It will be senior day for 25 members of the football team when the Bears take on Columbia at Brown Stadium tomorrow. Though the squad's 3-6 record (2-4 Ivy League) reflects how difficult this 2006 season has been, Saturday's tussle with the Lions is the last chance for the seniors to leave their mark on the program.
"It's a great opportunity for some of these guys who have worked hard for four years to finally have their opportunity to play," said Head Coach Phil Estes. "I think this is what pulls a group of seniors together, knowing that they're all in it together and they want to go out on a good note. You'll find these guys savoring the moment, even in practice."
Standing in Bruno's way will be a revitalized Columbia team led by first-year Head Coach Norries Wilson. The Lions currently lead the Ancient Eight in scoring defense at 15.8 points allowed per game, and with a victory Saturday they would have their first .500 season since 1996.
"This game means everything to Columbia," Estes said. "It means everything to them as far as turning it around with a new coach and coming away with a .500 season."
In his first year at the helm, Wilson has installed a brand new defensive philosophy based out of a 3-3-5 formation. It is a defense based on complete unpredictability, and it has flummoxed several opposing offenses even with Columbia in the cellar of the league at 1-5 (4-5 overall).
"(Wilson) put in a different couple twists in their defense with a lot of movement and activity," Estes said. "It's pretty deceptive and it makes the quarterback or the coach on the sideline call the right play to make it work."
The 3-3-5 alignment allows members of the Lions defense to play all over the field and create a lot of pressure up front, which can confound opposing offensive lines.
"Usually you identify the three or four down linemen that are coming, but the problem with them is that you never know who it is," Estes said. "There's always someone switching, so you have to do a lot of sliding and gap protection. You're not blocking a man, you're blocking an area."
Two of Columbia's defensive standouts that Estes mentioned by name were free safety Tad Crawford and defensive end Darren Schmidt. Crawford is the team's leading tackler and is second to only Zak DeOssie '07 in the Ivy League with 91 stops, while Schmidt is a relentless pass rusher despite his 5-foot-10-inch, 215-pound frame. Together they are emblematic of the Lions' special brand of defense.
"They just take athletes that can run, make plays and keep moving," Estes said.
While the defense has proven itself, the Lions offense is still very much a work in progress. Columbia is last in the Ivies in both scoring (14.2 points per game) and total offense (261.8 yards per contest). Estes, however, noted that Columbia's offense is young and improving.
"They've gotten better, and I think the quarterback (Craig Hormann) is very good," he said. "(Watching film) I see improvement each game, like last week (a 21-14 victory) when they really capitalized on Cornell's turnovers, made plays and put points on the board. They're getting better at the right time."
Though Estes said a win Saturday would not salvage a season of missed opportunities for his team, it would be nice to see his seniors end their careers on a high note.
"For the seniors, they've worked hard, they've given me everything they've got and never quit," he said. "Obviously for them to get a win and walk off the field (with that) would be good, but I also think it's a good sign to hand off to the underclassmen."
At the very least, the class of 2007 will play its last game knowing it was part of something special - Brown's first-ever outright Ivy League championship in 2005.
"They had huge contributions to why we won the championship in 2005," Estes said. "We just didn't put it together in 2006 for a lot of reasons, but they can still have a lot of great pride in what they did. They've been a great group of guys that were very good football players and had success but also really gave back to this school."
