At first glance, the football team's match-up with winless Fordham (0-4) on Saturday seems little more than a tuneup on the way to a showdown with undefeated Princeton next weekend. Under-estimating the importance of a victory over Fordham, however, is a mistake the team - which comes into the game at 2-1 (0-1 Ivy League) - is looking to avoid.
"They have had two weeks to prepare for us," said Head Coach Phil Estes. "These are the toughest teams to play, teams that may be struggling and are looking for that game to break out. They know us better than they know most teams, so this game worries me because we need to go out and make a statement. ... They're a better team than their stats show."
Following two weeks of squaring off against hated rivals in Harvard and the University of Rhode Island, one could understand if the Bears suffered a drop-off in intensity against the Rams. However, in practices this week, Brown has stressed the importance of not looking past any opponent.
"Each week's game is the most important game on our schedule," said tri-captain Jamie Gasparella '06. "This is the game we need to win."
The Bears have proven to be a dangerous offensive team so far, averaging 38 points per game - the most in the Ivies - through their first three games. Though the passing game flourished early against the Crimson, all-world tailback and tri-captain Nick Hartigan '06 struggled to find any running room against the Crimson's defense. Last weekend was the opposite, as Hartigan recorded the best game of his career, shattering Rhody's defense with 252 yards and four scores. Hartigan's rushing total was the second most single-game yards in Brown history.
Although quarterback Joe DiGiacomo '07 topped 200 yards passing for the third straight game, Bruno wants to re-establish a healthy equilibrium between its power running game and air attack.
"We are going to take what they give us," DiGiacomo said. "Teams have been able to throw on Fordham a bit, but we want to get that balance back."
Defensively, Brown has been banged up as of late at inside linebacker, with Zak DeOssie '07 and Frank Nuzzo '08 sitting out the URI game due to injuries. Saturday's game should feature the return of both players and the immediate improvement of a defense that has been in bend-but-do-not-break mode for the past two weeks.
Estes said earlier this week that he "totally expects both (DeOssie and Nuzzo) to play" against Fordham, and Gasparella confirmed that both have been practicing this week and are ready to go.
Adding both players and a few new schemes to the Bears defense could be devastating for Fordham.
"There will be a little bit of a change in the defense on Saturday," Gasparella said. "We are going to try to match up with what they do a bit more than we have in the past (few games)."
Having the defense back at full strength should take some of the load off the backs of Hartigan and the offense. However, that does not mean Hartigan will no longer be the engine that makes the offense run. Just 43 yards separate Hartigan from Brown's career rushing record of 3,266 yards set by Michael Malan '02.
Despite Estes' proclamation that the record will have no impact on how he calls the game, latecomers to Brown Stadium will probably miss history being made.
"I can't go into a game and say I need to get Nick at least 200 yards so that he can break a record," Estes said. "It's more about, what are they giving us and how can we beat this team?"
While Brandon Markey '07 will provide a solid change of pace option for the Bears on Saturday, it will most likely be the Hartigan show early, as Bruno looks to establish itself against the Rams. Afterward, however, the Bears are ready for a slugfest.
"Fordham's a much better defensive front," Estes said. "That's their strength ... they're much better geared to stopping the run. Last year they had nine men in the box to stop the run, to stop Hartigan. This will be a good test for us."
Saturday's kickoff is at 1 p.m.
