)Texas Southern ndash; 79 points (1)Southern ndash; 65 points (1)Arkansasndash;Pine Bluff ndash; 32 pointsFirst-place votes are listed in parentheses.Permalink| Comments ...read more read less