Rocket City Report: 2010 MAC Preview

The Favorite (East): Temple finally turned the corner last year and won nine games and went to a bowl game for the first time since 1979. Temple is led by one of the best young head coaches in Al Golden and is my favorite to win both the East division and the entire conference. Temple just missed playing in the MAC Championship game, and going unbeaten in conference, when they lost at Ohio in the last game of the regular season. I think they get their revenge this year.

The Favorite (West): Northern Illinois appears ready to be the team to replace Central Michigan at the top of the MAC West. Interestingly, even though NIU is 13-13 under head coach Jerry Kill, they haven't beaten a team that went a bowl game in that time frame (0-11). Northern Illinois did beat Purdue last year, and they have three more opportunities to beat another AQ team this season. I'd be surprised if they didn't knock off at least one of Iowa State, Illinois and Minnesota, even though they are all on the road.

The Challenger (East): Ohio and Temple battled over the East title last year, and should do the same again this year. Ohio was successful last season due in large part by forcing 37 turnovers. That led the conference easily, the team in second place only had 26. Ohio's defense should be strong again, but it's highly unlikely that they create that many takeaways again.

The Challenger (West): Western Michigan is likely to challenge for the top spot in the West. Head coach Bill Cubit has had good teams here, but hasn't made it to the championship game yet, mostly due to their inability to beat Central Michigan. The schedule is favorable since they miss Temple and Ohio from the East and they get Northern Illinois at home.

The Sleeper: Ball State fans have been on a two-year roller coaster. They had the high of a 12-2 season in 2008, and the low of a 2-10 season in 2009. I think there's a obvious downgrade at head coach since Brady Hoke took the San Diego State job, but there's reason for hope. 18 starters return, including all 11 on offense. MiQuale Lewis needs less that 700 yards to become the school's all-time leading rusher. They lost six close games last year and they miss the three best teams from the East.

The Letdown: Central Michigan's dominance in the MAC is probably coming to an end. CMU won three conference titles and 28 of 32 conference games over the last four seasons. That's not including going 3-0 in conference title games. Surprisingly, two of the four conference losses were to Eastern Michigan. Now with the loss of their head coach to Cincinnati, the loss of QB Dan LeFevour, and the loss of the school's #1 and #3 all-time leaders in receiving yards, they'll probably take a step back.

Conference Player of the Year: Temple RB Benard Pierce had a big season as a true freshman. He should be able to continue to succeed as a sophomore.

I Wrote What?: The worst thing in last year's preview is either predicting Buffalo to win the East or predicting Bowling Green to go 3-9. Buffalo finished fifth in the East, although technically I was only one game off for their final record. I was off four games on Bowling Green's final record. I underestimated how successful Dave Clawson would be working with seniors Tyler Sheehan and Freddie Barnes.

Non-conference Games to Watch:
* Connecticut vs Temple, Sept 18 - Temple has a chance to beat a good Big East team at home.
* UCF at Buffalo, Sept 18 - Buffalo tries to prove there is life after Turner Gill.
* Northern Illinois at Illinois, Sept 18 - Any of Northern Illinois's games against AQ teams could go here. I picked this one because of the in-state bragging rights at stake.
* Syracuse at Akron, Sept 4 - I don't know if Akron will honestly have a chance here, but a win would start the Rob Ianello era with a bang.
* Idaho at Western Michgan, Oct 2 - This could be a swing game for bowl-eligibility for both teams.

Projected Standings:
West: