TOWSON, Md. - As we all know by now, the Tiger football team is off to a 2-0 start.
Both of the wins against Morgan State and Villanova were impressive to say the least. The Tigers have won their first two games by a combined 72-13. Yes, it's very early in the season, but you cant go 3-0 unless you win your first two and the Tigers did that decisively.
The win last weekend over CAA foe and perennial powerhouse Villanova was a game that made the FCS nation take notice. The Tigers picked up votes in the TSN top 25 poll, coming in at number 32. Polls are weird to say the least, especially early in the season.
Those same Villanova Wildcats that the Tigers beat, 31-10, last Saturday night are ranked one spot above the Tigers. That's just a product of them starting the year ranked 14th in the pre-season poll. Regardless, I don't think many of the voters thought they would be putting Towson on their ballot after the second week of the season.
If we take a look at the Tigers' first two games statistically, one thing stands out - TEAM.
Coach Rob Ambrose has stressed since the first day of practice that this is a team. Not a group of individuals, not a team of stars, but just a team. The stats through two games prove just that.
Right now, the Tigers are the seventh-ranked rushing team in the nation. (All team stats are from the 120 FCS teams in the country.) So, you would think that if you are seventh in the nation in rushing, someone in your backfield would be high up on the national list. Wrong.
The Tigers' top ranked rusher right now is quarterback Grant Enders. The sophomore, who won the CAA Offensive Player of the Week award after the win against Morgan State, is 88th in FCS rushing at 54.5 yards per game. The second-highest Tiger is running back Sterlin Phifer, but the sophomore is averaging just 50 yards per game and is tied for 100th in the nation.
What this tells you is that the Towson running game is a TEAM effort - plenty of backs carrying the ball and doing it with an offensive line that has been outstanding.
Let's look at the Tigers' passing attack. The Tigers are ranked 39th in passing offense. Surely, one of our receivers is ranked in the top 100. Nope. Not one. Not one in receptions per game and not one in pass receiving yards per game. None. Again, a team effort. Overall, the Tiger offense is eighth in yardage and 15th in scoring.
Enders does rank seventh in the nation in pass efficiency despite playing in just two games. But, Grant would be the first to tell you that having a plethora of receivers to throw to and having plenty of time to find one of them is the reason he is ranked that high.
Head over to the defensive stats and they may even be more impressive than the offensive numbers. The stat that counts the most on defense is points allowed. Through the first two weeks of the season, the Tigers are fourth in the nation in scoring defense. They are 10th in total defense and third in pass efficiency defense.
Those numbers are fantastic, but again as far as individual numbers, only Jordan Dangerfield shows up in the top 50 of any category. Dangerfield, who is worth the price of admission himself with the way he hits, is tied for 24th in the nation with one interception. Again, the numbers bear out TEAM defense.
I would bet you that if you talked to Coach Ambrose, the way his TEAM has played is what has made him most proud through the first two weeks of the season. How these numbers continue during the year will be fun to watch, especially if the Tigers keep winning.
One other story to come out of Saturday's game against Villanova was the play of tight end James Oboh. As a freshman last year, he was starting to really be a part of the offense after two weeks. But against Villanova in the third game of the year, James took a vicious (if not illegal) hit to the head. He suffered a severe concussion and missed the rest of the year.
You know James had to have this Villanova game circled on his calendar. The big tight end had a great game with three catches for 44 yards. He had to be one of the happiest Tigers on the field when the game ended.
How about that ending? If you haven't watched the video here on TowsonTigers.com, take a couple of moments to look at the students storming the field when the game ended. It is really a lot of fun to watch. Let's hope it's just the second of many happy endings at Johnny Unitas® Stadium this year.
The Tigers are off this week before taking on Colgate September 24th at "The U." It will be Homecoming and the Tigers will be battling a former Patriot League foe they were never able to beat. There were some tough losses to the Red Raiders, so the Tigers are going to be out to avenge their bleak history against Dick Biddle's team. Hope you all can make it out.
Going to Johnny Unitas stadium for Tiger football is fast becoming a happening.
IT'S A GREAT TIME TO BE A TOWSON TIGER.
Programming Note: Damon Lewis and I will be at Bill Bateman's Bistro in Towson Thursday night for the weekly Tiger Talk program. The show runs from 6 p.m. until 7 p.m. and as always, Coach Ambrose will be joining us to talk about last week's Villanova game and tell us how the Tigers are spending their bye week. We will also have another Tiger head coach. So, come on out to Bateman's this Thursday night. If you can't make it, you can listen to Tiger Talk on WNST-AM 1570 or right here on TowsonTigers.com
