TOWSON, Md. - There were some positives that came out of Towson's 28-3 loss against Maryland at College Park this past Saturday.
The defense gave up just 28 points to a team that had put up 31 points on West Virginia and hung 32 points on Miami. Two of the four touchdowns that the Towson defense allowed came off of turnovers in the second half. The first touchdown allowed on the first drive of the game came after a potential 4th-and-10 at the Towson 30-yard line turned into a Maryland first down after a personal foul penalty was called on the Tigers.
The Tigers had some sterling performances despite the loss. Junior Jordan Dangerfield forced a fumble while matching his career high with 13 tackles for the second straight week.
Towsons's defense is a big reason the team is off to a 3-1 start. Dangerfield and juniors Alexander DiSanzo, Frank Beltre and Danzel White have helped lead the Tigers to the top defense in the CAA by allowing 14.5 points per game.
One thing the Tigers do need to improve as they return to CAA play is their run defense, which has allowed 164.8 yards per game. Richmond, this week's opponent, is seventh in the CAA with 153.2 yards allowed per game. The Tigers' pass defense has been very solid by leading 135.2 yards per game. That pass defense will be tested this week against Richmond, who ranks fifth (227.6 yards per game).
Dangerfield leads the Tigers and is seventh in the CAA with 38 tackles. He's also tied for the CAA lead with two forced fumbles and has one interception. If there was anybody looking for respect after leading the Tigers in tackles last year and not makng any of the top three All-CAA teams, it was Dangerfield.
White led the team with 105 tackles in 2009 before sitting out last year. He tallied a season-high 15 tackles last week, the second-best single-game total of his career. White had 16 tackles and a fumble recovery against top-ranked Richmond two years. White is second on the team with 30 tackles and has a forced fumble.
A transfer from Boston College, DiSanzo had six tackles against Maryland. He has 24 tackles this season along with one tackle for loss, an interception, two pass breakups and one fumble recovery in four games.
A lot was expected of Beltre, who was the team's only member of the Preseason All-CAA team. The defensive end from Doves, N.J. finished second on the team with 85 tackles last year and was second in the CAA for tackles among defensive linemen. This year, Beltre has 25 tackles and leads the team with four tackles for loss while also posting one sack.
Around the CAA
The CAA is about as predictable as the stock market right now. James Madison leads the league with a 2-0 record and is 4-1 overall after defeating Richmond (3-2, 0-2), 31-7, at home on Saturday. This score was surprising considering the fact that they played for the first time this season without junior quarterback Justin Thorpe, who was indefinitely suspended for violating athletics department policy. On the first play of the second quarter, JMU lost Dae'Quan Scott, the team's leading rusher through four games (398 yards), because of a shoulder injury. But, the Dukes managed to rush for 297 yards against a Richmond front four that was missing three starters due to injury.
In other league action, Delaware was shocked up by Maine on the road, 31-17. The Black Bears (3-1, 1-0) put up 477 total yards of offense and scored 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter after being down, 17-14. Delaware contributed to its own demise with four turnovers.
In Norfolk, Old Dominion (4-1, 1-1) won its first conference game by defeating UMass (2-2, 1-1), which is upgrading to FBS and headed to the MAC next season. ODU not only won, but won in impressive fashion, 48-33. Once again, turnovers cost another team as the Minutemen committed four miscues and also allowed 518 total yards.
In other scores, William & Mary (3-2, 1-1) was victorious at Villanova (1-4, 0-2), 20-16. In non-conference games, Rhode Island (1-3, 0-1) fell at Brown, 35-21, and New Hampshire (3-1, 1-0) got by Holy Cross, 39-32, in Durham.
