Top to bottom, there may not have been a more competitive conference in college football than the MAC.

Both divisions featured races that weren't decided until the last week of the regular season.

In the West, Bowling Green took the early lead, but was overtaken by Northern Illinois, who then was beaten in the last week by Toledo, giving the Rockets their second straight division title.

Marshall won the East for the sixth straight season, but the Thundering Herd had to fend off challenges by Miami (Ohio), league newcomer Central Florida and Ohio (surprise, surprise) to secure a spot in the conference title game.

Marshall then regained its conference supremacy after a one-year hiatus by defeating Toledo, 49-45, on Saturday in a game that mirrored the excitement and competitiveness that has become synonymous with the MAC.

Offenses dominated the league thanks a bevy of talented quarterbacks.

How deep was the quarterback talent in the MAC? Ryan Schneider led the league in touchdown passes, but was left off the all-conference teams in favor of Marshall's Byron Leftwich and Miami's Ben Roethlisberger.

It was also a great year for running backs, with 10 players going over 1,000 yards. That included Northern Illinois' Michael Turner, who began the year on the bench, but finished the season leading the conference with 1,915 yards.

MVP: It's not just Byron Leftwich's numbers (though they are mighty impressive) that makes the Marshall quarterback the league's MVP. It's the courage and leadership that he showed against Akron by returning to the game after suffering a painful shin injury. Even on one leg, Leftwich was better than most quarterbacks with two. In any other season, Northern Illinois tailback Michael Turner would have been an easy choice.

Coach of the Year: Joe Novak didn't turn Northern Illinois' program around overnight. In his first three seasons, the Huskies won only three games. NIU has done nothing but improve since. This season, the Huskies won eight games and came within 41 seconds of earning a shot at the league championship. Novak pulled it off despite losing several key players.

Newcomer of the Year: There hasn't been much to smile about in Buffalo, but freshman tailback Aaron Leeper provides a reason for the Bulls' fans to keep the faith. Leeper ran for 917 yards and 10 touchdowns and rushed for more than 100 yards in three games.

Biggest surprise: After two consecutive winning seasons, Northern Illinois' 8-4 record wasn't exactly a shock. But who could have predicted the Huskies would continue to win and make a run at their first MAC title since 1983 after losing three standouts -- running back Thomas Hammock, receiver P.J. Fleck and safety Lionel Hickenbottom -- at the start of the season. Ohio improved by three wins over the 2001 season and was the conference's most improved team over the schedule's second half.

Biggest disappointment: Kent State, last season's biggest surprise, turned into this year's big flop. The Golden Flashes could not capitalize on the momentum built by last season's 6-5 mark, the program's first winning campaign since 1987. After winning two of its first three games, Kent State finished by losing eight of its final nine and weren't even competitive down the stretch.

Akron
It was a tale of two seasons for Akron. The Zips (4-8, 3-5) had a horrendous start, losing their first six games, before turning things around by winning four of their last six games. That included the MAC's biggest upset of the season, a 34-20 victory against conference-bully Marshall. The second-half spurt earned coach Lee Owens, whose job was thought to be in jeopardy, an eighth season at the school.

MVP: Sophomore quarterback Charlie Frye survived Akron's rough early-season start and surpassed all of the numbers he compiled as a freshman.

Biggest disappointment: Still bothered by knee surgery in 2001, tailback Brandon Payne didn't regain the form that made him the MAC's freshman of the year in 1999.

Did you know: Frye set school records for pass completions (250) and completion percentage (65.8) for the second consecutive season.

Ball State
Six wins were the most for Ball State since 1996, but that wasn't enough to save coach Bill Lynch's job. The Cardinals (6-6, 4-4) improved drastically after quarterback Andy Roesch was inserted as a starter. BSU was 4-2 with Roesch in command, but that didn't offset a 3-5 start to the season. It didn't help that the Cardinals had to play seven of their 12 games on the road.

MVP: Marcus Merriweather. The senior became Ball State's all-time leading rusher while running for 1,618 yards, the second-highest total in the MAC this season. Merriweather was the model of consistency, rushing for 100 or more yards in nine to 12 games.

Biggest disappointment: Lynch's job may have been saved if the Cardinals had beaten Marshall in its last regular-season game. They didn't come close.

Did you know: Marcus Merriweather became the ninth player in MAC history to reach 4,000 rushing yards.

