TuTigers2012

2 hours ago, Tiger93 said:

I get the premise behind this, but I have to disagree. Whatever level we play, our goal should be trying to win the conference title and then trying to get as close to a national title as we can. Those are the most important accomplishments on our list in my opinion.

While beating Maryland or a top 25 team would be huge in the short-term, the next week to a month, maybe even the rest of the season, building a consistent program is more significant. I get from a publicity and fan standpoint a lot more people will care, but it would be better if we could build something that can last in the long-term here. I would take a CAA title (and of course an FCS Championship) over any of this because that is really what our players are out there trying to accomplish week in and week out.

I would be really excited if we can giving Florida a great game, and being in Baton Rouge when Towson took a 9-7 lead in the second quarter was one of more favorite in-person football moments. However, I really want to be able to expect to be a contender in the CAA and a top 20 team on an annual basis. We have done this sporadically, but if we are doing right we should be able to be more consistent with those goals. Other good things will come with that. 

Not disagreeing. It is more important to have a consistent winner and making the playoffs and all of us would like that. But as far as exposure and notoriety go, its not even close, Beating a Top 25 team or anyone like that is bigger and creates more of a buzz.  We can play 5 straight first round games in a row the rain against Duquesne on the app known as ESPN +-*/ o, but I feel it won't push the needle like the other would. Unless you are in the middle of nowhere (NDSU, JMU, EWU, Jacksonville State, Montana)  FCS football does not have a big following outside of loyal alums. To which we do not have, I mean there's a thread to try and make a Towson Bar in Baltimore, for the fans that don't want to go the homes games... Towson is 8 freaking miles from Baltimore. On a nice Saturday there is no reason not to show up to a few a year.

One of my tops in person moment was when Athens hit Brian Dowling on a 3-15 for 50 yards or so, leading to a 4th down Terrance TD to go up 26-10 on UCONN

20 minutes ago, Blounge said:

While playing a Florida or LSU is a cool experience for the players, I think we would be better off scheduling the bottom of the barrel FBS teams. I think the exposure and coverage that would come from beating a team in a higher conference would do more than just showing up to an SEC game.

We would be better suited for a matchup with Liberty, UMASS, Charlotte, Akron, Bowling Green, or Coastal Carolina. 

I don’t think UConn would make the mistake of playing us again.

Those teams (except Liberty) don't pay as well.  We have played those G5 teams before and still have gotten smoked (WVU, MD, USF, WAKE). If we are going to lose, we might as well make what we can off of it. I don't understand SDSU in 2021. Whatever we make, will be spent in travel to get out there. I don't think a game against SDSU pushed the needle for a Cali recruit to come to Towson, but who knows.

 I would like a local FBS/FCS Double Header.  Towson, JMU, UMD/WVU/UVA/Vtech/NAVY, at a neutral site, M&T or FedEx. But along with the bigger schools not agreeing, can't play two games in a day on those grass fields.

No Clark or Allen listed on depth chart, hopefully they will be good to go later in the season..

38 minutes ago, Tiger93 said:

I went to that LSU game (was hoping to swing this weekend's game), and it was an absolute blast to see our team physically battling LSU tooth and nail. I am fine with these games. I just don't want us to ever repeat what we did in 2012 when we played both Kent State and LSU (and I know we probably never will). Also in 2012, we scheduled LSU the week before a big game at James Madison and lost that game. That was a scheduling loss and even though we got ripped off out of playoff spot that year we also did a bad job of scheduling even though it was fun from a fan standpoint. 

This year I think we did it right playing Florida before home games against Albany and Bucknell. Nothing against those teams, but I hope we can win those games no matter what happens this week. The other part about playing top 10 teams compared to decent teams like Maryland and USF is that the top 10 teams take us much less seriously. I mean when Alabama is tied with The Citadel at halftime and we are almost beating No. 3 LSU halftime, you know they are not 100 percent dialed in. Let's roll with the experience, see what happens and use it to our benefit going forward. 

Playing top 10 teams helps get exposure too. Seeing the school name up there on the scoreboard and or on ESPN is a big deal, especially now a days. Playing on ESPN, ESPNU, ESPN2, SEC Network is legit and a place recruits, alum and casual fans can see the Towson name without tyring to sign up and stream a Flo-sports subscription.   I'm not advocating moving up to FBS, but Citadels win over a bad Georgia Tech team probably gave them more exposure nationwide than they would get by winning an FCS championship game that starts at the host stadium 11 AM local time and on ESPN2 a week after "Bowl Season" ends.

It’s nice we got a few of the cbs sports ones 

1 hour ago, Blazer49 said:

Oh yeah I remember LSU...

 

I knew they were top 10 at the time but not 3. Damn. The first play had me thinking it would be a blow out. They hung in there though

45 minutes ago, griggey20 said:

I have no problem being critical of the calls, but can't you give the guy a little credit for putting up 45 points?  I was pissed we didn't run the ball on 3rd or 4th and 1. The loss sucked losing at home as the #5 team in the country but hopefully we get better from it. To expect to win a conference/national title every year is insane.  Ripping apart any loss while giving no credit for any win is absurd.  

