FARGO, N.D. – The Towson University football team scored two touchdowns early in the fourth quarter to pull within one score of No. 2 North Dakota State, coming up short in a 41-24 defeat in Fargo.
 
Down 31-10 in the third, Towson (1-3) scored two straight touchdowns in a span of two minutes, capped by a 72-yard scoring run by Tyrell Greene Jr. with 10:05 left, to get within a score.  North Dakota State (3-1) went back up 10 with a field goal six minutes and held for the win.
 
Key Stats:

• The total offensive yards were close, with NDSU having 407 to Towson's 366.
• Carlos Davis threw 14-for-24 with 135 yards and an interception, adding 53 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown.  The main receiving target was Carter Runyon, who got six catches for 59 yards.  On the ground, Tyrell Greene Jr. had 94 yards and a touchdown on five carries.
• Defensively, Kam Snell led all players with 13 tackles.  Towson notched four sacks, including Nchabanu Fortaboh having five tackles, a sack and two tackles for loss.
• For NDSU, Cam Miller was 17-for-19 in the air for 219 yards and a touchdown.  CharMar Brown rushed 24 times for 126 yards and three touchdowns.  Marcus Sheppard had an interception and four tackles.

How it Happened

• Towson won the toss and elected to defer.  With a mix of runs and passes, NDSU came down to the Towson 24.  The Towson defense made two big plays, a Brockman Wallace stop on a QB run for loss of three and an Evan Rutkowski sack to push NDSU back a combined 12 yards.  NDSU settled for a 37-yard field goal attempt and took a 3-0 lead with 8:45 left in the 1^st.
• Devin Matthews got Towson out to a big start on its opening drive with a 15-yard catch then a 21-yard run on the first two plays.  Towson continued to depend on the running backs, continuing on with an 11-yard catch by Tyrell Greene Jr.  Towson was stopped on the NDSU 23, where Keegan Vaughan knocked through a 40-yard field goal to tie the game 3-3 with 5:46 left in the 1^st.
• Towson stacked up early to force third and 10 on the NDSU30, but a 49-yard pass to Chris Harris got the Bison in Towson territory.  Into the second quarter, Towson held the line on a QB sneak on third down, but CharMar Brown powered forward for the touchdown on fourth and one to give NDSU a 10-3 lead with 13:57 left in the 2^nd.
• Towson went three and out next drive and saw its punt blocked and out of bounds to the Towson 41.  NDSU's rushing attack brought the Bison into the red zone.  Nchabanu Fortaboh stopped Brown for a loss of three to the Towson 9, where a following QB rush was stopped for four and a field goal attempt.  NDSU fumbled the snap on the field goal attempt, where Towson tackled the runner on the 11 for a turnover on downs.
• Towson again went three and out, and on the ensuing punt, Jackson Williams returned the ball 67 yards for the touchdown.  NDSU led 17-3 with 5:26 left in the 2^nd.
• Following a three-and-out by Towson, NDSU was pinned onto its own 12, looking for a final drive.  Using mainly short passes, the Bison came down the field, scoring on a Bryce Lance 19-yard catch for a 24-3 NDSU lead.  Towson got into NDSU territory in the final seconds of the first half but could not score.  NDSU led 24-3 at the break.
• Into the second half, Towson got past midfield on some passes by Carlos Davis, including a 16-yard pass towards the sideline to Carter Runyon, but an interception gave the ball back to NDSU on its own 44.  NDSU got down field despite a couple of sacks from Daniel Raymond and John Gioia, but the Bison missed a 44-yard field goal attempt to keep it at 24-3 NDSU with 9:09 in the 3^rd. 
• Davis's passes to Runyon and John Dunmore, followed by a 14-yard burst on third down by Greene Jr., brought Towson into NDSU territory.  Another deep ball to Dunmore for 34 yards set up Towson on the NDSU 6.  After a Christopher Watkins two-yard rush, Nathan Kent came in and rushed the final two yards for the touchdown pulling Towson within two scores at 24-10 with 5:33 left in the third.
• Aided by a couple of penalties on Towson, NDSU put together a touchdown drive, capped by a Brown three-yard scoring run.  NDSU had a 31-10 advantage with 1:09 to go in the 3^rd.
• Towson pushed back with a couple of passes to Runyon and Doss as the Tigers played a hurry-up offense, seeing Matthews pound up the middle for two yards to convert a third and short to the Towson 45.  Davis had a couple of scrambles to pull into the red zone, doing a third for 15 yards and a touchdown to pull the Tigers back within 14 at 31-17 with 12 minutes left.
• Towson walled up on defense and forced a three-and-out on NDSU, including Myles Brodie breaking up a pass towards the sideline.  A 47-yard punt placed Towson on its own 28.  Towson immediately attacked, seeing Greene Jr. burst for 72 yards up the middle for the touchdown, pulling Towson within one score at 31-24 with 10:05 to play.
• NDSU went back to its running game on the next drive; after a 14-yard pass to Joe Stoffell,  Brown kept going through the line for a combined 40 yards on four plays.  NDSU had first and goal on the Towson 2, where the Tigers held the line, finished by a Fortaboh sack of 14 yards.  NDSU converted the 34-yard field goal to lead 34-24 with 4:28 to play.
• A tripping penalty pushed Towson back on second down, where Towson could not recover.  Towson turned the ball over on downs with 2:51 to go on its own 20.
• NDSU added a late touchdown to win 41-24.

Inside the Numbers

• Towson has had two 70+ rushes this year, the other being a 70-yard rush by Devin Matthews at Villanova last week.  Tyrell Greene Jr.'s 72-yard rush is the longest of the season.
• This is the second straight week Towson played a top-5 opponent, taking on No. 5/4 Villanova last week.

Next Game

• Towson will have a bye week then host No. 12/13 William & Mary on Saturday, Oct. 5 at 6 p.m. for Family Weekend.
• For more information on Towson tickets, contact the Towson Ticket Office at 410-704-4501 or by emailing 4tigertix@towson.edu.

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