TOWSON, Md. – Including its best first half of the season, the Towson University football team earned a 31-3 run to begin the game to take down UAlbany 38-24 at Johnny Unitas® Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
 
With the victory, Towson (4-4, 3-2 CAA) has earned its third straight win at home, including scoring four rushing touchdowns against UAlbany (0-8, 0-6 CAA).  Towson's 31-3 advantage through the first 44 minutes of the game held up against a late UAlbany push.
 
Towson had 259 rushing yards, the most in a game since Oct. 19, 2019 (Bucknell, 328) and the most in league contest since Nov. 12, 2016 (William & Mary, 274).
 
Key Stats:

• UAlbany outgained Towson on offense 444-387, mainly on passing with 354 yards compared to Towson's 259 rushing yards.  Big difference in the game came on the turnovers, with Towson forcing three compared to one for UAlbany.
• Jerry Howard Jr. earned a career-high in rushing, bolting for 145 yards off 19 carries, averaging 7.6 yards a carry, adding a touchdown.  It is the most amount of yards for a Towson running back in a game since Yeedee Thaenrat had 158 yards at William & Mary on Nov. 16, 2019. 
• Rounding out the running backs, Devin Matthews had 41 yards and two touchdowns while D'Ago Hunter rushed five times for 64 yards and a score.
• At quarterback, Chris Ferguson went 11-for-19 for 128 yards without a score or pick.  His top target was Albany-native Caleb Smith, who made three catches for 32 yards.
• On defense, Mark Collins had a hand in two turnovers with a pick six for 80 yards and a fumble recovery, adding seven tackles.  Brandon Shuman led all Tigers in tackles with nine, including one for loss, while Christian Dixon notched six tackles and a forced fumble.
• Keegan Vaughan was a perfect 5-for-5 on extra points and converted his lone field goal attempt from 21 yards.
• For UAlbany, quarterback Jeff Undercuffler threw 28-for-41 with 354 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, also having a fumble lost.  Two of his targets had over 125 yards: Roy Alexander had eight catches for 166 yards and a score while Jackson Parker finished with 13 receptions, 126 yards and a touchdown.  Baltimore-native Karl Mofor rushed for 88 yards on 19 carries, scoring a touchdown in the fourth quarter.  Danny Damico led all players with 15 total tackles, including a tackle for loss.

Postgame Quote:
Towson head coach Rob Ambrose: "UAlbany is a very good football team, I'm proud that we are the only CAA team to defeat them by more than one score.  We needed to start fast and hot and we did that for two-and-a-half quarters.  Despite us giving them too many opportunities in the second half, I'm very proud of my guys for answering the bell today."
 
How It Happened:

• Towson's ground game got off to a roaring start: on the second play, Jerry Howard Jr. broke for 41 yards down the right side to the UAlbany 30.  Howard continued to push into UAlbany territory, getting stopped at the four.  Keegan Vaughan converted the field goal from 21 yards for a 3-0 Towson lead five minutes in.
• UAlbany relied on runs and short passes for bursts to get down the field, beginning with a quick pass to Jackson Parker for 15 yards.  Switching up quarterbacks between Jeff Undercuffler and Joey Garino, UAlbany got into the red zone.  A big tackle on Parker by S.J. Brown II stopped UAlbany's momentum briefly, but the Great Danes got to the two.  On second down, Undercuffler fumbled the ball on the two, recovered by Elorm Lumor as Towson held on defense.
• A 24-yard catch by Albany native Caleb Smith converted a 3^rd down into the second quarter as Towson found room across the middle on passes.  Into UAlbany territory facing fourth down, Devin Matthews burst up the middle for three yards for a new set of downs.  A pass to D'Ago Hunter got down to the UAlbany 1.  Towson pounded forward but was short twice, then a direct snap to Matthews for the two-yard score on the run made it 10-0 Towson with 9:33 left in the second quarter.
• Karl Mofor led the Great Danes on the next drive with a couple of bursts forward, using rushes of 14, 11 and 17 through holes in the offensive line to get to the Towson 19.  Next play, Mark Collins Jr. jumped a route for an interception, returning the ball 80 yards for a touchdown.  Towson led 17-0 with 6:08 left in the half.
• Towson forced a three-and-out, spearheaded by a Brandon Shuman tackle in the backfield of Roy Alexander.  Towson started with three straight big plays, a 21-yard pass to Jason Epps, a 14-yard catch by Ty'Shaun Granger then a rush by Matthews for 12 yards.  A pass interference call got Towson to the UAlbany 8, then Howard got the Tigers to the 1.  Matthews again got the direct snap and burst up the middle for the score, pushing the score to 24-0 in the closing minute of the half.  Towson led by 24 at the break.
• UAlbany started with a 40-yard burst on a completion to Roy Alexander to the Towson 35.  UAlbany again looked to convert a first down, then Christian Dixon stripped the receiver at the Towson 22, picked up by Collins to give the ball back to Towson.  Towson went three-and-out and punted the ball back to UAlbany.
• Again UAlbany came up with a big passing play early on a drive with a second down deep pass and completion to Alexander for 47 yards.  Mofor pounded forward, then on third and goal on the eight, Towson held on an incompletion by Undercuffler.  Dylan Burns converted the 25-yard field goal to make it 24-3 Towson with 6:34 left in the third quarter.
• Towson responded in a big way, starting with rushes from Howard, Chris Ferguson and Matthews to get to the UAlbany.  D'Ago Hunter burst down the right side for 43 yards, dashing into the end zone for the rushing touchdown, pushing Towson up 31-3 with 3:29 left in the third.
• Undercuffler got UAlbany into the end zone on the next drive on several passes, completing the attempt on a 22-yard pass to the right side to Alexander for the touchdown with seconds left in the third quarter.  Towson led 31-10 after three.
• First play of the fourth quarter, Matthews was stripped on a pass and UAlbany recovered on the Towson 29.  Two plays later, UAlbany scored on a five-yard run by Mofor to put the score at 31-17 Towson with just over 14 minutes to go in the game.
• Towson went three-and-out and had to punt again.  The Tigers responded with their own forced three-and-out, holding on a Lumor broken up pass on third and four.  However, another three-and-out sent the ball back to UAlbany with 9:32 remaining.
• Next drive, a sack in the backfield by Vinnie Shaffer set up a third and 16.  After a Mofor rush, Undercuffler's pass was ruled a first down to Parker, but review showed he was short a yard, giving the ball to Towson on a turnover on downs.
• Each side then exchanged a turnover on downs, with Towson failing to convert a fourth down around midfield, then a Mofor fumble on fourth down on the other side stopped UAlbany's progress and gave the ball back to the Tigers.
• The Towson rushing game started running out the clock, including a 25-yard burst by Howard.  Howard scored a touchdown on an eight-yard run up the left side to put Towson up by 21 with 1:43 left.
• UAlbany had a final gasp in them, completing passes down the field to Alexander and Parker.  Parker completed a pass for 11 yards in the final seconds for a touchdown, then Towson recovered the onside kick to end the game.  Towson took the victory 38-24.

Inside the Numbers

• Towson's 24 points in the first half is the most this season in the opening 30 minutes, surpassing the 17 points scored at Morgan State on Sept. 4.
• The Tigers earn their top offensive output of the season with 38 points, the most since scoring 56 vs. Bucknell on Oct. 19, 2019.  It is the most in a league game since putting 45 points on Villanova on Sept. 21, 2019.
• Jerry Howard Jr. has earned a pair of 100-yard rushing days this year, notching 106 on the ground vs. Rhode Island on Oct. 16.
• Devin Matthews had his second two-touchdown game of the year, with the other coming vs. Rhode Island on Oct. 16.  The Falls Church, Virginia native had scored at least one touchdown in the last four games.
• Ty'Shaun Granger earned his first career catch on a 12-yard reception in the second quarter.

Next Game:

• Next Saturday, Nov. 6, Towson returns to Virginia to take on Richmond at 2 p.m.

- TowsonTigers.com –