For the first time since 2013, the Towson University football team finds itself in the top five in the latest FCS polls. How'd the Tigers get there? By beating the No. 7 University of Maine Black Bears this past Saturday night.
Not only did the Tigers win, they did it convincingly. Towson won going away 45-23. The highlight of the victory was the defense coming up with four interceptions. Chris Ferguson, the Maine quarterback had thrown just one interception in the first two games on 76 attempts.
The Tigers also came a half yard from having
Keon Paye intercept a pass and return it for a touchdown for the second week in a row. How about this: Prior to the home opener, Towson had not intercepted a pass and returned it for a TD in almost four years. And here they almost did it for the second week in a row.
Last year the Tigers' intercepted eight passes the entire season. Through three weeks this year, Towson has seven interceptions under new defensive coordinator
Eric Daniels.
The road for the Tigers path for perfection doesn't get much easier this week. The Villanova Wildcats, who also boast a 3-0 record, come to Johnny Unitas ® Stadium this Saturday night at 6 p.m. Last year, the Tigers went to Villanova to face a 2-0 Wildcat team that had beaten FBS Temple two weeks prior. Towson walked out of Villanova Stadium with a 45-35 win, and started Villanova on to a losing season.
So the Wildcats will come into The U on Saturday night looking for revenge. Plus, being a top five team puts a huge bullseye on the Tigers' backs. Villanova will come having won all three of its games against Patriot League teams.
Meanwhile, The Citadel, the team Towson beat in week one, upset Georgia Tech. Interesting fact: The Citadel is 1-0 vs the ACC, and 0-2 against the CAA, having also lost to Elon.
A victory by the Tigers on Saturday would really go a long way in their quest to not just get back into the playoffs this season, but also enhance their chances of winning a CAA Football title. But first things first, win Saturday against Villanova.
Congratulations to Steven Brown. The junior safety from California is the winner of this week's CAA Football Defensive Player of the Week. Brown led the Tigers with nine tackles plus an interception. It was also his first start. With
Coby Tippett at the other safety, the Tigers' deep secondary may be second to none in the league. Tippett has an interception in each of the first three games.
In the Tigers' first home game, over 8300 showed up. Hopefully this week we get at least that many into The U. Should be a heck of a night.
If you can't make it out to The U, Gordy Combs and I will have the call on CBS Sportsradio 1300 and TowsonTigers.com starting at 5:45 p.m.
Until next week, GO TIGERS!!!