Can we be critical of not getting a stop and only rushing 3 on 4th and 10 at the 7?  Absolutely.  At the same time we are 2nd in the nation in turnover margin.  In the off-season we complained about not forcing enough turnover.  Things aren't perfect and never will be but if you told me we would be 3-1 before the Florida game it's about where I'd expect.  

W

Yes, I will give credit. Considering how the offense hasn't been great (Tom's passing #'s, our inability to run at times), we have still scored a lot of points. The defense and special teams have a lot to do with that.  That still does not take away that we were out-coached once again in a big game.  I'm not expecting a national championship, or even the CAA tittle (both NDSU and JMU are and will continue to be WAY better than we will), but I along with everyone else did have high expectations for this team.  This maybe is it for a few years, as we have so many veterans, R-SR's and SR's on the team, it's disappointing to lay yet another egg at home in a big game.

The defense has been phenomenal in forcing turnovers, especially with interceptions! They deserve a ton of credit for this, especially since they are turning some around for scores or very good field position. But when you have 8,800 people there, most being parents/very causal fans/students, and you see the other team run the same couple of short plays all day for 52 points and 500+ yards, it may make them think "wow this team is bad," and can have an impact on if they return (Yes, the offense scored a lot which could counteract the previous statement)

16 hours ago, tualum said:

 All agree that Skerry has brought the program out of the dumps and is a solid recruiter. However, the same formula on the court hasn't taken us to the next level.

Cannot agree more.

41 minutes ago, Tigerfan said:

 I did not think of the surface lots on Cross Campus drive at the Adm building. May be a good addition if Towson promotes it. I know for homecoming they are having tailgating at the Liberal Arts building. Maybe one of these 2 lots should be available for at least Parents weekend, Homecoming  and the Delaware game.

Wish Batemans was still open.  That was a nice pregame option when not wanting to bring coolers, food, chairs, grill etc, or when weather wasnt great.

8 minutes ago, mat1992 said:

Finally hit a nerve. Here we go with the name calling. That’s something you are great at so I name you King of the name callers. It’s one thing to have a different opinion and another to harp on the same old shit after every loss.

I don’t agree with everything Pat does but it’s hilarious that we get a player you apparently think is good and you go right to the super negative. He’s gone before he hits the campus because he plays for Oak Hill. Well, maybe they are so stacked he’ll only play 20mpg this year.

Just because I’m older at 51 doesn’t mean I’m not jaded and cynical. But I’m trying my hardest to get people interested in Towson sports and all you do is tear us down and call our coaches names.

Maybe one day we can have a beer on me and hatch things out. Right now, I just want to try and promote the good things because there is so much negativity out there and have frank discussions about what ails is,

King Mat

Mat, as much as you think I harp on the same shit, it goes the same way in me thinking you make the same excuses over and over.  It's the same mistakes that are fairly consistently being made by the staff over and over again.  It may not frustrate you and the others who have endured decades instead of a decade + of losing, but there are others, just not myself where it bugs the crap out of us.  Rob is 9 and 19 against our three biggest rivals, Delaware, JMU and NOVA. I'm not going to apologize for thinking that isn't acceptable. Pat has one 2 CAA Tournament games in 7 seasons. I'm not going to apologize for thinking that isn't acceptable.  It's the same thing over and over and over again; a small step or two forward and then one back. Rob and Pat are also two of the longest tenured coaches in the CAA with either the worst record or having not reached the CAA Final/NCAA Tournament. Good coaches move on to other schools (Keats, Cignetti, Houston, etc,) or get canned (Matheny, Ross, Skrosky, Brock, etc).

Took 2 people on Saturday who had never been to a Towson game before and they both wondered the same thing about the play calling and lack of adjustments, "Is the person calling the plays high or do they really not know whats going on?"  We always shit the bed when there is a big home games. That is a fact and sorry if its hurts your feelings. Rob, if you are reading this, what are you doing to get the players focused and playing better on the road then at home??  It might be time to change up the routine. 

I know you mean well and want the best for the programs, but fortunately there are different views on how to get there and what needs to be done to actually get to be a consistent winner.

King of the Name Callers

8 minutes ago, mat1992 said:

Let's play your chicken little theory. So what you're saying is that a CAA team should not recruit a highly-rated player from a big-time prep program because he might leave after two years like Zane or some of the other CAA players like Horton for Delaware. How are we supposed to get better? Just recruit Ivy League and Patriot League-type of guys, who are slow but can shoot? Just get transfers who are not going to leave? 

Where did I state we shouldn't recruit him? Nowhere, don't make shit up, just because you have a beef with me. I said, "he seems like a great get," and that I'd be weary of a guy who doesn't get a ton of playing for a great program, seeing a bump in minutes and other bigger programs sniffing around.  Never mentioned that he could or couldn't shot.

This is a fan message board, and everyone isn't going to have the same opinions and thoughts as everyone else, and yes, that includes you King Mat. If it were the case, it would just be you, Datres and a few of the other old timers on here.

