Ohio University Head Coach Jim Grobe made his coaching debut for the Bobcats in 1995. The same year that Dan McCarney took the helm at Iowa State. Coincidentally the two teams played each other in Ames, and Iowa State enjoyed a 291-yard rushing performance by Troy Davis in a 36-21 ISU win. The two teams haven’t met since, but as preparations take place to duel this Saturday at Jack Trice Stadium, Grobe thinks he is bringing a much better team to Ames. “We have better ability than in the past five years,” Grobe said. Last season, the Bobcats finished one game under .500 at 5-6 and had a winning record in the Mid-American Conference (MAC). This season Grobe will look to a team with more experience to pick it up to the next level “We’re playing a lot of sophomores now,” Grobe said. “We are a more talented team [than last year] but we aren’t an old team.” Grobe is particularly interested in how his backfield will do in the triple-option offense that the Bobcats feature. Last year running back Chad Brinker, fullback Joe Sherrill and quarterback Dontrell Jackson were all freshmen. “They should be quicker,” Grobe explained. “Dontrell is quicker and has put on some more weight, he should be better at the triple-option.” Last year, the Bobcats were sixth in the nation in rushing with the three freshman, and Grobe anticipates more from them this year. “A lot of it will depend on how [ISU] plays up front [on defense],” Grobe said. “But we’d be kidding if we said we weren’t going to run the option.” Grobe will also rely on a strong secondary to anchor his defense. Ohio’s defensive backfield had 17 interceptions last year. Leading the charge are brothers Donnie and Bop White. Grobe said its nice to know that there are two brothers in the backfield who have a “friendly competition” to outplay each other. “Donnie, being older is probably a little bit more physical,” Grobe said. “Bop is taller, just a little bit niftier. He put on some weight and got stronger, so he should be a little more physical,” he said. Grobe said that playing against MAC foes such as Marshall, known for its passing attack, make the secondary better. Last year, like Iowa State, Ohio showed some top ranked teams that they could hang with them but could never finish off the game. They stayed with nationally ranked Ohio State until half-time and did the same with Minnesota, another Big 10 conference foe. Grobe thinks that there are similarities between his team and ISU. “They are a more talented football team [than in ’95], they have a lot of experience,” Grobe said. “I know this is supposed to be a breakout year for them and they very well might do it,” said Grobe. He hopes the same for Ohio in 2000.