The Mid-American Conference had some national attention last year with Dan LeFevour capping off his stellar career. Can someone else do the same in 2010?
1. Who will win the conference? Temple Owls. Yes, I am on the Temple bandwagon. I got on it last year and haven’t gotten off yet. The Owls might have won the conference championship last year if not for an injury to Bernard Pierce the week before the Ohio game. Al Golden is a great coach who showed commitment to the program this offseason by not taking other job offers. His players noticed and made the same investment by working extra hard this offseason.
2. Who is the top returning player? Bernard Pierce, Temple. He came in and made an immediate impact as a freshman last year. He rushed for over 100 yards six times en route to 1,361 yards and 16 touchdowns. Pierce was a freshman all-American, and this year Temple is promoting him for the Heisman Trophy.
3. Which team will be the most improved? Ball State. The Cardinals did a complete 180 going from two losses in 2008 to two wins in 2009. This year will be much different. Ball State had to start over after losing head coach Brady Hoke to San Diego State and quarterback Nate Davis to the NFL. Running back MiQuale Lewis is still on the roster, so expect marked improvement out of Muncie, Indiana.
4. What will be the biggest surprise? Northern Illinois will beat Iowa State. The Cyclones won seven games in 2009 including a win in the Insight Bowl, but Chad Spann and company will make a statement on the opening day of the 2010 season.
5. Which coach is on the hottest seat? Doug Martin, Kent State. Kent State followed a 6-6 year in 2006 with 3-9, 4-8, and 5-7 records. Martin has a talented team this year, especially since the NCAA granted Eugene Jarvis a sixth year of eligibility. If he can’t get the Golden Flashes to a bowl game, he could be shown the way out.
Best Returning player: Eric Page
ReplyDeleteBiggest Surprise: Temple not even getting close to matching the hype.
Eric Page is another good one.
ReplyDeleteTime will tell about Temple.
Either way, I can't wait for the season to start.
No one would be surprised if NIU beat ISU (or at least no one who has watched college football in the last 10 years), it already happened once a few years ago, and should have happened a second time had it not been for horrific QB play from NIU.
ReplyDeleteEven match up on paper, and Vegas seems to basically think so too.
Agreed about Coach Martin - loads of talent on both sides of the ball and special teams. If he doesn't to a bowl game, the new AD will find another man.
ReplyDeleteI expect Toledo to beat Arizona next Friday at the Glass Bowl. The seem to take out a BCS team every year, and are tough at home. Expect them to be a sleeper in the conference as well.
ReplyDeleteIowa State will beat NIU by at least 2 touchdowns. The Big 12 consistantly has more talent top to bottom than any other conference. Look at the # of national titles they hold. NIU is talented but can not win at Jack Trice Stadium.
ReplyDeleteNIU QB DEMARCUS GRADY HAS LOOKED EXCEPTIONAL IN PRACTICE...CHAD SPANN IS A STUD AT RB-BUT WATCH OUT FOR CRIDER,HOPKINS AND FORMER IOWA STATE RUNNER, CAMERON BELL TO CARRY THE BALL..LOTS OF ATHLETES ON DEFENSE -WHO WILL STEP UP--TO JOIN SERVICEMAN JAKE COFFMAN ON THE D-LINE??..CAN THE NEW KICKER CARRY ON 12 YEARS OF OUTSTANDING KICKER PERFORMANCES??WHO ARE THE TEAM LEADERS ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BALL??.. LOTS OF UNPREDICTABLE TALENT ON THIS EMERGING 2010 HUSKIE SQUAD..
ReplyDeleteI will be following the NIU opener closely. I always love to see the AQ conferences humbled.
ReplyDeleteIowa State fans are getting very full of themselves with the success last year. After decades of being the bottom of the Big 8/12 now that they are having a little success, they think they are head and shoulders above everyone in the MAC, CUSA, MWC, WAC, and Sun Belt.
The MAC a they do every year will knock off several BCS teams and I see Arizona going down at Toledo, NIU over Iowa State, Central Michigan getting past Northwestern and Ball State on top of Purdue and a couple others I'll save as surprises!
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