The Game: #13/14 Towson (5-1, 3-0 CAA) vs. UAlbany (2-4, 0-3 CAA)
When: Sat., Oct. 20, 3:30 p.m. kickoff
Where: Tom & Mary Casey Stadium – Albany, N.Y.
Online Broadcast: CAA.tv
----Broadcasters: Rodger Wyland (PxP), Brian Mariano (Analyst)
Radio: CBS Sports Radio 1300
----Broadcasters: Spiro Morekas (PxP), Gordy Combs (Analyst)
Series: Towson leads 3-2
 
ALBANY, N.Y. –  The No. #13/14 Towson University football team returns to the road for its next two games, heading north to play UAlbany for the first since 2013 on Saturday, Oct. 20th at 3:30 p.m.
 
The game will be broadcast online on CAA.tv.  Spiro Morekas, the Voice of the Tigers, will be on the CBS Sports 1300 radio call live from Albany, joined by Gordy Combs.
 
Towson has risen for the fourth consecutive week in the national rankings after its 29-13 victory over William & Mary to come in at #13 in the STATS FCS Poll and #14 in the AFCA Coaches Poll.  UAlbany, coming off a 27-24 home defeat vs. Richmond, is not ranked in either poll.  Towson has won four straight to come in at 5-1 overall and 3-0 in the CAA while UAlbany has lost its last two for records of 2-4 overall and 0-3 in the CAA.
 
Towson and UAlbany are meeting for the sixth time, including first time since 2013, the year the Great Danes entered the Colonial Athletic Association for football.  The Tigers lead the all-time series 3-2, including winning 44-17 in 2013.  Towson has won the last two meetings.
 
Towson is celebrating its 50th year of football in 2018.  Towson established its first team in 1969, winning 272 games since its beginning under four total head coaches.   In its history, Towson has two national runner-up finishes (1976, 2013), two CAA titles (2011, 2012) and 11 seasons, across Division III, II and I-AA (FCS), finishing in the top-26 nationally.
 
Towson Notches Top-10 Victory at Villanova...
With Towson's 45-35 win over #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 #13 Stony Brook at Home
Three weeks after the victory over Villanova, Towson battled #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 #4 Towson's victory over #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-14 in Both Polls
Having won its last four games, including wins over then top-15 Villanova and Stony Brook, Towson stands in the top-14 in each major poll.  The Tigers are at #13 in the STATS FCS Poll and #14 in the AFCA Coaches Poll.
 
Towson has been ranked each of the past four weeks, going up four 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.  James Madison (#4 in STATS, #5 in Coaches), Elon (#11, #11), Maine (#16, #20), Stony Brook (#18, #17), Rhode Island (#22, #23) and Delaware (#24, #25) are also in the rankings.  Villanova is also receiving votes.
 
Towson All-Time vs. UAlbany
The Tigers and the Great Danes have met five times in history, including the first meeting back in 1970, Towson's second year of football.
 
Towson leads the all-time series 3-2, having won the first meeting and the last two. 
 
UAlbany entered the CAA in 2013, the same year as the last meeting with Towson.  The Tigers won that battle 44-17, the only meeting with Rob Ambrose as coach.
 
All-time in Albany, Towson has a 1-2 record against the Great Danes.
 
Date           Location               Result
10/24/70__ Towson, Md.___ W, 69-14
10/7/78___ Albany, N.Y.____ L, 28-37
9/1/01____ Albany, N.Y.____ L, 10-14
11/15/03__ Towson, Md.___ W, 35-16
10/19/13__ Albany, N.Y.___ W, 44-17
 
Welcome to New York, It's Been Waiting For You
Since the addition of Stony Brook and UAlbany to the CAA in 2013, Towson will play at least one game in the Empire State for the fourth season in the last six years.
 
Previous to 2013, Towson's last game in the state of New York was at Columbia in 2010.
 
Towson has six players that hail from New York, including Albany-native Caleb Smith, who played at the La Salle Institute.
 
