TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University football team tied the game early in the fourth quarter in its upset bid of No. 12/11 Monmouth but fell to the Hawks 42-31 during Homecoming.
 
Facing the top-ranked offense in FCS, Towson (3-4, 1-2 CAA) rallied from down 14 and countered Monmouth's (5-1, 2-0 CAA) touchdowns twice, but the Hawks pulled away late with two touchdowns in the final 9:15 of play to seal the game.
 
Key Stats:

• The total offensive yards for each team were close, with Monmouth having a slight edge 448-418.  Towson had the lead in passing yards 293-244 while Monmouth had 204 rushing yards to Towson's 125.
• Each team was efficient on third down, with Towson converting 8-of-14 third downs while Monmouth was 7-for-10.
• Andrew Indorf was 21-for-28 on passing for 292 yards and two touchdowns, finding Jaceon Doss seven times for 139 yards.  Winston Watkins also played at quarterback, throwing a one-yard touchdown plus running five times for 30 yards and a score.
• Al Wooten II was the leading rusher for Towson, going 15 times for 41 yards.
• Two Towson players notched double digit tackles: Ja'Mez Drummer had a team-high 13 while Xavier Terry notched 12, also forcing a fumble.
• For Monmouth, Derek Robertson completed 26-of-31 for 244 yards and two scores.  Running back Rodney Nelson burst for 152 yards on 27 carries, scoring a touchdown.  Josiah Graham had two sack fumbles and three tackles.

How it Happened

• Monmouth won the toss and elected to receive.  The Hawks went down the field primarily on rushing, going 15 plays for 75 yards and a score off a one-yard rushing touchdown by Rodney Nelson to lead 7-0 in the opening seven minutes.
• Towson looked to counter early, getting past midfield off a couple of darts by Andrew Indorf to John Dunmore and Jaceon Doss, but a lost fumble gave the ball back to Monmouth on its own 35.  Again the Hawks came down the field, this time more on passing, and into the second quarter, scored on the period's first play with a four-yard pass on fourth down to Maxwell James.  The visitors led 14-0.
• Towson had an answer in the air when on third and four, a deep pass to Doss for 34 yards set up the Tigers just outside the red zone.  Winston Watkins entered, rushed twice for a combined 16 yards then threw a one-yard touchdown to CJ Schaeffer to put Towson on the board, trailing 14-7 with 11:33 left in the second.
• Towson's defense forced a three-and-out, but after Towson got into Monmouth territory on a 35-yard catch by Dunmore, a fourth down play was stopped on a fumble and Monmouth return to the Towson 37.  A 31-yard rush by Nelson set up first and goal on the one, where two plays later Elijah Jennings scored on the direct snap as Monmouth led 21-7 with 5:56 to go in the half.
• A dropoff pass to Al Wooten II converted a fourth and one past midfield as Towson used the clock on its first half final drive, scoring on a four-yard pass in the back of the end zone to Dunmore with 30 seconds remaining in the first half.  Monmouth led 21-14 into the locker room.
• Towson began the second half in a big way as Doss earned a 63-yard catch to place the Tigers on the Monmouth 12.  Three plays later, Indorf found a falling Lukkas Londono in the end zone for a six-yard score and a 21-21 tied game with 12:52 left in the third quarter.
• On third and four, Xavier Terry forced a fumble on a completed pass and took over on the Monmouth 39.  Towson would set up for a field goal, but the 38-yard attempt missed right.
• Monmouth continued the hurry-up offense and saw Robertson throw a couple of 10+ yard passes, followed by Nelson having a couple of 10+ yard rushes.  At third and one at the one, another direct snap to Jennings resulted in a touchdown as Monmouth retook the lead 28-21, 3:37 in the third.
• Indorf remained strong on passes, hitting Londono, Cleveland Charlton and Dunmore for long passes to set up Towson inside the 10 going into the fourth.  First play of the fourth, Watkins returned and rushed the final eight yards into the end zone to tie the game up at 28-28.
• The visitors had another response, continuing to go on Nelson rushes and Robertson passes.  Back into Towson territory, Robertson found Jack Neri in the back of the end zone for the 10-yard touchdown, returning the lead to Monmouth 35-25 with 9:15 to play.
• Towson used a couple of Monmouth pass interference penalties to get into enemy territory, getting into the red zone on a Kemarrion Battles 12-yard rush.  Facing fourth and four, Caden Williams knocked down the 30-yard field goal to pull Towson within four at 35-31 with 4:53 left.
• A 35-yard pass down the sideline to Josh Derry set up Monmouth as the Hawks looked to add insurance.  Towards the two-minute timeout, a third direct snap by Jennings for a touchdown pushed Monmouth up 42-31 with 2:06 to play.  A pair of sacks ended Towson's final drive as Monmouth ran out the clock and won 42-31.

Inside the Numbers

• Jaceon Doss earns the highest mark for receiving yards for Towson this season.  139 receiving yards is the most in a game for a Towson player since Caleb Smith had 200 receiving yards vs. Delaware on Nov. 2, 2019.
• John Dunmore surpassed the career 1,000-receiving yard mark today, standing with 1,056.  This includes 957 yards at Towson (2023-pres.) and 99 yards at Oregon State (2021-22).
• Andrew Indorf has thrown for over 250 yards in each of his last two games.  292 yards tonight is the most for a Towson quarterback since Sean Brown had 306 yards at Norfolk State on Oct. 12, 2024.

Next Game

• Towson has a bye week, then resumes play on Saturday, Oct. 25 at 3:30 p.m. on Long Island against Stony Brook.