Breaking down the Mid-American Conference's story lines:

Akron Zips
The Zips were headed for a third straight winning season last year when they encountered disaster against Western Michigan. Akron lost its three top running backs to injury in that game, precipitating a five-game losing streak. The good news is that all three runners are back this season, including senior Brandon Payne, the only Akron back to register a 1,000-yard season since the program moved up to Division I-A in 1987. Bob Hendry, who filled in admirably for Payne, gives the Zips a potent 1-2 combination.

Ball State Cardinals
The best runner in the MAC last season not named Chester Taylor was the Cardinals' Marcus Merriweather, who finished second to the Toledo tailback with 1,244 rushing yards. Merriweather, a Doak Walker candidate, needs 1,100 more yards to set the school rushing record held by Bernie Parmalee. If Merriweather stays healthy, count on that happening. Merriweather, a 6-foot, 209-pound senior, has run for more than 1,000 yards in each of the last two seasons and will work behind an offensive line that returns four starters.

Bowling Green Falcons
Looking for a darkhorse to win the MAC? Bowling Green would be a good pick. The Falcons won four of their final five games in 2001, including a 56-21 blowout of MAC champion Toledo. Credit 38-year-old coach Urban Meyer, who led the school to its first winning campaign since 1994. Meyer's installation of a spread offense resulted in an average 30.3 points per game, a total that should be surpassed this season with the return of seven starters. The best of the bunch is receiver Robert Redd, who caught a school-record 72 passes in 2001.

Buffalo Bulls
Building a Division I-A program isn't easy. The Bulls have taken their lumps since stepping up in 1999, but last season provided reasons for hope. Buffalo's three wins surpassed its combined total in its first two seasons and the Bulls' ended an 18-game road losing streak with a win at Connecticut. Buffalo also played much better defense, allowing 286 points after giving up a combined 878 points in 1999-2000. But, with only 14 seniors on the roster, expect the growing pains to continue.

Central Florida Golden Knights
As if there weren't enough good quarterbacks in the MAC, it just got another one with the arrival of UCF and quarterback Ryan Schneider. A solidly built 6-2, 220-pound junior, Schneider is well on his way to breaking Daunte Culpepper's school records for yardage and touchdown passes. Schneider was 19th nationally in total offense last season and should be even better this season with eight starters back from an offensive unit that averaged 30.3 points. For those wondering how UCF will fare in the MAC, the Golden Knights are 11-4 against conference schools since joining Division I-A in 1996.

Central Michigan Chippewas
Don't blame tailback Terrence Jackson for the Chippewas' sixth losing season in the past seven years. The bruising 6-foot, 230-pound junior finished third in the MAC with 1,194 yards. Jackson ran for 100 yards in seven straight games, a streak that was snapped in the season finale. His 207 yards against Eastern Michigan were the most by a conference player in 2001. Jackson's numbers are more impressive when one considers that Central Michigan's passing game was among the worst in the conference.

Eastern Michigan Eagles
The Eagles were one of the youngest teams in the nation last season, starting 11 true freshmen and six redshirt freshmen. EMU played like it, too, finishing last in the conference in scoring offense (17.9 points) and total offense (300.8 yards) and second-to-last in rushing offense. It would have been a lot worse if not for a 62-point, 503-yard explosion against Akron in the final regular-season game. With questions on the offensive line and quarterback and a tough early schedule, the Eagles appear headed for their 12th losing season since 1989.

Kent State Golden Flashes
A 6-5 record might not be much to crow about at most places, but it was at Kent State which hadn't enjoyed a winning season since 1987. The Golden Flashes won five of their last six games last fall after winning only five times in their previous 42 games. Kent State will build around sophomore quarterback Joshua Cribbs, who finished fifth in the conference in rushing with 1,019 yards to go with 10 touchdown passes and only five interceptions. With Cribbs around, the Golden Flashes could post back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 1976 and 1977.

Marshall Thundering Herd
Everyone knows offense is not going to be a problem in Huntington, W.Va., but the defense could be. Marshall didn't win a fifth straight MAC title last season mainly because of its defensive performance. The Herd allowed an average of 416.4 total offensive yards per game and were especially susceptible to the run. Opponents averaged 217.8 rushing yards a game, which ranked 106th among Division I-A schools. Only Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan and Akron allowed more touchdowns than Marshall in the MAC. New defensive coordinator Bill Wilt has been handed control, but will only have three returning starters to work with.

Miami RedHawks
No one in the MAC is playing a more ambitious schedule than the RedHawks. For starters, each of Miami's four non-conference opponents -- North Carolina, Iowa, LSU and Cincinnati -- played in bowl games last season. Only one of those games is at home. Two other teams on the 2002 schedule -- Toledo and Marshall -- also played in the postseason last year. It's unlikely Miami will be intimidated. Since 1995, the RedHawks have three wins against Top 25 teams and have 10 victories over non-conference 1-A opponents, tops among MAC schools. With record-breaking sophomore quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in charge, more upsets appear likely in Miami's future.

Northern Illinois Huskies
Finding a replacement for quarterback Chris Finlen, the school's all-time leader in total offense, might be all that stands between the Huskies and a West Division title. The only candidate with Division I-A experience is sophomore Josh Haldi and he threw just seven passes last season behind Finlen. A pair of junior college transfers, Kyle Padia and Ryan Gilbert, will challenge Haldi for the starting job. With some good offensive weapons returning in tailback Thomas Hammock, a two-time 1,000-yard rusher, and receiver P.J. Fleck, whoever ends up winning the quarterback job may only have to be adequate.

Ohio Bobcats
The Bobcats were easily the MAC's biggest disappointment last season. After finishing 7-4 overall and tied for second in the East Division in 2000, most observers picked Ohio to battle Marshall for the division championship. Instead, injuries, bad defense and a mediocre passing game caused the Bobcats to finish 1-10, their worst season since going 0-11 in 1994. With a highly inexperienced defense and several question marks on offense, there are no great expectations this year for Ohio. In fact, the Bobcats may be looking at a three- or four-win season, at best.

Toledo Rockets
The MAC champions have huge holes to fill, particularly at tailback where Chester Taylor has moved on to the NFL. Taylor, the MAC's second all-time leading rusher with 4,659 yards, ran for a league-high 1,430 yards and 20 touchdowns last season while leading the Rockets to a second straight 10-win season. Candidates to replace Taylor are Webster Jackson and Adam Cuomo, who played sparingly last season. Toledo also has to replace second-team, all-MAC quarterback Tavares Bolden and seven starters from the league's second-best defense. Another 10-win season may be too much to ask.

Western Michigan Broncos
The Broncos have five All-MAC selections returning this season and they'll need each one of them to confront a schedule that includes Michigan, Purdue and Virginia Tech before the conference schedule begins. If WMU can survive that, it may be back on its way to a winning record after falling below .500 for the first time in coach Gary Darnell's five seasons. The defensive line, which led the conference with 31 sacks last season, should be first rate. Defensive end Anthony Allsbury, a first-team, All-MAC pick, registered seven sacks and is a Lombardi Award candidate. With little experience on offense, the defense will have to shoulder the load or the Broncos could be looking at another losing season.

Jorge Milian covers college football for the Palm Beach Post.