Coming off a tough overtime loss at the University of Rhode Island last weekend, the football team will seek to rebound on the road against Holy Cross. While the Crusaders lost Dominic Randolph, the 2009 Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year, to graduation, they still boast an offense capable of scoring in bunches. Employing a spread offense featuring a zone-read option, the Crusaders will rely heavily on quarterback Blake Wayne to provide yards through both the air and the ground.
Holy Cross will also have extra motivation coming into this weekend, as the team seeks to avenge last year's loss to the Bears — a thrilling 34-31 upset win for Brown over the then-No. 19 Crusaders. In addition to a new quarterback, the Bears are expecting new wrinkles from the Holy Cross squad.
"In the past, we have had very high-scoring games," said Head Coach Phil Estes. "I expect them to change up coverages from previous years."
The Bears will also look to mix up their defensive schemes from past seasons by employing different looks in their secondary. Estes said these tweaks on defense from both teams are likely to lead to a lower scoring game.
Having suffered their first loss, the Bears also hope to come out against Holy Cross with more intensity than they showed against URI.
"We came out flat," said starting quarterback Kyle Newhall-Caballero '11. "It was very disappointing to lose a game that we felt we should have won."
The Bears will also seek to improve their special teams. After allowing a kickoff return for a touchdown against Harvard and a punt return for a touchdown against URI, the coaching staff has stressed the need for better coverage on returns.
Two players with noteworthy injuries heading into Saturday's game are Robert Gillett '11 and Newhall-Caballero. Gillett, a starting outside linebacker, suffered a season-ending injury against URI. Newhall-Caballero suffered an injury late in regulation in the same game. His status for Saturday's game was not determined as of Thursday.
