Maintaining the momentum from its 28-7 homecoming victory over Cornell last Saturday will be no easy task for the football team. Brown heads to Franklin Field tomorrow to battle the perennially tough University of Pennsylvania.
This past week was only the second time all year that the team did not have to rebuild its confidence following a loss, and Head Coach Phil Estes welcomed the change.
"I think that winning makes everything easier," he said. "It makes practice seem a little shorter, your focus is better and you see the light at the end of the tunnel on why you're working so hard and where you're going."
Brown would like to see some other trends from the Cornell game trickle over into Saturday. Tight end Colin Cloherty '09 had a breakout game with a 94-yard, two-touchdown performance against the Big Red and gave Bruno's offense an additional weapon at its disposal.
"(He) creates a mismatch for the defense and is just one more guy that the defense has to focus on and prepare for," said quarterback and tri-captain Joe DiGiacomo '07. "The more athletes you have on the field, the easier it makes the quarterback's job."
Cloherty has begun to acquire a reputation as a matchup nightmare for an opposing defense - too fast for a linebacker yet too big for a defensive back.
"He's not a prototypical tight end for us, so he's in those spread sets as a wide out and has created some opportunities for himself to get open," Estes said. "He's a terrific athlete, and we'll try to get him the ball as much as we can."
Saturday's victory was also the first time the ground game showed signs of life since the season-opening win over Georgetown University. The running of Dereck Knight '08 and Akin Oyalowo '07 put the game away as the duo combined for 157 rushing yards.
"In the fourth quarter we needed to run the clock down, and we were able to get those first downs," Estes said. "Dereck Knight and Akin Oyalowo just did a good job of getting first downs and keeping the ball in our hands. That's what we did last year. If we got the ball we weren't going to give it back to you."
Knight in particular showed that he is worthy of getting more touches as the season goes on, averaging 8.7 yards per carry and breaking several big runs during the game. A productive Knight will be important this Saturday. He and Oyalowo will split the bulk of the carries while tri-captain Brandon Markey '07 gets most of his action on special teams as he continues to recover from a shoulder injury.
"I've always been the advocate of keeping a guy going when he gets hot. This year we haven't had a guy get hot with the football that we want to keep putting it into his hands, and Dereck did that," Estes said.
If anyone was grateful for the running of Knight and Oyalowo Saturday, it was DiGiacomo, who did not have to shoulder nearly as much of the offense as he had in previous weeks.
"Offensively we played well together, with a strong running and passing game, and it was one of the first times we were able to display that complete effort," DiGiacomo said. "If we can bring that again against Penn we'll be able to put points on the board."
The Quakers counter with a defense that DiGiacomo said is "just solid all around." Linemen Naheem Harris and Brian Fairbanks anchor a strong defensive front that puts a lot of pressure on the quarterback, while defensive backs Greg Ambrogi and Scotty Williams hold down the secondary. It is a well-rounded, cohesive unit that has allowed less than 15 points per game in 2006.
"They're very aggressive defensively and can put pressure on you with either a three- or four-man rush," Estes said. "Because of the pressure they put on the quarterback, their DBs take advantage of knowing that you have to get rid of the football."
Penn's offense features two quarterbacks in Robert Irvin and Bryan Walker. While Irvin is more of a drop-back passer, Walker gives the Quakers a mobile threat to go along with running back Joe Sandberg, who averages 110.5 yards per game.
If there are two things about the Quaker offense that the Bears are well aware of, they are the team's depth and athleticism.
"They have playmakers all over the field, and it poses a threat on every down," said linebacker and tri-captain Zak DeOssie '07. "That kind of depth is somewhat intimidating, but you just have to play."
DeOssie mentioned that the defensive line has gotten an extra push on the ball in recent games with the addition of tackle Dave Howard '09. The additional penetration into the backfield has freed up DeOssie and inside linebacker Eric Brewer '08 to make more plays in the open field and raised the defense's level of confidence to a season high.
"We have the most confidence we've had all year going into this game, but we know we have a lot of room for improvement," DeOssie said. "That potential makes us work that much harder."
A team with newfound confidence will meet a traditional Ivy power with conference implications at stake. The prestige of Franklin Field only adds to the luster of this game.
"It's a great place to play in with the tradition it has," Estes said. "It's one of those unique stadiums right in the middle of the city, and some great college games have been played there."
It will be somewhat of a homecoming for DiGiacomo, who went to high school just outside Philadelphia and expects to have family and friends at the game.
"We did it sophomore year, but it's still exciting to go home," he said. "It's always nice to go to a place you're familiar with, and you always want to do well in front of your friends and family."
Brown finds itself on the winning track again. Now it just has to stay there.
"We want to keep things going," Estes said. "If we get a win like this at their homecoming, it could create a whole different atmosphere for us."
