Isaiah Berrios and Western New England are expected to contend in the NEFC. WNE athletics photo

Preseason camp. It's a season in itself. Heat. Humidity. The grind. Surprises. Good ones and bad ones.

"The big thing has been the heat," said Western New England coach Keith Emery, whose team is supposed to challenge defending champion MIT for supremacy in the New England Football Conference. "It was very bad. But we practiced in the heat of the day and we got through it."

"We've been so banged up. we've never had our full group of guys," Framingham State coach Tom Kelley said. "A lot of people say it's just me crying poor but it's been really bad this camp."

The Rams went 9-1 but when the playoff bids were awarded they did not get one despite winning the MASCAC.

"That still stings," Kelley said as he prepared for the final week of preseason.

But it can't happen this year. The MASCAC has its automatic qualifier now.

Surprises? Emery has had some good ones. Freshmen Chris Quarles at defensive back and Mike Audibert at running back have popped out as players who can help the Golden Bears.

Kelley has a veteran team so he is not sure how soon the freshmen will be able to make an impact.

"We like them. We just don't know how many are going to play," he said. "This is a veteran group. They will get on the field, but when we don't know."

Castleton University coach Tony Volpone has had some freshmen jump out at him. Je'Von Harris and Moe Harris are not related except in the sense that they are both freshmen running backs who have turned heads in camp.

And quarterback George Busharis has even exceeded expectations in camp for the Spartans.

"George has been much smarter in camp with knowing how to attack a defense and he's been much more polished in the pocket," Volpone said.

Not all the surprises are good ones. The Spartans were counting heavily on linebacker Mike Perrone as a graduate student. Volpone felt this was Perrone's year but camp yielded information that Perrone would not be eligible in his fifth year after all.

"That hit us out of nowhere," Volpone said. "But we made the best of the situation."

Perrone is on the coaching staff working with the linebackers as he pursues his masters. "He's going to be a great coach," Volpone said.

The big news in Husson's camp does not involve a player but a coach. Gabby Price was able to pluck Ed Mestieri, a longtime head coach at Colby, as a late addition to his staff. Mestieri will be coaching the linebackers. Most recently he had been at the University of Maine.

But now we go live. Now, it's time for the real surprises and all the excitement we so look forward to each autumn.

We will experience the heat and humidity of camp in the early going in the Northeast but then we will see our games flavored with cold, mud and even snow as we push toward the playoffs. We could get one of those gorgeous days in November that we call Indian summer or we could see teams battling the elements.

Here are 10 games to watch in 2015:

Sept. 5, Maine Maritime at SUNY-Maritime. There is nothing like an opener so we have to include one of those. Why not one with plenty of pageantry in a spectacular setting. You might look up and see the blimp from the U.S. Open overhead.

Sept. 19, Fitchburg State at Framingham State. The Rams are the favorite in the MASCAC but the Falcons are a legitimate sleeper.

Sept. 26, Middlebury at Wesleyan. The NESCAC finally opens and this might be the best of the five games, with two contenders for the conference crown meeting right out of the gate. And perhaps the first answer to the question Kickoff readers should already be aware of: Who will play quarterback for Midd?

Sept. 26, Framingham State at Western Connecticut. These are the top two teams in the MASCAC in the preseason polls and when all is said and done we might look back at this as the one that decided it all.

Oct. 3, Castleton at Husson. And this might be the one that winds up deciding the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference.

Oct. 17, Endicott at Salve Regina. These are contenders in the NEFC. This could well be a game where the winner stays in the race and the loser is knocked out with an ECAC bowl left as the prize to fight for.

Oct. 24, Bowdoin at Trinity. There is no place tougher for an opponent than Trinity. This game has new Bowdoin coach JB Wells going back home. He was a star lineman for the Bantams and now he will try to prepare the Polar Bears to beat them. Wells built Endicott into a regional contender and now he will try to restore the luster to Bowdoin.

Nov. 7, Husson at Norwich. If the Castleton-Husson game did not decide the ECFC, this one will likely seal the deal for someone. The Cadets have the defending champions at Sabine Field where the support is special.

Nov. 14, Norwich at Castleton. There might or might not be title implications. Even if there are not, the Cadets want the Maple Sap Bucket back very badly.

Nov. 14, Amherst at Williams. It is called The Biggest Little Game in America for a reason. Enormous crowd, viewed by alumni throughout the world. It became the first Division III game to be the venue for ESPN's College GameDay in 2007. The Ephs and Lord Jeffs have been playing annually since 1884.