2002 MAC preview

The following preview is provided by Blue Ribbon. For the most thorough preview available of the upcoming season, order the 2002 Blue Ribbon College Football Forecast, on sale now at 1-800-775-2518.

Blue Ribbon Forecast
No.  Team  '01 Record    East Division     1.  Marshall  11-2  2.  Miami (Ohio)  7-5   3.  UCF  6-5  4.  Kent State  6-5  5.  Akron  4-7  6.  Buffalo  3-8  7.  Ohio  1-10     West Division     1.  Western Michigan  5-6   2.  Toledo  10-2   3.  Ball State  5-6  4.  Northern Illinois  6-5   5.  Bowling Green  8-3   6.  Eastern Michigan  2-9   7.  Central Michigan  3-8	Marshall QB Byron Leftwich threw for 4,698 yards, 41 TDs and just nine ineterceptions last year. Eliot Schechter/Allsport

All-Conference Team
Pos.	Player	School	Ht.	Wt.	Cl.
		Offense
WR	Doug Gabriel	UCF	6-2	205	Sr.
WR	Darius Watts	Marshall	6-2	183	Jr.
WR	Robert Redd	Bowling Green	5-10	200	Sr.
OL	Steve Sciullo	Marshall	6-6	344	Sr.
OL	Nathan McPeek	Marshall	6-5	321	Jr.
C	Jon Mazur	Bowling Green	6-2	290	Sr.
OL	Steve Perretta	Marshall	6-2	298	Sr.
OL	Nick Kaczur	Toledo	6-6	300	So.
QB	Byron Leftwich	Marshall	6-6	240	Sr.
RB	Marcus Merriweather	Ball State	6-1	203	Jr.
RB	Thomas Hammock	Northern Illinois	5-8	214	Sr.
TE	Chad Bartoszek	Buffalo	6-6	250	Sr.
		Defense
DL	Elton Patterson	UCF	6-1	215	Sr.
DL	Anthony Allsbury	Western Michigan	6-2	253	Sr.
DL	Jason Babin	Western Michigan	6-4	265	Jr.
DL	Orlando Washington	Marshall	6-2	265	Sr.
LB	Tom Ward	Toledo	6-1	236	Sr.
LB	Nick Duffy	Northern Illinois	6-2	232	Jr.
LB	Terrell Jones	Miami	5-9	225	Jr.
LB	Matt Robillard	Miami	6-3	238	Sr.
DB	Asante Samuel	UCF	5-11	190	Sr.
DB	Chris Crocker	Marshall	5-11	190	Sr.
DB	Janssen Patton	Bowling Green	6-0	180	Jr.
DB	Vince Thompson	Northern Illinois	5-10	178	Sr.
		Specialists
PK	Steve Azar	Northern Illinois	5-8	192	Jr.
P	Curtis Head	Marshall	5-11	179	Sr.
RS	Donta Greene	Toledo	5-7	180	Sr.

Offensive Player of the Year
Byron Leftwich	QB	Marshall
Defensive Player of the Year
Elton Patterson	DE	UCF
Newcomer of the Year
Jason Rader	TE	Marshall