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2011 MAC Football Pigskin Preview

VanDelay Sports is well known for its annualMAC football recruiting analysis, Pigskin Preview andweekly MAC football picks. With the 2011 college football season set to kick off shortly, we present our 2011 MAC football preview below. Our predicted 2011 MAC football standings are below and be sure to click on the team names to visit the individual team previews.

Predicted 2011 MAC Football Standings

2011 MAC Overview

The MAC has one consistency no other Division I conference can claim and that is ‘change’. This is evident in six different teams having won a conference title during the last nine seasons and eleven of thirteen head coaches having been at their school less than three years. In what other league could Miami (OH) become the first Division I program to ever go from double digit losses (1-11 in 2009) to double digit wins (10-4 in 2010) in one season?

Don’t be surprised to see yet another champion this season as Toledo and Northern Illinois battle for supremacy in the west while Miami, Ohio and Temple are the favorites in the east.

The Rockets appear to be the team beat in a conference where parity is paramount. Toledo, led by All-America Candidate WR Eric Page, returns twenty starters from a team that was three points shy of a 10-3 season. The hard luck Huskies lost in the final seconds of last year’s MACC for the second time in six years have not won a MAC title since 1982.

Central Michigan, which lost five games by a combined 19 points in 2010, and Western Michigan, are each capable of moving up and competing for a divisional title. Ball State looks to improve under new coach Pete Lembo who takes over for Stan Parrish just two years removed from a 12-1 season under Brady Hoke. Ron English is making noticeable improvements with the Eastern Michigan program but his Eagles will continue to struggle.

The RedHawks were the surprise of college football last season, which is the good and bad news for new head coach Don Treadwell. He inherits the bulk of last season's team, which will work in his favor, but after Miami posted the biggest turnaround in college football history in 2010 they won't sneak up on anybody in 2011.

Ohio will continue to be a factor as long as Frank Solich is leading the Bobcats. OU will need to replace go-to wideout Terrence McCrae, the school’s leader in touchdown catches.

New Temple coach Steve Addazio hopes to finish the job that Al Golden started and win a MAC title. Temple will go as far as running-back Bernard Pierce can take them. When healthy, Pierce is one of the best offensive weapons in the MAC. Bowling Green is coming off an uncharacteristic ten-loss season; the most in school history. QB Matt Schilz will lead the Falcons up the ladder in 2011.

New head coach Darrell Hazell takes over a Kent program that just can’t seem to get over the hump. The Golden Flashes have had just three winning seasons over the past twenty-five years. Buffalo is a team in transition looking for a new identity since Jeff Quinn took over for Turner Gill two seasons ago. With few offensive playmakers the Bulls will likely endure another long season. Akron will be better in Rob Ianello’s second year but the Zips are a few recruiting classes away from becoming factor.

VanDelay’s 2011 MAC Preseason 1st Team

QB Chandler Harnish 6-2 211 Sr. Northern Illinois

RB Adonis Thomas 5-10 185 Sr. Toledo

RB Bernard Pierce 6-0 218 Jr. Temple

WR Eric Page 5-10 180 Jr. Toledo

WR Jordan White 6-0 215 Sr. Western Michigan

TE Jason Schepler 6-3 265 Sr. Northern Illinois

C Scott Wedige 6-4 314 Sr. Northern Illinois

OL Joe Flading 6-4 290 Sr. Ohio

OL Trevor Olson 6-6 302 Sr. Northern Illinois

OL Mike VanDerMeulen 6-7 304 Sr. Toledo

OL Brian Winters 6-5 305 Jr. Kent State

K John Potter 6-2 182 Sr. Western Michigan

P Matt Rinehart 5-9 171 Sr. Kent State

KR Eric Page 5-10 180 Jr. Toledo

PR Terrell Jackson 6-0 195 Sr. Buffalo

DL Roosevelt Nix 6-0 240 So. Kent State

DL Sean Progar 6-3 260 Jr. Northern Illinois

DL Austin Brown 6-2 285 Jr. Miami

DL Adrian Robinson 6-2 250 Sr. Temple

LB Brian Wagner 6-0 227 Jr. Akron

LB Dwayne Woods 6-1 220 Jr. Bowling Green

LB Dan Molls 6-1 222 Jr. Toledo

LB Devon Butler 5-11 222 Jr. Northern Illinois

CB Lewis Toler 5-10 172 So. Western Michigan

CB D.J. Brown 6-1 174 Jr. Miami

S Sean Baker 6-1 204 Sr. Ball State

S Jahleel Addae 5-9 193 Sr. Central Michigan

By: Nick Gerogosian of VanDelaySports.com