MAC Preview
East
Temple: 9-3 (7-1)
Offense: The Owls will once again be led by a strong ground attack. RB Bernard Pierce ran for 1,361 yards and 16 TD last year as a freshman and does not look to slow down this year. Pierce’s back up, Matt Brown, also had a solid season and they look to be a tough 1-2 punch this year. Temple returns four starters on the line from last year plus a lot of depth as well. The pass game could be suspect at times during the season. Last years starting QB Vaughn Charlton switched to TE this year, which leaves the door open for Chester Stewart. Returning WR Joe Jones and James Nixon sill provide good targets. Along with JUCO transfer Rod Streater.
Defense: MAC Defensive Player of the Year DE Adrian Robinson returns along with DT Muhammad Wilkerson up front. Elijah Joseph will lead the LB and be along side returning starter Amara Kamara and new starter Tahir Whitehead. FS Jaiquawn Jarrett leads the secondary, who returns three out of four starters.
Special Teams: K Brandon McManus returns after a good season last year along with P Jeff Wathne. James Nixon and Delano Green will return kicks and punts respectively.
Overall: Al Golden has done an amazing job at turning around this once doormat program into a contender. He will continue to have the run first and play good defense. Pierce should once again have a very productive year. The offense could use a little better performance from the pass game. The defense will be physical and be tough to run against but will need to stop the pass a little better.
Ohio: 8-4 (6-2)
Offense: Last years QB Theo Scott is gone but the Bobcats have Boo Jackson taking over after being injured last year. Top WR Taylor Price is also gone but LaVon Brazill and Steven Goulet return to lead the receiving corp. The run game will need to improve this year behind new RB Vince Davidso and Donte Harden. The offensive line should help the run game in returning three out of five starters.
Defense: The defense that lead the nation in takeaways last year and will once again be lead by LB Noah Keller. Keller is the only returning starter at LB though. The line returns all four starters led by DT Ernie Hodge. FS Gerald Moore leads a secondary that has all new starters other then him.
Special Teams: LaVon Brazill will once again be the top return men in the nation returning both punts and kicks. K Matt Weller returns after a strong freshman year and P Paul Hershey will take over punting duties after a strong bowl game performance.
Overall: Last year Frank Solich’s Bobcats made a surprise run to the MAC championship. This year there are high expectations for the team. Boo Jackson will be a good QB, but will need the run game to step up to help him out. The defense should once again be good, but will need the secondary to jell quickly.
Kent St: 5-7 (4-4)
Offense: The Golden Flashes got great news this off season when the NCAA granted RB Eugene Jarvis a sixth year after he lacerated his kidney in a game last year. Jarvis is arguably the best RB is the conference and will be the teams go to guy this year. He will be running behind an experienced line returning three starters. Spencer Keith should be the starting QB at the beginning of the year, but if he struggles Giorgio Morgan could take over the job he owned last year before being knocked out by injury. Tyshon Goode is the only returning WR.
Defense: DE Monte Simmons and DT Quinton Rainey will anchor a solid defensive line. Along with the solid line the LB will do well as well led by Cobrani Mixon and Dorian Wood. The secondary only has to replace one starter at CB. The defense was solid last year and should be able to be even better this year and lead the team.
Special Teams: K Freddy Cortez returns along with P Matt Rinehart to once again form a top special teams unit. Eugene Jarvis should be a solid returner for the team as well.
Overall: Last year Kent St was hit hard with the injury bug. This year looks to be much better with all the pieces back and healthy. Eugene Jarvis will be a huge boost for the team. With all the experience back on the defense as well Kent St could challenge Temple and Ohio for the East Division title.
Akron: 4-8 (3-5)
Offense: Akron will go into the season having Patrick Nicely and Matt Rodgers battling for the starting QB job. Rodgers is returning from a torn ACL. Alex Allen returns at RB along with five other RB with some good experience. WR Jeremy LaFrance looks to be the leading receiver in the new pro style offense. The line returns three out of five linemen that should be strong in both pass protection and run blocking.
Defense: The Zips also change there defensive scheme to a 4-3 from a 3-3-5. The line will be strong with all three starters returning led by DT Almondo Sewell. LB Brian Wagner looks to be the leader of the LB group after a very good freshman year. The secondary only returns one starter, CB Manley Waller.
