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Expansion changed the landscape of college football this summer.
Yet the Mid-American Conference holds fast, nestled between the big-money programs in the Big Ten, Big East and Big 12.
Not even MAC commissioner Dr. Jon A. Steinbrecher knows what's ahead.
''I can't begin to predict what the future holds,'' he said. ''We're a stable conference. Would any movement create an opportunity for us? Time will tell.''
The pecking order on the football field is also difficult to forecast.
Temple has emerged as a MAC power in just three years in the conference under coach Al Golden. Long a college football laughingstock, the Owls are now overwhelming favorites to win the Eastern Division.
''This is our most talented team, but the best players don't always make the best teams,'' Golden told reporters during MAC media say.
Ohio, last year's East champions, has become a consistent contender under coach Frank Solich.
In the Western Division, Central Michigan has been the team to beat in recent years, but it's a transition year for the Chippewas. CMU is replacing head coach Butch Jones and record-setting quarterback Dan LeFevour.
EAST:
TEMPLE - Key players: RB Bernard Pierce, QB Chester Stewart, DB Jaiquawn Jarrett, DE Adrian Robinson, LB Elijah Joseph. Returning starters: 8 offense, 9 defense.
Notes: The Owls are coming off first winning season since 1990, first bowl game since 1979. ... Pierce being promoted as serious Heisman Trophy candidate. He rushed for 1,361 yards and 16 TDs last year. ... Stewart and Owls were 111th in the nation in passing.
OHIO - Key players: QB Boo Jackson, WR/KR LaVon Brazill, DB Gerald Moore, LB Noah Keller.
Notes: Lost in MAC title game to CMU 20-10; haven't won league title since 1968. ... Much depends on rebound of Jackson, who played just two games because of injury. ... Frank Solich has school's best coaching record (.508) since Bill Hess left in 1977. ... Bobcats passed for 23 TDs and ran for nine.
KENT STATE - Key players: RB Eugene Jarvis, QB Spencer Keith, WR Tyshon Goode, S Brian Lainhart, LB Cobrani Mixon. Returning starters: 8 offense, 8 defense.
Notes: Jarvis received sixth year from NCAA after lacerating his kidney (he was born with only one) last season. With 3,426 rushing yards, needs 564 to break Astron Whatley's school record. ... Golden Flashes loaded at RB with Jacquise Terry and Dre Archer behind Jarvis. ... Keith, fully recovered from shoulder separation, added 30 pounds. ... (53 catches, 5 TDs in '09) best of bunch.
BOWLING GREEN - Key players: RB Willie Geter, WR Adrian Hodges, DE Angelo Magnone, DB Adrien Spencer. Returning starters: 4 offense, 4 defense.
Notes: Geter ran for 705 yards in '09. ... Falcons must replace QB Tyler Sheehan, who took nearly every snap the last three seasons, and WR Freddie Barnes who caught NCAA record 155 passes last year. ... Hodges was second on team with 46 catches. ... Five of first seven games on road.
MIAMI (OHIO) - Key players: QB Zac Dysert, WR Armand Robinson, LT Brandon Brooks. Returning starters: 8 offense, 9 defense.
Notes: Went 1-11 in first season under Michael Haywood, ex-Notre Dame offensive coordinator. RedHawks went outside the ''Cradle of Coaches'' for first time in more than 50 years to hire Haywood. ... Opens season at Florida; also plays Colorado State, Missouri, Cincinnati. ... Dysert threw for 2,611 yards, including 426 yards against Temple ... Offensive line returns intact.
BUFFALO - Key players: RBs Brandon Thermilus and Ike Nduka, DB Davonte Shannon, LBs Justin Winters and Scott Pettigrew. Returning starters: 6 offense. 8 defense.
Notes: Jeff Quinn, who helped devise spread offense for Cincinnati, takes over as head coach following Turner Gill's exit to Kansas. ... QBs unsettled following Zach Maynard's abrupt offseason departure. Jerry Davis, Alex Dennison competing for job. ... Shannon is three-time, first-team All-MAC selection.
AKRON - Key players: WR Jeremy LaFrance, QBs Patrick Nicely and Matt Rodgers, LB Brian Wagner. Returning starters: 6 offense, 7 defense.
