The Game: #17/18 Towson (4-1, 2-0 CAA) vs. William & Mary (2-3, 1-1 CAA)
When: Sat., Oct. 13, 4 p.m. kickoff
Where: Johnny Unitas® Stadium – Towson, Md.
Online Broadcast: CAA.tv
Radio: CBS Sports Radio 1300
----Broadcasters: Spiro Morekas (PxP), Gordy Combs (Analyst)
Series: W&M leads 9-5
 
TOWSON, Md. –  The No. 17/18 Towson University football team rides its three-game winning streak on Saturday, Oct. 13 at 4 p.m., hosting CAA-foe William & Mary at Johnny Unitas® Stadium on Family Weekend to complete a three-game homestand.
 
Tickets are available now by calling 1-855-TU-TIGER or email 4tigertix@towson.edu.
 
The game will be broadcast online on CAA.tv and on the radio on CBS Sports 1300.  Spiro Morekas, the Voice of the Tigers, will be on the call live from Towson, joined by Gordy Combs.
 
Following its big victory over then No. 13/13 Stony Brook, Towson surged six spots in each of the polls to come in at No. 17 in the STATS FCS Poll and No. 18 in the AFCA Coaches Poll.  William & Mary is not ranked in either poll.
 
Towson and William & Mary have played each year since 2011 and all but one season since 2004, first meeting in 1992.  Towson has won the last two meetings, including a 26-14 victory on November 11th last year in Williamsburg, and five of the last seven, but William & Mary leads the all-time series 9-5.
 
A Tiger victory would guarantee that Towson has a winning record at home during the regular season for the fourth straight year.
 
Towson Notches Top-10 Victory at Villanova...
With Towson's 45-35 win over No. 10 Villanova on September 15th, the Tigers earned their first victory over a top-10 opponent since December 21, 2013, when the team defeated #3 Eastern Washington on the road in the FCS Playoffs.
 
Down 14-0 after 5:01 of play, Towson rallied for 35 straight points against Villanova and held the lead the rest of the way.
 
...Then Defeats No. 13 Stony Brook at Home
Three weeks after the victory over Villanova, Towson battled No. 13 Stony Brook at home, taking down the Seawolves 52-28 on October 6th for the second top-15 victory of the season.
 
Towson scored three unanswered touchdowns in the opening 10 minutes and did not relinquish the lead, having as much as a 31-point advantage in the 4th quarter.
 
This was the first matchup of ranked teams at Unitas Stadium since then No. 4 Towson's victory over No. 10 Fordham in the FCS Playoffs in 2013.
 
Towson Football Celebrating 50th Year
The Towson University football program is celebrating its 50th year this season.
 
Since its start in 1969, Towson has two national runner-up finishes (1976, 2013), two CAA titles (2011, 2012), an undefeated season in 1974 and 11 seasons, across Division III, II and I-AA (FCS), finishing in the top-26 nationally.
 
The celebration started with a meeting of all four Towson head coaches on June 20th: Carl Runk (1969-71), Phil Albert (1972-91), Gordy Combs (1992-2008) and Rob Ambrose (2009-present).
 
Towson Ranked Top-18 in Both Polls
Having won its last three games, including wins over then top-15 Villanova and Stony Brook, Towson stands in the top-18 in each major poll.  The Tigers are at #17 in the STATS FCS Poll and #18 in the AFCA Coaches Poll.
 
Towson has been ranked each of the past three weeks, going up six spots in each poll from last week.  Towson had been ranked at some point in each season from 2011 through 2014, including as high as #2 in the 2013 season.
 
The CAA currently has seven of its 12 teams ranked, tying a league record plus is the highest among all FCS conferences.  Elon (#5 in STATS, #6 in Coaches), James Madison (#6, #8), Rhode Island (#16, #15), Stony Brook (#19, #20), Maine (#21, #22) and Villanova (NR, #25) are also in the rankings.  Delaware is also receiving votes.
 
Towson All-Time vs. William & Mary
The Tigers and the Tribe have met 14 times, including each year since 2011, all but one season since 2004 and having its first meeting in 1992. 
 
William & Mary leads the all-time series vs. Towson 9-5, with Towson having won the last two and five of the previous six.
 
This game has two of the four longest tenured head coaches in the CAA.  Rob Ambrose is in his 10th year at Towson, while Jimmye Laycock is in his 39th season at the helm of William & Mary.
 
