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SDSU Huddle
Towson Athletics
21
Towson TOW 1-3 , 0-1
48
Winner San Diego State SDS 4-0 , 0-0
Towson TOW
1-3 , 0-1
21
Final
48
San Diego State SDS
4-0 , 0-0
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
TOW Towson 7 7 0 7 21
SDS San Diego State 7 14 24 3 48

Game Recap: Football |

Towson Football Strong Early Start Does Not Hold at FBS Opponent San Diego State

CARSON, Calif. – The Towson University football team scored the first touchdown of the game and held on the first three defensive possessions at FBS opponent San Diego State, but the Aztecs rallied and took a 48-21 victory over the Tigers.
 
Towson (1-3) was sparked by a highlight reel run by Jerry Howard Jr. as the defense held in the early going, but San Diego State (4-0), which is receiving votes in the FBS polls, took the lead with three straight touchdowns.  A Caleb Smith four-yard receiving touchdown in the final seconds of the half pulled Towson within a score at the break, but SDSU kept the lead in the second half and took the victory.
 
Towson trailed just by one score at halftime, having 215 total yards of offense at the break to SDSU's 194.
 
Key Stats:
  • Chris Ferguson passed for 213 yards off 19-for-35 with three touchdowns and one pick.  His top target was Caleb Smith, who caught the ball nine times for 65 yards and a touchdown.  Daniel Thompson IV caught the ball twice for 58 yards and a touchdown while Jerry Howard Jr. had a highlight reel jump and score off a 19-yard catch.  Howard also had the most rush yards with 19 off 12 rushes.
  • On the defensive end, Keyvone Bruton led Towson in tackles with nine, including a sack and a total of 1.5 tackles for loss, while Mark Collins had his first interception as a Tiger, adding seven tackles.
  • D'Ago Hunter earned a 73-yard kickoff return in the fourth quarter, finishing with 117 total kickoff return yards in three chances.
  • For SDSU, three different running backs, Chance Bell, Jordan Byrd and Kaegun Williams, had at least 75 yards and a score as the Aztecs combined for 281 yards on the ground.  Lucas Johnson passed 16-for-25 for 149 yards, a touchdown and an interception.  Patrick McMorris tallied up eight tackles and a pass breakup on defense.   
Postgame Quote:
Towson head coach Rob Ambrose: "San Diego State is a great, tough football team.  We were a little overmatched, we knew we had to do things a little differently, just wasn't good enough to get the win.  After last week, to be down a score at halftime, there is confidence to be gained from that."
 
How It Happened:
  • In help with a fumble on first down, the Towson defense forced a three-and-out on San Diego State's opening possession as Towson took over after the punt on its own seven.  A rollout pass to Jason Epps for 18 yards got a first down for Towson, but SDSU held on the next set of downs to force a Towson punt.
  • Next drive, SDSU came down with a couple of passes, but on third down and 11, Mark Collins Jr. jumped in front of a receiver down the sideline for the interception.  Towson drove down the field, with Chris Ferguson finding Daniel Thompson IV down the sideline for 49 yards into the red zone.  Two players later, a drop off to Jerry Howard Jr. to the left: Howard jumped over a diving defender to complete a 19-yard catch and touchdown, giving the Tigers the lead 7-0 with 5:36 in the 1st.
  • The Towson defense again held SDSU to a three-and-out with a holding call on the Aztecs forcing them back.  Taking over on its own 12, D'Ago Hunter barreled forward with two runs for a combined 19 yards.  But a clipping penalty and a lost fumble gave the ball back to SDSU on the Towson 15.  SDSU got a first down and later scored on an eight-yard touchdown by Kaegun Williams to make it 7-7, the eventual end of first quarter score.
  • Ferguson threw a dart to Epps on the right side for 15 yards, but Towson's drive was halted at its own 36.  Shane McDonough punted 54 yards to the SDSU 10 where the Aztecs took over on offense.
  • SDSU went to the ground, and despite a couple of solo tackles from Keyvone Bruton, broke through on the first set of downs.  Lucas Johnson led the Aztec air attack down the field, getting into the red zone on a 15-yard pass to Isaiah Richardson.  Two plays later, Jordan Byrd rushed 12 yards to the left and got into the end zone on the dive to give SDSU a 14-7 lead with 7:56 left in the 2nd.
  • Following a Towson three-and-out, SDSU mainly used the rush to come down the field again.  Williams had two rushes of over 16 yards each to get the team to the Towson 16, then a Johnson pass to Elijah Kothe to the end zone resulted in a touchdown as SDSU led 21-7 with 4:03 to play in the first half.
  • Towson's defense stepped up on the following drive, with Robert Topps III breaking up a pass at midfield en route to a three-and-out.  Towson looked to drive down the field from its own 20 with five wide receivers and 1:46 left.  Ferguson led the air attack down the field, finding Caleb Smith five times en route down the field, then a 24-yard jumping catch from Darian Street put Towson on the SDSU 4 with nine seconds left.  Ferguson threw a light pass towards the near left corner to Smith for the catch and touchdown with six seconds left in the half.  Towson's touchdown made it 21-14 at the half.
  • Despite Towson getting the ball first in the second half, a three-and-out was followed by a blocked punt by Tyrell Shavers, with Trenton Thompson returning the ball for a touchdown.  SDSU led 28-14 a minute into the third quarter.
  • Towson looked to the ground on the following drive, with Devin Matthews pounding the ball up the middle to convert a third and one.  Two plays later however, an interception at the SDSU 36 gave the ball back to the Aztecs.
  • Again the running game proved effective for SDSU as on third and one from the SDSU 45, Byrd found space down the far sideline for 55 yards and the touchdown for a 35-14 SDSU advantage with 10:43 left in the 3rd.
  • Following a Towson three-and-out, Towson held on defense as SDSU did not gain a yard.  Matt Araiza converted the 48-yard field goal to make the score 38-14 SDSU.  The next Aztec drive, a 61-yard run by Chance Bell set up Bell scoring a one-yard touchdown for a 45-14 SDSU lead, the eventual end of third quarter score.
  • SDSU ran down the clock with the running game, getting the clock down over seven minutes in the fourth with rushing plays.  Towson bottled up a final rush with Bruton and Sam Gyeni as SDSU converted the 36-yard field goal to go up 48-14.
  • Towson put one last threat together, starting with a 73-yard kickoff return from Hunter, just getting caught from behind on the SDSU 24.  A pass interference call on SDSU, then a nine-yard catch by Thompson IV for the touchdown made it 48-21 SDSU with just under six minutes left.  SDSU got back the ball and ran out the clock for the 48-21 victory.
Inside the Numbers
  • Daniel Thompson IV earned his first touchdown as a Tiger in this game.
  • 21 points is the third-most Towson has scored against an FBS team.  The Tigers scored 33 in a 15-point victory over UConn on Aug. 29, 2013 and 22 in a defeat to LSU on Sept. 29, 2012.
  • Chris Ferguson earns Towson's first game with at least three passing touchdowns since Tom Flacco did vs. Bucknell on Oct. 19, 2019.
  • Towson has had a kickoff return of at least 73 yards each of the past two games.
Next Game:
  • Towson goes into its bye week then will have a pair of consecutive home games.  The Tigers host Stony Brook in the return to CAA play on Saturday, Oct. 9 at 4 p.m. at Johnny Unitas® Stadium.  For more information, interested parties may contact the Towson Athletics ticket office by visiting www.towsontigers.com or by calling 1-855-TU-TIGER.
- TowsonTigers.com – 
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