Bowling Green
Bowling Green (9-3, 6-2) was one of the nation's hottest teams early, winning its first eight games and breaking into the national polls. That was all swept away by three losses in the Falcons' final four games, including a 42-24 loss to Toledo on the regular season's final week that cost BG a berth in the MAC championship game.

MVP: Josh Harris. The junior quarterback slumped late in the season, but still had an outstanding year, accounting for 41 touchdowns.

Biggest disappointment: The Falcons' offense averaged 46.6 points while winning its first eight games, but only 27.7 points in its final four. In its three losses, BG managed 48 points.

Did you know: Bowling Green cracked the national polls this season for the first time since 1985.

Buffalo
One has to wonder if Buffalo (1-11, 0-8) is in over its head at the Division I-A level. Since moving up four years ago from I-AA, the Bulls are 6-39. Progress was hard to find this season. Six of Buffalo's losses were by 20 or more points.

MVP: Andre Forde. The senior receiver was one of the Bulls' few bright spots, setting a single-season school record with 1,553 all-purpose yards.

Biggest disappointment: The season-opening 37-26 loss to Division I-AA Lehigh was a bad omen for Buffalo.

Did you know: The Bulls started 11 freshmen and had the youngest roster in the nation. Sixty players had less than two seasons of experience.

Central Florida
Central Florida (7-5, 6-2) might have been the MAC's best team down the stretch. The Knights won their last five league games, but were knocked out of the East Division race early following close defeats to Marshall and Toledo, the conference's two division winners. Still, a second-place finish behind the Thundering Herd made UCF's first season in the MAC a successful one.

MVP: Quarterback Ryan Schneider broke Daunte Culpepper's single-season school records for passing yards (3,770) and touchdowns (31).

Biggest disappointment: UCF lost its two conference games by a total of eight points. Four of the Knights' five losses came by five points or less.

Did you know: Schneider is 2,385 passing yards behind Culpepper's school record of 11,412 yards.

Central Michigan
Central Michigan (4-8, 2-6) seemed on the verge of a breakthrough season after winning its first three games. That was followed by eight losses in the Chippewas' last nine games and a sixth-place finish in the West Division. The passing game, both offensively and defensively, proved to be weaknesses that CMU couldn't overcome.

MVP: Senior halfback Robbie Mixon finished with 1,361 rushing yards, the seventh-highest total in school history, and set a MAC record with 377 yards against Eastern Michigan.

Biggest disappointment: The Chippewas won their first three games and appeared poised to go 4-0 before collapsing late against Indiana, blowing a 29-16 lead in a 39-29 loss.

Did you know: CMU improved drastically against the run, giving up 140.8 yards per game on the ground after allowing an average of 207.9 last season.

Eastern Michigan
With a defense as bad as Eastern Michigan (3-9, 1-7) put on the field, it's amazing the Eagles were able to come up with three wins. In 12 games, EMU never allowed less than 32 points. Nine opponents scored 42 or more points against the helpless Eagles. Is it any wonder the first order of business upon the completion of the season was defensive coordinator Billy Harris' dismissal?

MVP: Receiver Kevin Walter broke the school record for receptions and finished first in the MAC with 93 catches for 1,368 yards.

Biggest disappointment: Tailback C.R. Roberson followed a strong freshman season by rushing for only 22 yards in 12 games.

Did you know: The Eagles set NCAA records in points allowed (556) and yards allowed (6,239).

Kent State
Instead of riding the momentum of last year's 6-5 finish, Kent State's first winning season since 1987, the Golden Flashes regressed badly. Kent (3-9, 1-7) lost several prominent players to injuries, but none was more important than quarterback Joshua Cribbs. Cribbs injured his hamstring on Oct. 19 against Ohio and the Flashes were never able to recover.

MVP: Without quarterback Joshua Cribbs, who surpassed 1,000 rushing and passing yards for the second straight season, the year could have been even longer than it was for the Golden Flashes. Cribbs ran for 1,057 yards and passed for 1,014 yards even though he was healthy for only half the season.

Biggest disappointment: In a season full of disappointments, the low point was reached during a 50-0 loss at home to Ohio.

Did you know: Cribbs is the first player in NCAA history to rush and pass for 1,000 yards in his first two seasons.