Under Ambrose, Towson is 5-3 against William & Mary.
 
All-time at home, Towson has a 2-4 record against William & Mary.
 
Date                Location                     Result
10/17/92          Williamsburg, Va.        L, 15-43
10/30/04          Towson, Md.               L, 16-41
10/22/05          Williamsburg, Va.        L, 13-44
11/4/06            Towson, Md.               L, 28-29
9/29/07            Williamsburg, Va.        L, 22-29
11/1/08            Towson, Md.               L, 14-34
11/7/09            Williamsburg, Va.        L, 0-31
10/22/11          Williamsburg, Va.        W, 38-27
9/15/12            Towson, Md.               W, 20-17
11/16/13          Williamsburg, Va.        W, 15-9
11/15/14          Towson, Md.               L, 14-37
11/14/15          Williamsburg, Va.        L, 17-31
11/12/16          Towson, Md.               W, 34-24
11/11/17          Williamsburg, Va.        W, 26-14
 
Last Time vs. W&M (Towson 26, W&M 14)
(11/11/17 - Williamsburg, Va.)
Towson scored 14 points in the opening 2:40 of the fourth quarter to come back to defeat William & Mary 26-14, Towson's first conference road win of 2017.
Passing
Ryan Stover (TU): 13-23, 140 yards, 1 INT
Tommy McKee (W&M): 18-27, 168 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing
Kobe Young (TU): 11 rush, 52 yards, 1 TD
Albert Funderburke (W&M): 13 rush, 58 yards
Receiving
Jabari Greenwood (TU): 4 catches, 39 yards
Jack Armstrong (W&M): 3 catches, 54 yards
Defense
Coby Tippett (TU): 14 tackles
Keon Paye (TU): 9 tackles, 0.5 sack
Nate Atkins (W&M): 9 tackles
Josh Dulaney (W&M): 7 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 1 sack
 
Flacco Earns FCS National Offensive Player of the Week Honor
With a staggering 438 yards of total offense vs. The Citadel, Tom Flacco was selected as the STATS FCS National Offensive Player of the Week.
 
Flacco finished the game with 253 passing yards and 185 rushing yards in the game.   His 438 yards of total offense was greater than The Citadel, which had 404 yards of total offense.
 
He also was an Honorable Mention CFPA National Performer of the Week, an award that, to date, he has won three times this season.
 
Last Time Out (Towson 52, Stony Brook 28)
(10/6/18 - Towson, Md.)
Towson scored the first 21 points en route to defeating Stony Brook 52-28, the first victory over a ranked program at Unitas Stadium since 2013.
Passing
Tom Flacco (TU): 23-33, 319 yards, 4 TD
Joe Carbone (SBU): 15-24, 195 yards, 2 TD
Rushing
Tom Flacco (TU): 5 rush, 37 yards
Donald Liotine (SBU): 9 rush, 47 yards
Receiving
Shane Leatherbury (TU): 9 catches, 129 yards
Marshall Ellick (SBU): 5 catches, 77 yards, 2 TD
Defense
Robert Heyward (TU): 10 tackles
Mantriel Reaves (TU): 7 tackles, 1 FR
Shayne Lawless (SBU): 9 tackles, 1 TFL
Casey Williams (SBU): 9 tackles, 1 TFL
 
Towson Picked 10th in CAA Preseason Poll
Towson was voted 10th in the CAA preseason poll, voted on by the league's head coaches and media relations directors.  Towson went 5-6 last season and finished tied for seventh in the CAA at 3-5.
CAA Preseason Poll (first place votes, points)
1. James Madison (21), 241
2. New Hampshire (2), 206
3. Delaware, 182
4. Stony Brook, 169
5. Elon (1), 168
6. Villanova, 164
7. Richmond, 127
8. Maine, 81
9. UAlbany, 78
10. Towson, 74
11. William & Mary, 55
12. Rhode Island, 39
 
Top Passing QB in the CAA........
Tom Flacco has already turned heads this season, standing as the #1 QB in the CAA in passing yards a game with 296.4 and total offense with 361.6 yards a contest.  He is currently throwing 69.0% from the air.
 
Flacco's 296.4 passing yards a game stands 9th in all of FCS football, while his 23.6 completions a contest is 10th.
 
