SLIPPERY ROCK — How good is the PSAC-West?

Defending champion Slippery Rock is picked to finish third. Gannon has 20 starters back and is picked to finish fifth.

“Any one of five or six teams could win this division,” Mercyhurst coach Marty Schaetzle said. “It’s crazy.”

Indiana (Pa.) University is picked to do so, grabbing five of the coaches’ eight first-place votes. California (Pa.) got the other three.

This marks the third straight year the Crimson Hawks are picked to win the league.

“The tradition of our program has a lot to do with that,” IUP coach Curt Cignetti said. “But all it does is place a big target on our chest.

“We’ve got a lot of players who have started games for us, just not last year. But 38 of the 89 players on our roster are first-year players. That’s 44 percent and that’s quite a bit.”

IUP is 151-34-1 in PSAC West games over the years, winning or sharing the division championship 20 times.

California coach Mike Kellar said staying healthy is the key to winning the league these days.

“We’ve got the talent, but so do a lot of other teams,” he said. “Stay healthy, get the breaks, get hot at the right time. That’s what will decide it.”

Gannon coach Brad Rzyczycki has no problem with his veteran team being slighted in the poll.

“The preseason standings are usually regurgitated from the previous year’s finish,” he said. “Offensively, we should be very good. But defensively, we have to get off the field. That’s something we didn’t do last year and it hurt us.”

Here is a look at PSAC West teams entering the season:

Indiana

Coach: Curt Cignetti, fourth year (28-7)

Last Year: 9-2

The Crimson Hawks return only two starters offensively — both linemen — but have six starters back from the PSAC’s top-ranked defense of a year ago.

Among those is linebacker Alex Berdahl, who amassed 103 tackles for IUP in 2012 before missing all but one game last year due to injury.

IUP has three quarterbacks — Logan Weaver, Eddie Stockett and Illinois transfer Chase Haslett — vying for the starting role. Weaver played in four games last year.

California

Coach: Mike Kellar, third season (15-7)

Last Year: 7-4

The Vulcans have won at least seven games in every season since 2005 and have seven starters back on offense, including quarterback James Harris. Harris started only six games in 2013, but threw for 1,294 yards and eight touchdowns.

California is dealing with the losses of two all-conference wide receivers and its top four tacklers from last season.

Mercyhurst

Coach: Marty Schaetzle, 13th season (62-70)

Last Year: 7-4

The Lakers have posted consecutive winning seasons for the first time since 1991-92. The team returns six starters offensively and seven defensively.

Leading the offense is returning running back Brandon Brown-Dukes, who rushed for 1,008 yards and averaged seven yards per carry last season. Brown-Dukes has 2,303 rushing yards the past two seasons and Mercyhurst averaged 237.8 yards rushing per game in 2013, second in the league.

Defensive back Colin Kimball is among the top returnees on defense, intercepting six passes last season.

Gannon

Coach: Brad Rzyczycki, third year (9-13)

Last Year: 6-5

The Golden Knights return the most starters in the league — nine on offense, nine on defense and two on special teams.

Quarterback Liam Nadler threw for 2,859 yards and 16 touchdowns last year. The offense will have to overcome the loss of 1,500-yard rusher Jansen Jones, however.

Justin Caliste had 57 receptions in 2013 and is a preseason All-America third team choice as a return specialist. He broke Gannon’s single-season record with 596 kickoff return yards last year.

Edinboro

Coach: Scott Browning, ninth year (54-35)

Last Year: 5-6

Browning is entering his 29th year overall as a coach with the Fighting Scots. Edinboro returns seven starters on offense, five on defense.

Most notable is the return of quarterback Cody Harris, who was granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA due to injury. Harris has thrown for 7,261 yards and 55 touchdowns in his career. He missed all but the first two games of last season.

“Getting Cody back is huge for us,” Browning said. “Everything starts with him.”

Ben Eisel is one of the top punt returners in the conference and inside linebacker Mike Shansky had 87 tackles, 11 for loss, last year.

Clarion

Coach: Jay Foster, ninth year (27-61)

Last Year: 4-7

The Golden Eagles return 19 starters, including nine offensively and eight defensively. Defensive end Julian Howsare was PSAC West Defensive Player of the Year, amassing 83 tackles, 18 for loss, and 10 quarterback sacks.

“If we stay healthy and keep our 22 guys on the field, we can compete with anyone,” Foster said. “We just don’t have the depth that other teams have.”

Mars graduates Cameron and Shane Cress will both start for Clarion’s offensive line. The Golden Eagles have eight other Butler County graduates on the roster: Jordan Cratty, Gunther Gaiser and Canan Roskovski (Butler), Travis Ganter and Jake Tuminello (Mars), Matt Koerper and Tucker VanDyke (Seneca Valley) and Steve McKillop (Freeport).

Seton Hill

Coach: Isaac Collins, second season (1-10)

Last Year: 1-10

The Griffins get quarterback Andrew Jackson back. He threw for more than 2,000 yards and 16 touchdowns in 2012, but missed all of last year with an injury.

Six other starters return offensively, along with seven on defense. Linebacker Tyler Zimmer had 93 tackles and two interceptions last year.