COLLEGE PARK, Md. – The Towson University football team fell at FBS opponent Maryland 38-6 in the 2023 season opener.
 
After its opponent scored 21 first quarter points, Towson (0-1) scored two field goals and held Maryland (1-0) to 17 points the rest of the way.
 
Key Stats:

• Towson was close in the rushing battle, having 148 yards on the ground to Maryland's 166.  Maryland had the edge in passing yards 283-128.
• There were no interceptions or fumbles in the game.
• Nathan Kent was 16-for-31 for 128 yards in the air, adding 41 rushing yards.  Da'Kendall James was his top target with four receptions and 49 yards.  On the ground, Devin Matthews rushed 12 times for 48 yards.
• On defense, Mason Woods led all players with eight tackles, adding a quarterback hurry.  Jamal Gay was next with seven tackles.
• Keegan Vaughan converted both field goal attempts from 36 and 38 yards out.
• For Maryland, Taulia Tagovailoa was 22-for-33, finishing with 260 passing yards, 28 rushing yards and three passing touchdowns, finding Corey Dyches six times for 108 yards and a touchdown.  Beau Brade led the defense with six tackles and a pass break-up.

• Towson won the toss and elected to defer.  An early one-on-none tackle by Shafeek Smith forced a third down on the first set of downs, but Maryland converted on a rush to the right.  The Terrapins used a 44-yard pass and a 23-yard QB scramble to score a touchdown and lead 7-0 with 12:06 left in the first.
• On Towson's first offensive drive, D'Ago Hunter powered his way forward with 14 yards on three rushes to burst for a first down, but a sack on third down forced a punt.  Next Maryland drive, on third and three, Tylen Wallace stopped Antwain Littleton II for no gain on the rush, forcing Maryland to punt.
• Towson had to punt after a three-and-out.  Maryland drove down the field with two rushes then three passes.  On the final pass, Dorian Davis nearly knocked the ball out of Corey Dyches's hands at the goal line, but Dyches broke the plane first and scored a touchdown.  Maryland led 14-0 with 4:29 remaining in the opening period.
• Following a three-and-out by the Tigers, a well-defended pass by Smith forced third down for Maryland on the Towson 36, but three plays later, a 24-yard touchdown pass gave Maryland a 21-0 lead, the eventual end-of-first quarter score.
• Nathan Kent, in his first start at quarterback, scrambled for 17 yards up the middle to look to spark Towson's next drive.  Towson got into a bit of a rhythm with a pass and run for Hunter for a first down, then another Kent scramble then dart across the middle for Da'Kendall James to break into Maryland territory.  A Maryland pass interference call put Towson in the red zone, where Keegan Vaughan knocked down the 36-yard field goal attempt to put Towson on the board.  Maryland led 21-3 with 11:57 left in the second.
• The Towson defense kept the pressure on Maryland, but Taulia Tagovailoa kept getting down field with passes.  Towson got its chance after a personal foul put the home team at first and 25.  Maryland got closer, but the pass rush forced a holding penalty and Maryland attempted a field goal, missing left as the defense held.
• The Tigers found success with Kent rollout runs and short passes to the outside.  Towson got back into Maryland territory after a laser pass from Kent to Zay Perkins, but got stifled just over midfield.  Justin Ritter punted the ball for a fair catch on the Maryland 9.
• With the first half clock winding down, Maryland came down the field with short passes and got into Towson's side of the field.  On third and nine, Mason Woods had a big tackle inside Maryland's screen pass to get to fourth and two, but Maryland converted the fourth down on a short run.  With 14 second left in the half, Tagovailoa found Kaden Prather in the corner of the end zone to make it 28-3 Terrapins, the eventual halftime score.
• Towson began the second half with the ball but went three-and-out.  Maryland scored another touchdown on a 10-play drive, aided by a couple of pass interference calls, to go up 35-3 with 9:26 to play in the third.
• Devin Matthews led the charge for Towson with a couple of rushes for a first down.  Kent followed suit with a couple of scrambles, including a big one on fourth and four for five yards, leading into Maryland territory off a catch from Malik Jackson.  Vaughan scored another field goal, this from 38 yards, to make the score 35-6 Maryland with 1:33 left in the third.
• Aided by a CJ McClendon break-up, the Towson defense forced a three-and-out and got back possession as the third quarter ran out.
• Into the fourth, Kent found Perkins for an 11-yard gain to get Towson into the Maryland side of the field.  Two more Hunter runs set up a third and two, but a pair of incompletions ended the drive on the Maryland 32.
• Maryland started to use up the play clock and built a long drive.  The home team used 17 plays to go down the field, with Towson halting the drive at the six-yard line.  Maryland kicked a 26-yard field goal to go up 38-6 with 5:38 to play.
• In the final Towson drive, Kent began with a nice pass to James down the right side of the field for 24 yards.  Chris Watkins then took the ball for 12 yards on a pair of carries as Towson returned to Maryland territory, then Kent found Lukkas Londono wide open for 18 yards on the left side.  Towson went for it on fourth down, but an incompletion ended the drive.
• A Rodney Roane Jr. sack stopped Maryland's final drive.  Towson fell 38-6.

• Keegan Vaughan has kicked two field goals each in four of his last five games dating back to last season.
• This is the seventh time in 12 games played where Mason Woods has had the team lead in tackles.
• Nathan Kent was in his first career start at quarterback for Towson.
• Towson's streak of five straight season openers won was snapped, all coming against FCS opponents.  This is the first year since 2016 where Towson opened against an FBS opponent.

• Towson gets ready for its home opener on Saturday, Sept. 9 at 6 p.m. vs. Monmouth.
• Season and single-game tickets for Towson football home games are available by visiting https://am.ticketmaster.com/towson/. For any questions regarding tickets for Towson events, call the Towson Athletics ticket office at 410-704-4501 or email dkogok@towson.edu.

- TowsonTigers.com –