BURLINGTON, Mass. – One of the very first thing Stetson football coach Roger Hughes did when he accepted the job in DeLand in 2011 was reach out to friends from his almost two decades of coaching in the Ivy League.
 
Before he had a single player, a helmet or a place to practice, he started looking for teams to play.
 
One of the first to answer that call from Hughes was Brown head coach Phil Estes. On Saturday, Hughes dream of return to an Ivy League venue will come to fruition when his Hatters (2-2) take on Estes' Bears (1-2) at Brown Stadium in Providence, R.I. Kickoff is scheduled for 12:30 p.m.
 
The game will be broadcast on the Hatters Radio Network with Pete Blais and Luke Mauro calling the action. Stetson fans can also watch the game online on the Ivy League Digital Network. The cost to watch online is $9.95.
 
"When I was lucky enough to get the job at Stetson, I called Phil to see if they would be interested in playing and he said 'absolutely'," Hughes said. "Phil is a former offensive lineman, but he likes to throw the ball around."
 
The game on Saturday against the Bears is the first of three currently scheduled for Stetson. The Hatters will host both Brown and Dartmouth in DeLand during the 2017 season.
 
While the Hatters' preparation for the game on Saturday was affected some by Hurricane Matthew, it was mostly about a change in venue. Instead of travelling to Providence on Friday, the Hatters left campus early on Thursday morning. Despite some issues with the plane, the team arrived at its hotel just outside of Boston around 5 p.m. on Thursday.
 
"We have a great Director of Operations in Nolan Behrns who takes care of all our travel," Hughes said. "He has been getting updates on the weather and has been preparing. Once we got the plane secured, and a crew to fly the plane, we became pretty set with what we were doing. I really don't have much to do because Nolan handles all of it."
 
With an extra day away from campus with the team, Hughes said he hoped to expose his team to some of the historical sights the Boston and Providence areas have to offer. But, he was quick to point out that the trip was about one thing – the game on Saturday.
 
"I would love to take them to Fenway Park or Thaniel Hall so they can see some of the historical things there," Hughes said. "The problem is that traffic can be a little crazy on a Friday afternoon in Boston. The main thing is to try to heal up and recover. The Davidson game was a physical game and everyone has a few bumps and bruises. The more we can keep them off their feet and let them recover, the better we will play."
 
The Hatters' 31-27 victory at Davidson last week was the largest comeback win for the Stetson program since restarting the program. Hughes said it would have been easy for the team to give up when it was down 21-10 in the fourth quarter, but that never happened.
 
"Every facet of the game – offense, defense and special teams – had a big play or plays in that fourth quarter to help us squeak out the win," Hughes said. "Hopefully, that will give us some more confidence and some more resolve not to get into that situation again. But, if we do, there is no reason to think that we will give up or stop fighting because good things can happen if you continue to play hard."
 
While there were a number of players who turned in standout performances in the win last week, Hughes singled out two of his fifth year seniors.
 
"I remember Patrick Fogarty, in the middle of the fourth quarter, stepping up and taking command of the offense," Hughes said of one of his captains. "Some of the things we are seeing on the sidelines are as important as the things we are seeing on the field. There is a lot of togetherness with the offense rooting for the defense and vice-versa. People think that just happens, but it doesn't, and it hasn't. Now, guys are building a lot of trust in each other.
 
"Chris Atkins said something very appropriate in the locker room after the game. He made the big interception that allowed us to take the lead the first time. He told the team 'we screwed up some on defense, and the offense had our backs. The offense screwed up, and we had their backs. We had each others backs, and that is why we won.' I thought that was absolutely the culture we are trying to build."
 
The Hatters will certainly have their resolve tested by a Brown team that is coming off a difficult loss to non-conference rival Rhode Island last week. The Bears are averaging more than 40 pass attempts per game, but senior quarterback Kyle Moreno has been intercepted four times through three games and the Bears have also lost four fumbles.
 