Last Time vs. UAlbany (Towson 44, UAlbany 17)
(10/19/13 - Albany, N.Y.)
Down 7-0 late in the first quarter, #7 Towson used 24 straight points and 573 yards of total offense, including 301 rushing yards to eclipse UAlbany 44-17.
Passing
Peter Athens (TU): 22-33, 294 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT
Will Fiacchi (UA): 17-35, 126 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing
Terrance West (TU): 22 rush, 183 yards, 2 TD
Omar Osbourne (UA): 16 rush, 50 yards
Receiving
Spencer Wilkins (TU): 6 catches, 129 yards, 1 TD
Jameel Gay (UA): 2 catches, 31 yards, 1 TD
Defense
Tye Smith (TU): 11 tackles, 0.5 TFL, 1 FF
Telvion Clark (TU): 8 tackles, 3 TFL
Christian Dorsey (UA): 11 tackles, 1 FF
Andrew Smith (UA): 7 tackles, 3 TFL
 
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 29, W&M 13)
(10/13/18 - Towson, Md.)
Towson scored 19 unanswered points in the second half to take down William & Mary 29-13 for its fourth consecutive victory in front of 8,022 at Unitas Stadium.
Passing
Tom Flacco (TU): 17-26, 188 yards, 1 TD
Dean Rotger (W&M): 12-18, 92 yards
Rushing
Tom Flacco (TU): 16 rush, 109 yards
Albert Funderburke (W&M): 16 rush, 50 yards, 1 TD
Receiving
Shane Simpson (TU): 3 catches, 48 yards
Chris Conlon (W&M): 4 catches, 40 yards
Defense
Robert Heyward (TU): 13 tackles, 0.5 TFL
Bryce Carter (TU): 10 tackles, 2 sacks, 2.5 TFL
Isaiah Lester (W&M): 10 tackles
Josh Dulaney (W&M): 8 tackles, 1 sack, 1 FF
 
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 278.3 and total offense with 350.8 yards a contest.  He is currently throwing 68.5% from the air.
 
Flacco's 278.3 passing yards a game stands 14th 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-5 in the CAA in numerous categories, including being fourth with 88.5 receiving yards a game (27th in FCS) and fourth with 5.8 receptions a contest (29th in FCS).
 
Simpson Racking Up Yards
Shane Simpson has been a deadly weapon for Towson, standing second in all of FCS football with 173.8 all-purpose yards a game.
 
The redshirt junior is Towson's primary running back, kick returner and punt returner., totaling 1,043 all-purpose yards off 299 rushing, 142 receiving, 533 kick returning and 69 punt returning yardage.
 
He has also scored at least one touchdown in all six Towson games.  He has eight touchdowns on the season.
 
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, joined the San Francisco 49ers active roster, but was waived two weeks later.
 
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.
 
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 41 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 256 career tackles, including 144 unassisted, earning at least 45 tackles  in all four seasons played.
 
Seven 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.
 
Fenner Rising Up the INT Ranks
Including one interception this year, redshirt senior Monty Fenner has six picks in his collegiate career.  He is two away from tying for 10th all-time in Towson history.
 
Towson's all-time leader in interceptions is Gary Rubeling, with 25 from 1980-83.
 
Scouting UAlbany
UAlbany, looking for its first CAA victory, is 2-1 at home this season.
 
The Great Danes are coached by Greg Gattuso in his fifth season.  Gattuso formerly was the head coach at Duquesne for 12 seasons and has 120 career victories across the two programs.
 
UAlbany is ninth in the CAA in scoring offense with 24 points scored a game and sixth in total offense off 383 yards a game.  Vincent Testaverde, the son of NFL quarterback Vinny Testaverde, is second in the CAA, only to Tom Flacco, in total offense with 229.2 yards a game, passing 54.7% with nine touchdowns.
 
Testaverde's primary target is a three-time CAA Rookie of the Week: freshman and Albany-local Dev Holmes leads the conference with 100.8 receiving yards a game, having five touchdowns.
 
On the ground is redshirt junior Elijah Ibitokun-Hanks, a former STATS All-American in 2016.  This year, he is fourth in the CAA with 91.3 rushing yards a game with three touchdowns, while backup sophomore and Baltimore-native Karl Mofor has 272 yards and two touchdowns.
 
Allowing 30.8 points per game, UAlbany stands 10th in the CAA in points allowed per game, also being 10th with 377.7 yards allowed a contest.  The team's leader in tackles is redshirt sophomore Levi Metheny, tied for second in the CAA in tackles per game to total 55 on the year, adding six tackles for loss.  Penn State transfer Antoine White has 19 tackles and 2.5 sacks on the defensive line while junior Tyler Carswell has the most tackles from the secondary with 50.