Special Teams: K Branko Rogovic will look to regroup after a tough year last year. If he does not TJ Marchese could take over the job. P Zack Campbell is back as well.
Overall: New head coach Rob Ianello looks to turn around Akron’s resent bad seasons with a new scheme on both sides of the ball. The offense should be very well balanced and move the ball a good amount. The defense is the key to this team. If they can play better the Zips record will improve but if not it could be another long season.
Buffalo: 4-8 (3-5)
Offense: Turner Gill is gone and so is last years starting QB Zach Maynard. Now the Bulls have no experienced QB. Jerry Davis looks to be the favorite in the QB race right now but red shirt freshman Alex Dennison and true freshman Alex Zordich are making strong pushes at the job as well. The run game will be lead by a three headed monster in Brandon Thermilus Ike Nduka and Jeffvon Gill. The new no huddle spread offense could have some issues at first with only WR Terrell Jackson having a good amount of experience. The Bulls do return four starters on the line which will help in protecting the new QB
Defense: The front seven of the defense might have some issues at first with only DE Steven Means and DT Anel Montanez returning. LB Justin Winters has some good experience and will have to lead the LB corp. With all the issues up front Buffalo has arguably the best secondary in the MAC. FS Davonte Shannon leads the group who only has to replace one starter.
Special Teams: K AJ Price is back once again while Peter Fradon and John Rachuna will battle for the punting job. Domonic Cook will be the return man.
Overall: Turner Gill will be deeply missed in Buffalo after just four seasons there when he took the program from a doormat to a contender in the league. New coach Jeff Quinn just needs to continue to build off Gill’s success. If the offense could get the new scheme figured out quick, watch out the Bulls once again could win the east division.
Bowling Green: 2-10 (2-6)
Offense: The Tyler Sheehan to Freddie Barnes connection is gone, and will deeply be missed. Now the offense should turn its focus for this year at least to the run game behind RB Willie Geter. Geter might be asked to do a lot at the beginning of this year with a new QB, WR group, and only two linemen returning. The QB race is four deep between Aaron Pankratz, Matt Schilz, Kellen Pagel, and Caleb Watkins. Pankratz is the only one with experience, but Schilz is the front runner going into fall camp. WR Adrian Hodges and Ray Hutson will be the top targets for the new QB. Thankfully C Ben Bojicic is back, along with RT Tyler Donahue, to lead a brand new line.
Defense: The Falcons defense also lost a lot of starters but has a lot of back ups who have some experience stepping into starting rolls now. DE Angelo Magnone and DT Kevin Alvarado will lead a young line that has a lot of depth though. There will be a new starter at all three LB spots and will be led by senior Eugene Fells. The secondary should be fine with CB Adrien Spencer and S Keith Morgan returning to stop opponents passing game.
Special Teams: Just like almost the rest of the team there will be a new kicker and punter for Bowling Green this year. Jerry Phillips will be the kicker while he and Kellen Pagle will battle for punting duty. Willie Getter looks to step in as a return man and provide a spark for this very young team.
Overall: Second year coach Dave Clawson did a good job in his first year getting Bowling Green to a bowl game last year, but has an uphill battle this year. He inherited a very experienced team, but now the MAC and the rest of the nation will see how well he can build a program with 44 of the 85 scholarship players still having all four years of eligibility left.
Miami (OH): 2-10 (2-6)
Offense: The Redhawks are looking to build up a run first offense, but has a good QB to lead the offense in Zac Dysert. If Miami wants to be a run first offense they will have to improve greatly from last years 119th national rank. RB Thomas Merriweather, Roman Lawson and Willie Culpepper will all combine together to make that happen. The line returns four starters, but has to be a lot more aggressive this year when run blocking. To go along with Dysert in the pass game is returning WR Amard Robinson and Andy Cruse. The pass game did well last year and should again this year but the offense as a whole has to score more then 15.6 ppg.
Defense: The defense once again will be young this year but has some valuable experience. DE Mike Johns and DT Austin Brown will lead the line. LB Jerrell Wedge led the MAC in tackles for a loss last year with 18.5. He is back along with Evan Harris to lead the LB. The secondary returns four starters this year but will have to improve on giving up less passing TD in the pass happy MAC.
Special Teams: K Trevor Cook and P Jim Broadway return this year after solid seasons the previous year. Jamal Rodgers will once again returns punts and kicks.
