TOWSON, Md. - For those who went, watched or listened to the Tiger football team play the University of Maryland last Saturday, you saw a game between two teams of equal talent. 

Yes, the Tigers lost by 28-3, but they outgained Maryland on the day. At the half, the Tigers were outgaining Maryland by more than a 2-1 margin.

But, the problem Towson had was turnovers. The Tigers gave Maryland the ball four times.  This had been something that did not happen through the first three games of the season. 

However, it's time to move on. Coach Rob Ambrose and his team proved they can play with an ACC football team. Now, they have to prove they can play with CAA teams.

For all of us that had looked forward to the Tigers playing the mothership for years, the reality is that the next seven games are much more important then that game against the Terps. Had Towson beaten Maryland last week and then flopped against their CAA foes, I don't think Coach Ambrose and his players would have felt satisfied. 

The Richmond Spiders will be at Johnny Unitas® Stadium this Saturday night at 7:30 p.m.  The Spiders are coming off a 31-7 loss at the hands of the James Madison Dukes. 

Richmond is 0-2 in CAA play, which is unusual for a team that is used to being at or near the top of the CAA. The Tigers come in at 1-0 in the CAA, a half game behind first place James Madison. The Tigers remained in the national rankings this week, coming in at number 25. The Spiders fell out of the top 10 and are ranked 16th after last week's loss.

For the Tigers to win this week, they will have to do what they did the first three weeks of the season - control the clock, don't turn the ball over and force their opponent to give up the ball.

Towson's defense played well on Saturday against Maryland, but the Tigers were put into some tough situations by the turnovers. The offense moved the ball, but did not do what they had not done the first three weeks, which is scoring touchdowns when they got into or near the red zone. 

A look at the CAA standings show four unbeaten teams. That will be reduced by at least one this week as Maine and James Madison face each other.

The Tigers will need to protect their home turf this week against Richmond. The Tigers hit the road the next two weeks against Old Dominion and William and Mary. Winning on the road is always the toughest thing to do in sports and it won't help that next week's game is homecoming for the Monarchs.

Follow that up with a William and Mary team that has been ranked in the top 10 all season long and you see how difficult the road is. Pun intended. 

The CAA continues to be the best conference in FCS football by far. For the first time in conference history, eight teams are ranked in the top 25. Of Towson's remaining seven games,  six of them are against top 25 teams. Their only non top 25 opponent, Rhode Island, will be played on the road. Again, no easy task.

The Tigers are expecting the biggest crowd in Unitas Stadium history this Saturday night, and if the first three home games are any indication, it will make things tough on the Richmond Spiders. A win this week over Richmond and maybe we can start thinking about the P word. You know the word - first part rhymes with clay and the second part is spelled o-f-f. ☺  

See you on the radio Saturday night.

Programming note: Join me and Damon Lewis for Tiger Talk on Thursday night at Bill Bateman's Bistro from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Coach Ambrose will join us in the second half hour to talk about this week's battle with Maryland. We will also be joined by head women's basketball coach Joe Mathews and one of his star players from this year's roster, Nyree Williams. Believe it or not, basketball season is only a month away.

If you can't make it out to Bill Bateman's, you can tune in on WNST-AM 1570 or right here on TowsonTigers.com. See you at Bateman's.