How did Brown not win the Ivy League football championship?

The third-place Bears (6-4, 4-3) have the co-player of the year and 10 first-team All-Ivy selections, more than the league champion Penn (6) and second-place Harvard (5). The Quakers finished 8-2, 7-0 in the league, and the Crimson 7-3, 6-1.

Harvard’s only league loss was to Penn. Brown lost to Harvard, Penn and Columbia.

“There are too many other elements than players. It came down to close games,” coach Phil Estes said Tuesday.

“I was somewhat surprised but very pleased it ended up that way. I’m just happy that the other coaches in the league were able to recognize what these guys meant to our football team,” he said of the number of All-Ivy Bears.

Brown’s receiver and returner extraordinaire, Buddy Farnham, wrapped up his spectacular Ivy League career by earning three awards: co-player of the year with Penn linebacker Jake Lewk; first-team All-Ivy wide receiver for the third consecutive year and first-team All-Ivy return specialist.

Farnham is Brown’s fourth player of the year, following Sean Morey in 1997, James Perry in 1999 and Nick Hartigan in 2005, and only the 37th player in Ivy League history to earn first-team recognition for three years.

“I’m so happy for Buddy. He’s a guy who is very humble, who doesn’t look for the limelight, who doesn’t look at stats. He just wants to play the game and win championships. I was tickled to call him and tell him. He was stunned,” Estes said.

This season Farnham caught 74 passes for 1,003 yards. He ranks fifth in the nation in receiving yards and eighth in receptions. He is third in the nation in kick returns (28.57 yards per return) and eighth in all-purpose yards (165.1). He led the league in scoring (7.2 points per game) and punt return yardage (10.36).

Farnham is sixth in the Ivy League in career receptions (229) and seventh in receiving yards (2,895) and all-purpose yards (4,813). He broke the Brown record for punt-return yards (636) and is second in kick-return yards (1,167).

Bobby Sewall of Portsmouth earned first-team All-Ivy for the second consecutive year. He caught 66 passes for 585 yards and four touchdowns and finished his career ranking eighth in receptions (210). He scored 34 touchdowns in the last three years, more than any other Ivy player.

Brown’s other first-team selections include quarterback Kyle Newhall-Caballero, who completed 259 passes for 2,709 yards and 18 touchdowns and ranks second in the nation in completions per game (25.9); tackle Paul Jasinowski for the second time; center Mark Callahan for the first time; defensive end James Develin after two years as second-team All-Ivy, who led the league in tackles for loss (16); defensive tackle David Howard for the second time; linebacker Kelly Cox, who finished with 76 tackles, 19 in his career finale at Columbia, and safety Chris Perkins, who was sixth in the league with 79 tackles.

Jasinowski and Develin were unanimous choices.

“Jas is a humble and hard-working kid. He has a lot going on right now. He’s a finalist for the Campbell Award next week in New York. Jimmy has been overlooked for two years. Over the last three years he has been one of the best defensive linemen in the Ivy League,” Estes said.

Punter Nate Lovett of East Providence was named to the second team. He ranked third in the league with a 39.9-yard average. He was the Ivy special teams player of the week for his performance in the rain against Dartmouth. He averaged 44.2 yards for four punts.

Defensive backs David Clement and AJ Cruz, a true freshman, running back Zach Tronti and guard Tim Danser also made the second team.

Penn’s outstanding defensive tackle Joe Goniprow of Barrington was a unanimous first-team selection. He was a big reason why Penn fielded the best defense in the Ivy League.

Honors for Rams

Three University of Rhode Island player earned Colonial Athletic Association all-conference honors on Monday despite the Rams’ 1-10 record. Punter Tim Edger led the league with a 41.5 average and was named to the second team. Wide receiver Shawn Leonard caught 47 passes for 858 yards and a league-leading 11 touchdowns and made the third team. Linebacker Rob Damon also made the third team for leading the CAA in tackles per game (11.3).