Overall: Even though it is only Mike Haywood’s second season in Oxford all eyes will be on him as his seat warms up after a very disappointing first season. The run game has to improve a lot for the Redhawks offense to improve as well as there record. The defense also need the run game to eat up some clock unlike last year so they can rest.
West
Northern Illinois: 10-2 (8-0)
Offense: QB Chandler Harnish returns again this year and has been solid for the Huskies the past two years. Harnish’s health is a big issue though. At some point in the past two seasons he has had to miss a few games due to injuries. RB Chad Spann should be able to take some pressure off Harnish again this year, and provide a good balanced attack for the team. WR Landon Cox provides a nice big target for the QB and will have to be the leader of a young receivers group. LT Trevor Olson and RT Adam Kiel lead a solid line as well.
Defense: The Huskies return nine starters to the top defense in the MAC last year. DT DJ Prinkle will anchor a young but experienced line that returns three starters. LB Pat Schiller will have to miss the first few games after having off season knee surgery, but Alex Kube will be able to lead the LB during that time. The secondary returns all four starters and will be lead by SS Tracy Wilson.
Special Teams: Northern Illinois’s special teams will be a big question mark going into fall camp. Both last years K and P return but both have so serious competition behind them. Tommy Davis will once again return punts and kicks.
Overall: The beginning of the season will show how good this team is. Four of their first five games are on the road, including trips to Iowa St, Illinois, and Minnesota. Chandler Harnish’s health will be a big key for the offense. The defense should once again be one of the leagues best. This could finally be the year that the Huskies contend for a MAC title, now that Dan LeFevour and Tim Hiller are gone from Central Michigan and Western Michigan respectively.
Western Michigan: 7-5 (5-3)
Offense: Over the past few seasons Tim Hiller had led the Broncos offense under center and did a very good. Now he is in the NFL and people in Kalamazoo are unsure who the QB will be. Alex Carder had an impressive spring and has the lead in the race between him and Tyler Van Tubbergen. Western Michigan also lost their starting RB from last year in Brandon West. Aaron Winchester and Brian Fields will share the RB duty this year. With all the question marks in the back field the WR corp is very solid and deep, led by junior Robert Arnheim. The line should also be solid as well with LT Anthony Parker and RG Nick Clemons anchoring it.
Defense: After a poor season last year, Western Michigan has a new defensive coordinator in Dave Cohen. Cohen has some young players to work with to improve the defense. All the talk for the line is about JUCO transfer John Rice, nephew of Jerry Rice, who can cause a lot of havoc in the back field getting to the opposing QB. LB Deauntay Legrier is the only returning LB, but has some good young talent joining him. SS Jamail Berry returns this year after leading the team with 5 int last year.
Special Teams: The Broncos return both last years K John Potter and P Ben Armer. Robert Arnheim, Ansel Ponder, and Brian Fields will all take there fair share of kick and punt returns.
Overall: Loosing a QB like Tim Hiller is a big lose but the Broncos will be able to get past that. The sooner the back field questions get answered the more productive the offense will be. New defensive coordinator Dave Cohen really has no where to go but up after last years performance. Cohen should do a good job of coaching up this young but talented defense.
Central Michigan: 6-6 (5-3)
Offense: Mr. Central Michigan Dan LeFevour is gone, a day that has long been dreaded by Chippewas fans. Ryan Radcliff, LeFevour’s back up last year, is leading the race to replace LeFevour. Derek Rifenbury and AJ Westendrop are challenging Radcliff for the job. Central Michigan also lost starting RB Bryan Schroeder and leading WR Antonio Brown to graduation. Even with all the losses at the skill possessions the Chippewas have plenty of depth and talent back. Carl Volny should start at RB and Kito Poblah will lead the WR. The strength of this years offense will be the ling who returns four starters from last year.
Defense: Last years defense was really good and returns five starters from it. The line will be strong up the middle with both DT Sean Murnane and John Williams returning. LB is probably Western Michigan’s strongest possession, with the teams two leading tacklers returning in Nick Belore and Matt Berning. Belore is definitely the leader of the defense. The only starter returning in the secondary is CB Vince Agnew.
Special Teams: There will be a battle for the kicking job between Richie Hogan and David Harman. P Brett Hartman returns so does return man Jaheel Addae.
