Football Rallies to Top Princeton 28-27 in Overtime

Saturday, October 14

Providence, R.I.

12 p.m.

Brown University

3-2 , 1-1

Princeton

2-3 , 1-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Princeton

Brown

Photo by: Chip DeLorenzo

Football Rallies to Top Princeton 28-27 in Overtime

10/14/2023 6:20:00 PM | Football

Box Score Photo Gallery

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Trailing by 14 with under 12 minutes remaining, the Brown football team rallied to tie the game with under a minute to go, then walked it off in overtime for a big 28-27 victory over Princeton on Saturday afternoon at Richard Gouse Field at Brown Stadium.

Senior Mark Mahoney caught a 51-yard touchdown pass with 53 seconds remaining to tie the game at 21, and huge pass breakups on the ensuing drive from Treyvon Hobbs, Tim Malo and Graham Walker sent the game to overtime. After Princeton scored on its first possession, Caleb Moorhead blocked the extra point, which set up Walker who caught the game-winning three-yard touchdown pass from Jake Willcox, and Christopher Maron added the extra point to give Brown the dramatic win.

The win moves Brown to 3-2 on the season for the first time since 2015, which was also the last time they beat the Tigers.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

Brown put up 478 yards of total offense, while limiting Princeton to 340. Princeton entered the game No. 1 in FCS in total defense by allowing just 211.8 yards per game.
Mahoney set new career-highs with nine catches and 153 yards receiving, plus the game-tying touchdown.
Willcox went 38-for-60 through the air for 378 yards, the second-highest total of his career, and three touchdowns.
Junior Stockton Owen rushed for 61 yards and one touchdown on 17 carries.
Wes Rockett added five catches for 68 yards.
Walker finished with seven catches for 41 yards and the game-winning score in overtime.
Solomon Miller also hauled in a touchdown catch to go with 48 yards receiving.
Brown's defense collected a season-high 3.0 sacks and had nine pass breakups.
Junior Isaiah Reed totaled five tackles and had one interception.
Seniors Ethan Royer and Cooper DeVeau led the team with six tackles each, and Tim Malo added three pass breakups.

HOW IT HAPPENED

After a three-and-out by Princeton to start the game, Brown answered with a 13-play, 64-yard scoring drive. After third and fourth down conversions, Willcox connected with Miller for a 10-yard touchdown catch and run to put Brown on top at the 8:42 mark.
Princeton tied things up on a 53-yard touchdown run by Jiggie Carr following a broken tackle with 1:43 remaining in the first quarter.
Princeton took a 14-7 lead late in the half with another big play when Stenstrom hit AJ Barber for a 45-yard scoring strike with 4:33 left until halftime.
After getting a fourth down stop deep in Princeton territory, the Tigers embarked on a 90-yard touchdown drive that culminated with a one-yard touchdown run by John Volker to make it 21-7 at 2:25 of the third quarter.
Brown finally broke through on a one-yard touchdown run by Owen off the direct snap to pull the Bears within 21-14 with 11:28 to play.
After a Brown turnover at midfield with 3:31 left to play, Brown's defense forced a punt and took over at their own 11 with 1:44 remaining. Willcox connected over the middle to Mahoney who made a juggling catch and scampered into the end zone for a 51-yard strike that tied the game at 21 with 53 seconds left.
Princeton moved the ball to the Brown 41 before a Hail Mary into the end zone was broken up by Walker as time expired.
Princeton started with the ball in overtime and took the lead on a 21-yard pass on their second play, but Moorhead broke through on the PAT attempt and blocked the kick to keep the deficit at six.
On Brown's possession, Owen converted a one-yard run on fourth down to move the chains and keep the drive alive, which set up the game-winner three plays later as Willcox found Walker in the back left corner of the end zone for the four-yard touchdown that tied the game before Maron's PAT won it.

QUOTES FROM THE COACH: JAMES PERRY

"We faced some real adversity. I thought the guys really rallied around each other, especially the older guys. I'm very proud of them. Princeton is a great football team and we kept fighting. Even when things didn't go our way, I knew we would keep fighting."
"Beating a team like Princeton means a lot to these kids. I'm really happy we got this one at home. We had tremendous support from the crowd today and they deserved it."
"They didn't get down on themselves. Some guys didn't play their best football today, but when they needed to, they came through. There were a lot of guys who just stuck with it. We have a lot to build off of and we'll use it to get better."

UP NEXT
Brown will hit the road next Saturday when it travels to Cornell to take on the Big Red in an Ivy League matchup. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. on ESPN+.

Gallery: (10-14-2023) Football vs. Princeton, 10/14/2023

BROWN UNIVERSITY SPORTS FOUNDATION
The Brown University Sports Foundation (BUSF) is the lifeblood of the athletics program, and exists to enhance the student-athlete experience through philanthropic support from alumni, parents, fans and friends. A gift through the Sports Foundation makes an immediate impact on today's Brown Bears and helps them to be their best in the classroom, in competition and most importantly in the community. To learn more about supporting the Bears, please click here.

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL
For the latest on Brown Athletics, please follow @BrownU_Bears on Twitter, @BrownU_Bears on Instagram, like BrownUBears on Facebook and subscribe to the BrownAthletics YouTube channel.