PROVIDENCE -- Before looking ahead to Saturday's season finale against Columbia, and even to the 2007 campaign, Brown football coach Phil Estes looked back at the Dartmouth game that the Bears should have won last week.

He didn't focus on the last play, a Joe DiGiacomo pass to Lonnie Hill in the end zone that wasn't interference because a Dartmouth linebacker tipped the ball. He focused instead on the interference call against safety Jose Yearwood that enabled Dartmouth to drive to the Brown 22 that left Andrew Kempler to kick a game-tying 39-yard field goal as time expired and a DiGiacomo pass to tight end Colin Cloherty in the end zone in overtime that an official ruled Cloherty caught out of bounds.

"Jose clearly knocks the ball away. That was a great play," Estes said yesterday. "And Colin Cloherty got two feet in. He got his first foot down and dragged the second."

Had the catch been allowed, it would have tied the score, 19-19, and Steve Morgan would have had a chance to win the game with a PAT.

Estes submitted the two plays for review.

"They'll look at it, and it becomes part of their training film. We might get an apology, or they might say the call on the field was the right call. Either way, nothing will change," he said.

That means Brown (3-6, 2-4) will be playing for pride against Columbia (4-5, 1-5), which can finish with a .500 record by beating the Bears.

"It's our seniors' last game, and it will be the last time a lot of these guys will play football. They want to go out on a winning note," Estes said.

They also want to keep a couple of streaks intact. Brown has won nine in a row against Columbia and 17 in a row at Brown Stadium. The Lions last won on the East Side in 1971.

A year removed from winning its first outright Ivy League championship, Brown has struggled all season with the three Is: injury, inexperience and inconsistency. Tailback Brandon Markey, a senior who waited patiently while Nick Hartigan broke Brown and Ivy League rushing and scoring records for three years, fell short of expectations largely because of a shoulder injury suffered when he dived needlessly into the end zone at Columbia last year. Offensive linemen A.J. Tracey and Evan Barbosa were hurt, forcing assistant coach Frank Sheehan to move players and use sophomores. Tackle Alex Doty has played with a hamstring injury and stomach ailment. One defense linebacker, David Healy, missed a good portion of the season with a leg injury, and cornerback Matt Mullenax missed a couple of games with a leg injury.

Searching for receivers to complement senior Lonnie Hill and junior Paul Raymond, Estes started freshman Buddy Farnham in the season-opener against Georgetown. He used Cloherty, a sophomore in that game. By the Penn game Oct. 28, freshman Bobby Sewall was ready to play in important situations. Other frosh took regular turns on special teams.

The running game, a constant for six of the last seven years, was inconsistent from the start. Brown has not received a 100-yard effort from any running back and has trouble in short-yardage situations. The Bears couldn't score a touchdown from three yards out late in the fourth quarter Saturday at Dartmouth and had to settle for a field goal. DiGiacomo has been up and down at quarterback. He ranks among the national leaders in passing and received the New England Gold Helmet Award for his performance in the overtime victory at Penn but threw four interceptions in a loss to Yale and was shaky again at Dartmouth. Hill made some fine catches but also had some costly drops.

Defensive coordinator Mike Kelleher shuffled his personnel after a few games and that unit became fairly stable. Except for the Harvard game, linebacker Zak DeOssie has had an All-Ivy season. Eric Brewer has developed into a solid linebacker beside him.

Morgan's kicking and punting were steady.

"We're still good enough to win. We can match up with anybody on a good day," Estes said. The problem this season was too few good days.

mszostak@projo.com/ (401) 277-7340