Fresh off last week's historic 29-14 victory over Harvard, the football team (2-0, 1-0 Ivy League) will hit the road Saturday for the first time this year as they travel to Kingston to battle the University of Rhode Island (1-2, 1-0) for the Governor's Cup.
Oftentimes in football, teams can suffer a letdown after momentous and emotional wins and come into the following week unprepared. The Bears' goal is to not let this happen on Saturday.
"We're 2-0, exactly where we wanted to be," said quarterback and tri-captain Kyle Newhall-Caballero '11. "Now we have to focus on this next week and not get hung up on the big win against Harvard."
For Newhall-Caballero, Saturday looks to be another stepping stone in the quarterback's recovery from an injury sustained in training camp, when he hit his throwing hand on a teammate's helmet. The 2009 All-Ivy First Team selection sat out the first game of the season against Stony Brook, but saw snaps in the Harvard game as he alternated series with fellow senior Joe Springer '11.
"We need to find a way to continue that momentum we had at the end of last game," Newhall-Caballero said. "What we do going forward is going to be what makes the difference here on out."
Brown's defense and special teams will look to keep up their strong play from this past week as well. In the win over Harvard, Bruno's defense limited the Crimson to a mere 112 yards of offense and forced three turnovers. Tri-captain linebacker Andrew Serrano '11 led the effort with seven tackles and a forced fumble and was named the Ivy League defensive player of the week. Kicker Alex Norocea '14 was both the Ivy League's special teams player and rookie of the week after tying the school record for most field goals in a game with five.
Like Brown, URI is riding into the game on a high note. The Rams overcame away losses to Buffalo and Fordham to pull off a huge upset over New Hampshire, who at the time were the No. 8 team in the Football Championship Subdivision. On the way to the 28-25 win, URI gained 215 yards on the ground, led by running back Ayo Isijola and quarterback Steve Probst. The Rams had the following week off, and now are well-rested and ready for Bruno.
"They got two weeks to prepare for us," Newhall-Caballero said. "They have athletes up front. They've got some big guys, especially on their defensive line. And they talk a lot of trash, but we're not gonna go there."
The game will be the 95th meeting between the two schools, and Gov. Donald Carcieri '65, a former Bear defensive back, will be on hand to present the Governor's Cup to the winning side. Brown took home the cup last year with a 28-20 victory, but it is the 2008 battle that remains fresh in the minds of the juniors and seniors of this year's squad.
"Two years ago, we were in the same situation (as this season)," Newhall-Caballero said. "We beat Stony Brook, then we beat Harvard in a huge game at home. Then we went down there — we were ranked No. 23 in the country — and we got crushed."
The Bears know they must avoid a reprise of that 37-13 drubbing if they are to hoist the cup and keep up this season's early momentum.
"We want to keep rolling. No setbacks. We want to continue to climb throughout the rest of the season," Newhall-Caballero said. "No valleys, all peaks from here."
Kickoff in Kingston is set for 1 p.m.