Overall: There was a lot of change in Mount Pleasant this winter between the graduation of Dan LeFevour and the departure of head coach Butch Jones going to Cincinnati. New head coach Dan Enos will have to be some what patient with all the new skill possession players, but also need them to start clicking quickly. The experienced line will help the new skill possession players. The Chippewas defense will be its strength this year, and have to lead the team at first.
Toledo: 5-7 (5-3)
Offense: For the first time in four years Toledo has to find a new QB. Austin Dantin is the leading candidate, with Alex Pettee, David Pasquale, and Terrence Owens all battling for the job as well. RB is also another possession the Rockets have to fill. There should be a split at the possession between Morgan Williams and Adonis Thomas. Dynamic WR Eric Page returns but is surrounded by a bunch of inexperienced players. Thankfully for coach Tim Beckman he returns four on the line.
Defense: Toledo’s defense last year was awful last year allowing 37.7 ppg. The Rockets return both DE Alex Johnson and Douglas Westbrook on the lane that need to toughen up and both stop the run and get more pressure on the opposing QB. LB Archie Donald is the only returning starter at LB and will have to be the leader of a young group around him. CB Desmond Swanson returns after missing last season with a knee injury. Swanson should help sure up the secondary along with FS Jermaine Robinson.
Special Teams: P Bill Claus returns along with return man Eric Page. There will be a battle for the kicking job between Ryan Casano and Andrew Weber.
Overall: Toledo is a very young team and could go through some early growing pains. Depending on how quick the offense can start clicking and how much the defense improve, the Rockets could become a dark horse in the race for the MAC title. The beginning of the schedule may not prove kind for the team and could affect the young players thinking of how good they are.
Ball St: 4-8 (2-6)
Offense: The run game will once again be the focal point for Ball St’s offense this year. The Cardinals received good news when RB MiQuale Lewis was granted a 5th year. Lewis will lead the run game fallowed by Cory Sykes and Eric Williams. To help both the run and pass game the whole line from last year is back. There is a QB battle between Kelly Page and Aaron Mershman. Both played last year, but Page was the starter until he broke his thumb. The pass game needs to prove a lot if Ball St wants to improve. The Cardinals ranked 115th last year in pass yards. WR Briggs Orsbon and Daniel Ifft return to help in doing that.
Defense: Returning DE starter Robert Eddins, will be the key to Ball St’s defensive line. Eddins will once again need to get some good pressure on the opposing QB. LB is the strong point of this defense with Davyd Jones and Travis Freeman returning. Both can fly around the field and make plays. The secondary was young last year and looks to have made improvements from last year to this year. CB Charlie Todd will be the leader of the secondary in being the only senior.
Special Teams: The Cardinals return a good kicking game in K Ian McGarvey and P Scott Kovanda. Both Eric Williams and Charlie Todd will split time as the return man.
Overall: Just two short years ago Ball St was undefeated and flying high, now they are rebuilding. The offense has to improve in the pass game and decide on who the QB is going to be. The defense should be good and not hurt the team, but they wont carry a teams either. Ball St should make progress in rebuilding, but is still far away from being where they were two years ago.
Eastern Michigan: 0-12 (0-8)
Offense: QB Alex Gillett returns this year after getting a little bit of experiences in at the end of last year. Gillett will once again be joined in the back field by RB Dwayne Priest. Between Gillett and Priest the Eagles offense should improve from last year. WR Nick Olds is the only returning WR this year. The line should be solid up the middle, but has to find a new LT and RT.
Defense: The defense is where Eastern Michigan really needs to improve from last year. The line returns three starters, but needs them to stop the run a lot better this year. Last year the defense gave up a nation worst 276.8 ypg on the ground. The LB will be led by Marcus English and Tim Fort. CB Arrington Hicks leads the secondary, who wasn’t too bad last year and should be the strong point of the defense again this year.
Special Teams: Eastern Michigan lost both its K and P along with its top return man from last year. Junior Thomas Baertschi looks to take over both the K and P job. While Corey Welch looks to be the return man this year.
Overall: Only in his second year, Ron English is already feeling the heat. After a disappointing 0-12 season last year, Eagles fans are hoping to see some improvement and a few wins this year. The offense should make some strides this year with more experience. The defense is the key to how well the Eagles do this year. With some improvement Eastern Michigan can take a step forward and win a few games this year.
