Towson University Athletics

Scoreboard

Football 10.15.2012

They Are All Big

A crowd of 10,141 came to Unitas Stadium this past Saturday wondering how the Towson University Tigers would respond to a heartbreaking loss against James Madison on October 6. To recap briefly, the Tigers took a 10-6 lead with just over three minutes left in the game against the Dukes. But Madison put together a 70-yard drive to score the winning touchdown and beat the Tigers 13-10.

Onto Unitas Stadium game the Maine Black Bears. Maine was coming off a huge 26-3 win over Delaware. So one team was coming in on a high and the other coming in off a low. Well, it was obvious early that Coach Rob Ambrose had his team ready to compete.

The Tigers ended up with over 500 yards of offense against a Maine defense that came in ranked third in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). Towson did on the ground and through the air. Grant Enders led the Tigers in rushing with 98 yards, including a 52-yard run late in the fourth quarter to give Towson a 24-13 lead. But Terrance West added 96 yards and a rushing TD. Last year when Towson beat Maine 40-30, West and Tremayne Dameron both rushed for over 100 yards. This week, Towson had the air game going as well. Enders threw for 260 yards and a touchdown as the Tigers beat Maine 24-19.

Its interesting to note that last year, when those two teams met, both were 7-2 and 5-1 in the CAA. This year both were 2-3 and 1-1 in the CAA. So now both years, the Tigers get the better of the Black Bears.

So where does this leave us. The Tigers now have a 2-1 record, a game behind JMU in the CAA title race. Obviously since they beat Towson last week, the Dukes hold the tie-breaker. New Hampshire is at 3-1, a half game ahead of the Tigers, and Villanova is also at just one loss in conference play. Towson will travel to play the Wildcats up on the Main Line October 20. But Villanova may have helped the Tigers in their game plan for this week.

The Tigers will host Old Dominion Saturday night at 7 p.m. Towson beat ODU last year in a thriller that everyone will remember as the 4th and 29 game. Late in the fourth quarter, Towson not only converted on that 4th and 29 play, they scored a 63-yard touchdown on a pass from Grant Enders to Tom Ryan to pull out the 39-35 victory over Old Dominion. This past Saturday, Villanova crushed ODU 38-14 in Norfolk, Va. on Homecoming. The Wildcats rushed for 376 yards and held Monarch quarterback Taylor Heinecke to just 232 yards passing. Just 232 you say, well, he was averaging almost 480 yards per game. This Monarch team has been scoring at a clip of about 50 points per game.

So it will be a game of styles. Towson will come into Saturday's game with the No. 5 defense in FCS, and the No. 2 passing defense in the country. What a job by Coach Hachmann and his defense. They have been as stingy as can be when the opponent tries to throw. So, with Old Dominion coming in with the No. 1 passing attack in FCS, something is going to have to give.

For the Tigers on offense, they will face one of the least effective defenses in the country. We will see which way Coach Ambrose will game plan this Tiger offense. I am sure he'll be looking closely at the Villanova tape.

You always hear folks talking about how this is a BIG game. Ask any coach and they will tell you they are ALL big games. Remember no game counts more than any other during the regular season. For Towson, whose goal is to get back to the FCS playoffs, the Tigers have to take it one week at a time. The way things have shaken out here in the first half of the regular season, a four-loss team may have a tough time getting into the post season. For the Tigers, its just win the next one and then move on.

Join Damon Lewis and me this Thursday night for another edition of Tiger Talk. We will be with you live from Bill Bateman's Bistro in Towson from 6-7 p.m. Coach Rob Ambrose will join us along with other Tiger head coaches. If you can't make it out to Bateman's, you can hear Tiger Talk right here on Towsontigers.com or on your iPhone or Android device.

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