Marshall
Marshall (10-2, 7-1) avenged its loss to Toledo in the 2001 MAC Championship game by defeating the Rockets, giving the Thundering Herd their fifth league title in six years. Marshall was tested several times by league opponents, but came out ahead every time except for an odd loss to Akron. The Herd's nationally-televised win against Miami (Ohio), in which backup quarterback Stan Hill played sensationally in place of Byron Leftwich, was the MAC's best game of the year.

MVP: See league MVP above.

Biggest disappointment: The loss to Akron ended Leftwich's Heisman Trophy hopes, even though it might have been the guttiest game of his career.

Did you know: Leftwich became the MAC's all-time leading passer on Saturday with 11,654 career yards, surpassing the 11,299 yards set by Tim Lester from 1996-99.

Miami
It was a frustrating season for Miami (7-5, 5-3) which played evenly against No. 5 Iowa and league foes Marshall and Northern Illinois, but had nothing to show for it. The loss to Thundering Herd, which came with Byron Leftwich sidelined, will be one that will haunt the RedHawks for a while.

MVP: There was no sophomore slump for quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who followed up his MAC Freshman of the Year season by finishing third in the conference in yards (3,238) and touchdown passes (22).

Biggest disappointment: The postgame performance by two RedHawk assistant coaches following the loss to Marshall was a black mark on the school's season.

Did you know: Miami last posted a losing record during the 1993 season (4-7).

Northern Illinois
Northern Illinois (8-4, 7-1) enjoyed a magical season. A 1-3 start and the loss of several key players seemed to bode poorly for the Huskies. But NIU regrouped and won seven games in a row before seeing their MAC championship hopes dashed with a three-point loss to Toledo in the regular-season finale. Despite the disappointment, it was a season to remember in DeKalb.

MVP: Michael Turner. The Huskies never missed a beat after starting tailback Thomas Hammock was sidelined with a heart ailment. Turner took over and led the MAC in rushing with 1,915 yards.

Biggest disappointment: NIU's 33-30 loss to Toledo in its regular-season finale cost the Huskies a chance at their first MAC title since 1983.

Did you know: NIU's eight wins were the school's second most as a member of the MAC. The Huskies won 10 games in 1983.

Ohio
Ohio (4-8, 4-4) suffered through a roller coaster of a season. The Bobcats lost their first four games, won three of four, then finished the season by losing three of four. Still, it was a marked improvement over the 2001 season when Ohio finished 1-10.

MVP: Tailback Chad Brinker missed the final seven games of the 2001 season after having a cyst removed from his brain. Brinker bounced back to rush for 1,099 yards, the fourth-highest total in school history.

Biggest disappointment: Despite its record, Ohio was still in the East Division race until losing a tough 24-21 decision to Marshall in the second-to-last game of the season.

Did you know: Ohio ranked last among 117 Division I-A teams in passing offense with an average of 87.4 yards per game. Only Navy (4) had fewer touchdown passes than the Bobcats' six.

Toledo
Preseason consensus pointed to a step back for Toledo after losing several top players from last year's MAC champions. Wrong. The Rockets got hot late, scoring impressive wins against Northern Illinois and Bowling Green to close the regular season and made it to the MAC title game before losing in the last minute to Marshall. Toledo gets to finish the season on a high note with its second straight berth in the Motor City Bowl.

MVP: Seems silly now when one considers there were doubts about quarterback Brian Jones. The senior finished first nationally in completion percentage (70.7) and his touchdown-to-interception ratio of 21:7 was unmatched in the MAC.

Biggest disappointment: The Rockets saved the worst for last, giving up a game-winning 40-yard touchdown pass with 49 seconds remaining against Marshall that cost Toledo a second straight conference title.

Did you know: Jones threw for 221 yards in the MAC championship game and became Toledo's single-season passing leader with 3,115 yards, surpassing the mark of 2,955 yards set by Chris Wallace in 1997.

Western Michigan
Gary Darnell's worst season as Western Michigan coach was marked by a series of close losses. The Broncos (4-8, 3-5) lost four games by four points or less. Three of those losses came during a four-game losing streak at midseason that ruined WMU's year.

MVP: Defensive end Jason Babin led the MAC with 16 sacks and 29 tackles for losses while playing on the conference's top defense.

Biggest disappointment: Western Michigan was unable to protect the passer all season, giving up a MAC-high 50 sacks in its 12 games.

Did you know: The Broncos beat archrival Central Michigan on the road for the first time since 1973. WMU had lost 12 straight to the Chippewas in Mount Pleasant.

Jorge Milian covers college football for the Palm Beach Post.