Dave Distelhorst/THE POST Ohio football fans take in the first Bobcat football game held under the new permanent lights at Peden Stadium, Sept. 11.

The Buffalo Bulls probably still feel the sting from the 50-0 loss to Ohio they experienced two years ago, the last time the two teams met. During that meeting, Buffalo was a Division I-AA team preparing for its upcoming entry into the Mid-American Conference and move to Division I-A.

Buffalo, now an official MAC member, got its MAC welcome from Akron earlier this year, a 17-10 loss in the opening week of the season. Even though the Bulls are still in search of their first conference win, they are an entirely different team than the one the Bobcats faced in 1997.

This fact, coupled with the process of switching conferences and divisions, makes the team one not to be taken lightly, Ohio Head Coach Jim Grobe said.

"They'll get their headgear buckled on and be ready to get after us, because we embarrassed them two years ago," he said. "This is a much better team than we played two years ago. They have a chip on their shoulder, and we better be ready to play. They're out to prove they belong at this level."

Bobcat punter Dave Zastudil said Buffalo is a good test for Ohio as it opens MAC play.

"Any Division I-AA team that comes up to I-A is going to be a good team," Zastudil said. "Any MAC team for us is a good caliber team."

The Bulls have a high-caliber offensive weapon in receiver Drew Haddad. Haddad has broken Buffalo school records for career receptions (155), receptions in a season (67) and yards receiving in a season (1,058). He also ranks second in school history with career receiving yards (2,251).

Haddad doubles as a punt returner, and owns Bulls records for average yards per return (17.8) and punt return yardage (533). With Haddad leading the way, Buffalo led Division I-AA in punt-return yards last year.

Haddad's presence makes this the third straight week the Ohio defense has faced a dominant receiver. Eddie Berlin caught 11 passes for 150 yards and a touchdown for Northern Iowa, and Ken-Yon Rambo caught seven passes for 181 yards and two touchdowns for Ohio State.

To defend Haddad, the Bobcats will do the same thing they did in their previous two outings, Ohio free safety Joe Sellers said. The defense will throw zone, bump-and-run and read coverage against him.

"We really won't try to stop him, but we'll try to contain him," Sellers said.

The offensive attack doesn't end with Haddad. Fullback Josh Roth led the Bulls in rushing attempts (159) and yardage (806) last year. He is protected by an offensive line that, from tackle to tackle, has more career starts than any other in Division I-A.

Grobe said he is unsure of what Buffalo's plan of attack against Ohio will be. Bulls head coach Craig Cirbus was formerly a coach at Penn State, where the offensive philosophy is similar to Ohio's, meaning the team emphasizes the run.

But Buffalo chose to pass more often in its game last week against Connecticut, Grobe said.

"We're not really sure what to get ready for," he said. "They changed a little bit in both games (this year), but I doubt there won't be anything we haven't seen in our first three football games."

Defensively, the Bulls feature lineman Bob Dzvonick, who started every game last year as a freshman, and strong safety Eric Pipkins, who averaged 34 yards per interception return and has racked up 125 tackles entering this year. Buffalo's defense is well-coached as a whole, Grobe said.

"They won't make very many mistakes defensively," he said. "They're not going to beat themselves. They are a pretty fundamentally sound football team."