| | By George Porter
Special to ESPN.com
Now that former Marshall quarterback Chad Pennington is in the NFL, this is definitely the year that someone else has a chance of winning the Mid-American Conference. Or is it?
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Monday, Aug. 14
Marshall and Toledo are clearly the top two teams in the MAC.
Losing 19 seniors from a year ago definitely makes this a transition year for Marshall. The Thundering Herd's success over the last three seasons has come not only from superstars Randy Moss and Chad Pennington, but because of a system which spreads out defenses and takes advantage of matchups. The Herd also has an extremely unique defense. Marshall might not be as offensively explosive as it was last season, but the Herd should have some success as long as QB Byron Leftwitch makes some plays. It will be interesting to see who steps up; Marshall still has so much more speed than anyone else in the conference. The Herd has both two experienced corners who can play man-to-man coverage. That will allow Marshall to do a lot of things with its front seven.
Toledo proved last year it was in the upper-echelon. The Rockets gained a lot of confidence with the way they played against Western Michigan and Marshall. They return almost their entire quick, aggressive defense from a year ago. Quarterback Tavares Bolden showed some flashes of brilliance last year. If his consistency can match up with his flair for the spectacular, the Rockets could be very dangerous offensively. They will be a tough team to prepare for.
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Sophomore quarterback Byron Leftwich hopes to do a passable imitation of former Tennessee QB Tee Martin. All Martin did was follow the greatest QB in Tennessee history in Peyton Manning and lead the Vols to the national championship. Leftwich follows Chad Pennington, who was the most prolific passer in Marshall history.
Leftwich has plenty of weapons in senior wide receiver Nate Poole or junior college All-American running back Ernie Pitts. The addition of Pitts will definitely help a backfield that will Doug Chapman, now with the Minnesota Vikings.
The Herd's most serious competition in the MAC East will come from the Akron Zips. Akron, flying high off a 7-4 record from last season, is returning quarterback Butchie Washington and Freshman of the year running back Brandon Payne.
Payne rushed for more than 800 yards last year and shows only signs of getting better.
The one advantage that Akron has over Marshall this year will be the fact that the Herd have to travel into Akron to play in a very hostile environment.
In the MAC West, defending champion Western Michigan is looking at a tough battle to repeat. The loss of MAC record holder in passing yards for a career Tim Lester (11,299) might be to much to overcome.
New quarterback Jeff Welsh will have a 1,000 yard rusher Robert Sanford back, but will need to take some pressure off him by passing well this season.
Toledo is picked to win the West behind the returning of 18 starters, ten on offense and eight on defense.
Highly-mobile junior quarterback Tavares Bolden and 1,000-yard rusher Chester Taylor will be the key for Toledo returning back to West supremacy. On the defensive side of the ball, Toledo has two of the MAC's top pass rushers returning.
Linebacker Kevin Rollins, who lead the MAC with 11 sacks, and defensive end Dejuan Goulde, who was second with 10. If these two guys can stay healthy and produce, Toledo will be tough to beat.
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