For Sgt. Pepper it was 20 years ago today he taught the band to play. For the Towson University football team, it will be almost seven years to the day that the Tigers last played an SEC football team.
Sept. 29, 2012, the Tigers traveled to Baton Rouge, Louisiana to take on the No. 3 LSU Tigers. It was the first time Towson ever played a game against an SEC football team and the first time they ever put a scare into a Top 5 FBS team.
This Saturday, the Tigers get another crack at a Southeastern Conference school when they travel to Gainesville, Florida to take on the No. 8 University of Florida Gators. The 4 p.m. kickoff will mark the second SEC opponent in school history.
Back to 2012. With 5:15 remaining in the second quarter, Towson capped off a four play, 45-yard drive with a
Terrance West 1 yard touchdown run to take a 9-7 lead over LSU. All of a sudden, Towson was on the minds of just about every football fan in America. Towson football was the number one trending item on Twitter. It was glorious while it lasted.
The Tigers would go on to lose to those LSU Tigers by a final of 38-22. But it was a night that really put Towson football on the national landscape. They put a real scare into LSU. Now, they have the opportunity to do it again.
When the Tigers take to the field on Saturday in Florida, they will be coming off of a 52-45 overtime loss to Villanova. The takeaway from the game Saturday night with the Wildcats is that the defense is going to have to come up with a way to get pressure on the opposing quarterback. Daniel Smith of Villanova had way too much time to throw the ball, and it hurt the Tigers on the final drive in regulation that allowed the Wildcats to tie the game and send it to overtime.
Last week, Florida started Kyle Trask at quarterback for the first time. In watching his game against Tennessee, the redshirt junior went through most of the first half without being touched. The Tigers will have to get some pressure on the QB.
One thing the Towson defense is doing and doing well, is coming up with interceptions. The Tigers intercepted Villanova twice and in four games Towson has nine interceptions. In 2018, the Tigers had a total of eight interceptions. If they can get a couple of turnovers on defense while playing a clean game on the offensive side of the ball, who knows? Towson football could be the number one trending thing on Twitter once again as the sun sets over the east coast.
It happened almost seven years ago to the day. Why not again???
Gordy Combs and I will have the call on CBS Sports Radio 1300 and TowsonTigers.com starting at 3:45 p.m. We hope you will tune in.
Until next week, GO TIGERS!!!