"I think Brown is going to try to throw it around a little and try to get the matchups they want to get against our defense," Hughes said. "They are going to try to get us into situations where they can out-leverage us, either by getting the ball to the perimeter with the short passing game, or by going unbalanced and working to keep our defense inside in order to run outside.
 
"Defensively, they run what used to be called a G defense, which was made famous by Bud Foster at Virginia Tech. It is essentially a 4-4 defense and they will have eight people around the ball all the time. They are going to stop the run. They have a big, physical, linebacker (Will Twyman) who always goes to the field side. They also have very big and athletic defensive linemen, who are very quick."
 
While turnovers have been a problem for Brown, the Hatters have had their own issues holding on to the ball this year. Stetson has lost eight of 12 fumbles this year and, with three interceptions, is minus four on turnover margin through four games. The fumbles have been particularly troubling over the last two weeks, with seven of the eight lost coming in two games.
 
In practice this week, there has been a renewed emphasis on protecting the ball. Any time the ball is lost by an offensive player, during a play or after, the entire offensive unit has done up-downs.
 
"I blame myself for some of those fumbles because I feel like we didn't emphasize it enough," Hughes said. "I think our guys are having fun with it because they are reminding each other to keep the ball up because they don't want to do up-downs. I brought our defense into it by telling them to try to knock the ball out of anyone's hands and make the offense do up-downs.
 
"It is a team thing when we fumble and it is a team thing when we get a turnover. I am trying to draw everyone in so that the focus becomes on not turning the ball over."
 
The Hatters have been able to overcome some of the turnovers due to a defensive unit that is opening eyes across the nation. Stetson ranked first in FCS in tackles for loss, second in red zone defense and third in blocked kicks. The Hatters are also ranked in the top 20 in the nation in first down defense (12^th), third down defense (14^th), passing yards allowed (18^th), scoring defense (18^th) and pass efficiency defense (16^th).
 
While the rankings are nice, Hughes said it is the performance on the field that is most important.
 
"We are a high-pressure team and we want to create three-and-outs as much as we can," Hughes said. "Because we are high pressure, there are going to be times when man-to-man coverage breaks down and you give up a big play. The difference this year has been where, in the past, the defense might get down or stop fighting after that, our guys seem to relish the chance to put their foot in the ground and say 'you are not getting past this line.'
 
"To this point, we have done pretty well in the red zone. Points are what win games. They don't measure it on yards or interceptions, they measure by how many points you get, and that is the most important statistic."
 
Against a Brown team with a reputation for scoring, taking advantage of every opportunity to score will be a key, but protecting the ball is an important part of making that happen.
 
"We allowed that game at Davidson to be a close game because we turned the ball over, especially in the red zone," Hughes said. "We have to score when we get the ball into scoring position. Defensively, we cannot get fooled by their elaborate formations. We have to be patient because their quarterback is very good at reading hot and getting rid of the ball."
 
If the Hatters do those two things, then Stetson hopes to be able to improve the Pioneer Football League's record of success against the Ivy League. Since 2000, the Ivy's hold a 10-5 advantage in games against PFL teams.
 
"To this point, the Ivy League has dominated the head-to-head tilts with the Pioneer League," Hughes said. "We want to go up there and defend that. Brown is a very hard place to play. They have the only grass field in the Ivy League, and they relish that because they think it gives them an advantage
 
"The Brown kids always play with a chip on their shoulder. Phil does a great job of getting them ready to go. They are a physical, fast, high-energy type of team that is going to give us their best shot on every snap."
 
About Stetson University Athletics: Stetson University's Athletics Program has a vision of developing a culture of champions athletically, academically and within the community. This vision is accomplished through a mission of recruiting and developing student-athletes, coaches and staff, creating a culture of champions, within and outside of competition. The department operates with five core values: Championship Culture, Integrity, Excellence, Pride/Tradition and Leadership. To learn more about the Vision, Mission and Core Values for Stetson Athletics, visit GoHatters.com and click on Mission Statement under the Inside Athletics tab.