His 438 total offensive yards in the game vs. The Citadel is currently the second-highest single game total by a CAA player this season.  In that game, he had 253 passing yards and 185 yards on the ground.
 
....and Getting His Name in Towson Records
Tom Flacco completed 35 (out of 51) passes against Wake Forest on September 8th, tying for seventh all-time in Towson history in a single game.
 
Flacco was the first Tiger to earn over 30 completions in a game since Sean Schaefer in 2008.
 
Streaking Shane
Shane Leatherbury stands in the top-3 in the CAA in numerous categories, including being second with 100.0 receiving yards a game (18th in FCS) and first with 6.4 receptions a contest (t-17th in FCS).
 
Tigers in the NFL
With the National Football League starting on Sept. 9th, two Tigers made active rosters.  At the beginning of the season, Jordan Dangerfield '13 made the Pittsburgh Steelers roster while Jermon Bushrod '07 continues his career with the New Orleans Saints.
 
On October 7th, Ryan Delaire, who was with the Indianapolis Colts in the preseason, joined the San Francisco 49ers active roster.
 
Tye Smith '15 is with the Tennessee Titans, but was injured and is not on the active roster.    Two other Tigers, Darius Victor '17 and Terrance West '14, were with the Colts and Saints respectively in the preseason.
 
In addition, Frank Beltre '13 competed with the Toronto Argonauts in the Canadian Football League in 2018.
 
Towson University Finishes 2nd in Helper Helper Community Service
As a university, Towson finished second nationally in the 2018 NCAA Team Works Helper Helper Community Service Competition from January to April 2018.
 
With football in the mix, Towson student-athletes participated in 44 events during the competitions, logging 6,427 hours of community service.
 
Ambrose - 4th Longest Tenured CAA Coach
Head coach Rob Ambrose is serving at the helm of Towson for his 10th season in 2018, making him the 4th-longest tenured coach in the CAA.
 
With William & Mary's Jimmye Laycock (39th season) retiring after the 2018 season, Ambrose will move up to 3rd in tenure next year. 
 
Also ahead of Ambrose in years is New Hampshire's Sean McDonnell (20th season) and Stony Brook's Chuck Priore (13th season).
 
O'Neill Sets School Career FG Record
Junior Aidan O'Neill set a new school all-time record for career field goals made on September 1st.  In his career, O'Neill has connected on 40 field goals, including four on September 1st vs. Morgan State to set the new record.
 
His surpassed the mark set by Ed Kulic (1998-2001) and Randy Bielski (1976-79) for the previous all-time record of 32.  O'Neill also holds the single-season record with 18 made field goals in 2016.
 
Wallace Approaching Towson Top-10 in Tackles
Senior Diondre Wallace has 244 career tackles, including 137 unassisted, earning at least 45 tackles each of his first three seasons.
 
19 more tackles would place Wallace in the top-10 all time in Towson history.  Randy Bielski had 263 tackles from 1976-79.
 
The all-time leader in tackles in Towson history is Jeff Boller, who had 382 from 1979-82.
 
Scouting William & Mary
William & Mary earned its first CAA victory since 2016 with a 25-22 comeback win over UAlbany on Saturday.
 
William & Mary is coached by Jimmye Laycock in his 39th year.  Laycock will be retiring following the 2018 season, having 247 victories all-time with his alma mater, the most ever for an FCS coach.
 
The team is last in scoring offense in the CAA, averaging 11.2 points a game.  At quarterback is sophomore Shon Mitchell,  who completes 63.6% of his passes with 1,059 yards, four touchdowns and four interceptions.  His primary target has nearly half of the team's receiving yards: senior wide receiver DeVonte Dedmon, a Williamsburg native, has 29 catches for 492 yards, third-most in the CAA, and four touchdowns.
 
Two running backs have taken the bulk of the carries for the Tribe.  Junior Albert Funderburke has rushed 53 times for 165 yards while redshirt freshman Owen Wright has 36 carries for 101 yards.
 
The Tribe defense allows 407 yards of offense per game for 33 points allowed a contest.  The top tackler of the team is junior safety Isaiah Lester with 34, adding an interception.  Cornerback Raeshawn Smith is second with 31 tackles.
 
Junior defensive tackle Bill Murray has a team-best 1.5 sacks, totaling 23 tackles.  Also on the line at end, redshirt freshman Carl Fowler has made 17 tackles, including five for loss.