Notes: Rob Ianello takes over as head coach after serving as assistant at Notre Dame. ... With InfoCision Stadium as a recruiting tool, Ianello landed some top players in his first class. ... Nicely appears to have edge over Rodgers, who tore knee ligament last year. ... Ianello has installed a pro-style offense - Zips averaged 19.2 points in 2009 - and switched defense to conventional 4-3.
WEST:
NORTHERN ILLINOIS - Key players: TB Chad Spann, QBs DeMarcus Grady and Chandler Harnish, S Tracy Wilson, LB Pat Schiller. Returning starters: 6 offense, 11 defense.
Notes: Defense tops in MAC, 30th in nation last fall Wilson had team-best 93 tackles. ... Grady topped QB depth chart after spring, but battle expected with a healthy Harnish (143-of-223 for 1,670 yards, 11 TDs). ... Spann rushed for 1,038 yards, 19 TDs in '09. ... Sacks leader and DE Jake Coffman, 26-year-old former Marine, decided to return to program in June after saying in January that he was leaving.
CENTRAL MICHIGAN - Key players: QB Ryan Radcliff, RB Zurlon Tipton, LT Jeff Olsen, LB Nick Bellore. Returning starters: 7 offense, 5 defense.
Notes: Radcliff replaces LeFevour, who left with the FBS record of 150 TDs running and passing. ... Chippewas also lost top RB and two star WRs. ... CMU lost a second straight head coach to Cincinnati. New man Dan Enos was top offensive assistant and recruiter at Michigan State, but hasn't been a head coach. ... Enos plans to get rid of Central's spread offense and mix in pro-style attack. ... Lorenzo White Jr., whose father played with Enos at MSU, is a candidate to start at CB.
WESTERN MICHIGAN - Key Players: QB Alex Carder, LT Anthony Parker, S Jamail Berry, RB Aaron Winchester. Returning starters: 7 offense, 6 defense.
Notes: Carder, more of a runner, will have to take big step forward to replace Tim Hiller, who left program with every major passing record. ... Winchester, who rushed for 165 yards last season, takes over for 1,000-yard rusher Brandon West. ... Defense is being rebuilt, including four new assistants. At least three returning starters could become backups.
TOLEDO - Key players: RB Morgan Williams, WR Eric Page, C Kevin Kowalski, LB Archie Donald. Returning starters: 6 offense, 6 defense.
Notes: Austin Dantin has edge at replacing four-year QB Aaron Opelt after winning two of three starts last season. ... Page was top freshman WR in nation in catches (82) and receiving yards (1,159). ... Williams has nearly 1,500 rushing yards in two seasons and leads deep field of backs. ... Rockets' nonconference schedule includes Boise State, Arizona, Purdue.
BALL STATE - Key players: RB MiQuale Lewis, WR Briggs Orsbon, S Sean Baker, LB Davyd Jones. Returning starters: 10 offense, 6 defense.
Notes: Lewis rushed for school-record 1,736 yards in '08, and NCAA granted him an additional year because of '07 injury that forced him to miss last eight games. ... Lewis and Orsbon are two biggest links from Cardinals' record-setting offense two years ago. ... Baker projected as NFL-caliber FS.
EASTERN MICHIGAN - Key Players: LT Bridger Buche, QB Alex Gillett, DE Devon Davis, S Latarrius Thomas. Returning starters: 8 offense, 7 defense.
Notes: Went 0-12 in '09 and had fewer than 70 players on the roster during spring camp. ... Coach Ron English says Gillett, starting QB as a frosh last year, should probably be starting at S. ... Defense allowed 38.2 points per game. ... Army might be EMU's best chance at a win, in the opener. ... Program has new $3.9-million indoor practice facility.
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AP Sports Writers Tom Withers in Cleveland, Joe Kay in Cincinnati, Dan Gelston in Philadelphia, John Wawrow in Buffalo, N.Y., Rick Gano in Chicago, Michael Marot in Indianapolis, Larry Lage in Ann Arbor, Mich., and Associated Press Writer John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio contributed to this report.
