DURHAM, N.H. – The Towson University football team got to within one score in the final quarter on a comeback attempt on the road, but fell to New Hampshire 26-14 in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) opener. 
 
Towson (1-1, 0-1 CAA), down 13 at the half, held UNH (2-0, 2-0 CAA) scoreless in the third and scored early in the fourth on a Jeff Miller pass to Caleb Smith, but UNH scored another touchdown in the fourth and held for the victory.

Key Stats:

• Stats were near even in the game, with UNH having the edge in total offense with 400 yards to Towson's 352.  Towson led in rushing with 154 yards to UNH's 139.
• Towson used two quarterbacks in the game, with Jeff Miller going 12-for-27 with 147 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions.  The primary target receiver was Ryan Rutkowski, who made four receptions to total 74 yards. 
• On the ground, Jerry Howard Jr. rushed for 97 yards on 18 carries, averaging 5.4 yards per rush.
• Towson touchdowns were scored on a two-yard rush from Devin Matthews in the second quarter and a Caleb Smith nine-yard catch from Miller in the final period.
• Defensively, S.J. Brown II and Keyvone Bruton led the Tigers with eight tackles, with the latter adding a forced fumble.  Christian Dixon had five tackles, including a tackle for loss and a half-sack.
• For UNH, Bret Edwards was 24-for-32 for 261 yards and two touchdowns in the air, handing off to Dylan Laube for 77 yards and a score.  Edwards's top target was Sean Coyne with nine receptions, 113 yards and a touchdown.
• Defensive for UNH, Elijah Lewis tallied up nine tackles and two sacks.  Evan Horn had two of UNH's four interceptions, adding eight tackles and three pass breakups.

How It Happened:

• UNH received and immediately got into Towson territory off a 22-yard pass to Kyle Lepowski.  Getting to 3^rd and one on the Towson 33, twice UNH tried to run, with S.J. Brown II stopping both runs short of the first down marker to force a turnover on downs.
• Towson got out towards midfield off a third down conversion catch by Daniel Thompson IV, but was stopped and punted.  UNH took over on its own 19 and used three pass plays of at least 11 yards to get down to the Towson red zone.  On 2^nd and one from the Towson four, Carlos Washington Jr. rushed to the left for the touchdown.  The two-point conversion failed thanks to Christian Dixon sacking the quarterback.  UNH led 6-0 with 6:49 left in the 1^st.
• Despite a third down conversion from Devin Matthews, the next play, UNH got the ball back on the Towson 39 off an interception.  Following a UNH first down, Towson held on a sack and fumble.  The 46-yard field goal attempt missed wide right, giving the ball back to Towson.
• Each side had a three-and-out, leading to the second quarter.  Chris Ferguson attempted a long pass but was intercepted.  After a return to the Towson 44, two plays later, a 32-yard rush down the sideline by Dylan Laube resulted in a touchdown.  Resulting extra point made the score 13-0 UNH with 13:26 left in the second quarter.
• After another pair of three-and-outs, Towson looked to get some momentum beginning with an 18-yard dart from Ferguson to Ryan Rutkowski.  Towson then went to the ground, including a lateral to D'Ago Hunter for 10 yards and a trip to midfield.  Another pass to Rutkowski for 16 yards, then the running game took over.  Sabias Folley and Matthews got Towson deep into UNH territory, then on the two, Matthews pounded the ball into the end zone for the score.  Extra point good, Towson trailed 13-7 with 3:16 left in the 2^nd.
• UNH responded on the next drive with a 3^rd down 54-yard pass to Sean Coyne for the touchdown.  UNH led 20-7 with 2:39 remaining in the half.
• Jeff Miller came on for Towson's final drive of the half as he passed the Tigers down to midfield, but UNH stopped the drive.  UNH led 20-7 at the break.
• Miller had the opening drive of the second half and took Towson down the field, including a great catch from Rutkowski to convert the third and 13.  Towson got to the UNH red zone, but a deflected pass was intercepted by the Wildcats on the UNH 9.
• UNH drove down the field with short passes and runs, methodically going downfield.  Again UNH lined up for a field goal, and again the Wildcats missed wide.  After Towson went three-and-out, Robert Topps III forced a fumble on the punt return and got back the ball around midfield.
• Again Towson pounded the rock with good field position, pushing to the 35 by the end of the third quarter.  Jerry Howard took more carries and burst forward into the UNH red zone, including a first down run of nine yards.  On 2^nd and nine from the UNH 11, Miller arced a pass to Caleb Smith, who made an amazing catch to stay in-bounds for the score.  Towson now trailed 20-14 with 12:21 left in the 4^th.
• UNH responded mainly with passes, aided by a couple of Towson penalties.  Another short pass to Laube from Edwards resulted in a touchdown.  Following a failed two-point conversion, UNH led 26-14 with 10 minutes remaining.
• Miller began the next drive with a throw to Smith, who kept breaking tackles to go a total of 23 yards into UNH territory.  Howard and Folley powered forward on rushes to keep pushing deeper into UNH territory, getting to the Wildcats 8.  The UNH defense held as a completion on fourth down was short of the end zone. 
• Towson's defense forced a three-and-out as the Tigers got back the ball and completed a catch to Howard to return to UNH's side of the field.  But, UNH held again and forced the incompletion on fourth down to get the ball back.  Towson did not score again and fell 26-14.

Next Game:

• Towson will get set for its first home game of 2021, hosting No. 5 North Dakota State, eight-time FCS champion, on Saturday, Sept. 18 at 6 p.m. at Johnny Unitas® Stadium. For more information, interested parties may contact the Towson Athletics ticket office by visiting www.towsontigers.com, calling 1-855-TU-TIGER or emailing jbehringer@towson.edu. Information for promotions will be announced at a future date.

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