The Grinnell College football team opens the season at home this weekend against Ripon. The Pioneers are coming off a 3-7 record in 2003 and coach Greg Wallace is banking on a large senior class to lead the way. He says they have 16 seniors and 8 juniors. Wallace is confident the Pioneers will score a lot of points because they have nine starters back on offense. He says that’s a huge number for a school like theirs and they’ll expect the offense to lead the way. Wallace says the biggest void is at runningback, and they need to find a starter there. Wallace feels two-time defending champion St. Norbert is the favorite in the Midwest Conference race with a good group of returning seniors.