We get better with good coaching and development, something that we seem to typically lack.  We usually do well developing transfers during their sit out year. Scoring/shooting/well run offense wins games/championship, not out muscling and rebounding anymore. Bugging people to death on the glass doesn't seem like a great strategy, however I give Pat and the program credit, that they can win a fair share of games and do find kids that fit that mold.

7 minutes ago, Tigerfan said:

It's good the parking lots are filling up but not good for people that want to tailgate with no place to park. I brought food and beer last year to tailgate and could not find a spot. Parked in the union and left the tailgate supplies in the car.

You can get to the lots when they open, or have someone you know get there then.  There isn't anywhere in country that will allow tailgating in a parking garage/structure and unfortunately we have a ton of those eye sores on campus.  I know they also have tailgating (no students) in lot 13 near the arts building. They also have surface lots in the back of the admin building that could be used, however they are a bit of a walk compared to the other options. 

1 minute ago, mat1992 said:

Same ole, same ole.

Jesus, come on.  I mean, he plays of a prestigious basketball program that typically has lots of recruits. If he blows up this year and say; VCU or V Tech or NC State offer, what do you think he will do?

This has happened to us and every other program before, its not uncommon, sorry dude! We have trouble keeping onto players here that get every shot and 30+ minutes a night.

Is this better for you, "This kid will undoubtedly be the savior of the program! (Just like every other semi big recruit we get, except they aren't) He will turn down bigger and better offers from consistent winners, to play a boring brand of basketball!  He will lead us to 4 straight NCAA tournaments!" ??

2 minutes ago, TSU88 said:

One poster has him de-commiting & another has him bricking his foul shots. Yikes. I’m going to look at the glass being half full, unless & until proven otherwise 

Jesus, come on.  I mean, he plays of a prestigious basketball program that typically has lots of recruits. If he blows up this year and say; VCU or V Tech or NC State offer, what do you think he will do?

1 hour ago, Tigerfan said:

I have learned for Homecoming, maybe Delaware and Parent's weekend games that tailgating is not an option without a parking pass for stadium lots if you get there 1 hour before the game. The lots that do not require a pass fill up about 2 hours before the game. Not good for a school trying to get more fans.

So parking lots filling up early isn't good for a school trying to get more fans?  

Compared to most, we have a nice tailgate setup. The stadium is on campus, so it isnt far for students, but not in the middle of campus where there are no lots right next to it (see Maryland).

I've been to games at Delaware, WM, JMU, NOVA and Stony Brook and with the exception of Delaware (some of their lots are not owned by the school), we have the most/closest spots to the gates of the stadium. I should also mention, the cheapest parking as well.

2 hours ago, mat1992 said:

Interesting read. Only played 12.4 mpg last year but shot 44% from three.Guessing he starts this year

https://www.phenomhoopreport.com/commitment-alert-2020-darrick-jones-on-the-same-page-with-towson-coaches/

If that's the case, and he has a great season, he may unfortunately de-commit and re-open his recruitment. 

1 hour ago, Tgr4life said:

It's the same nonsense every year from "TU Fans". When the football team wins, everyone is "ain't we great". As soon as they lose one game, you cant type quickly enough that Coaching Sucks, Get rid of Ambrose. 

ON THE OTHER HAND, you have a MBB coach who has won NOTHING in his 8 or 9 years at Towson, gets unearned extensions and you all have a "Wait until next years, because his recruits are so fabulous. Lets give him another year". Maybe you all like New England accents better than home grown. As Charley Eckman would always say, " to Baltimoreans, An expert is anyone from out of town". 

You can't wait to get rid of a coach that has MADE the playoffs, but love a coach who has been a total failure and been rewarded for that. 

Don't disagree. I mean, both have gotten ridiculously unwarranted extensions. No other FCS/FBS, high or mid major level programs were sniffing around for Pat and Rob.  Good old Tim gave them out way to quickly and are thus stuck with both of them for a while.   

Rob was able to get lucky and make the playoffs with two transfers who fell into his lap and are probably the best to come through the school.  Pat wasn't able to make the playoffs with a generational transfer.  Rob cannot get a defense, Pat cannot get shooters/scoring. Both seem very stubborn and unwilling to change strategies despite some decent but unsustained "success."   

Cue the angry responses...

Well playing Florida on Saturday with a kick off temperature of 92 should help. Maybe we will see some Stover in that game, he would also be a great person to bring in on short distance (ahem, 3/4th and 1) to sneak the ball under center.

At-least we have a bye after Florida and what we thought would be easy wins after, but Albany may light up the scoreboard the way they are playing on offense.

11 hours ago, mat1992 said:

Yeah, another lefty. Hopefully, he can succeed like Fobbs. Mims is another really good athlete at the wing. Add Timberlake and Betrand with Victor and we should play up-tempo, high-octane pressure hoops next season.

https://www.ncsasports.org/mens-basketball-recruiting/virginia/mouth-of-wilson/oak-hill-academy/darrick-jones6

http://www.espn.com/college-sports/basketball/recruiting/player/_/id/235253/darrick-jones-jr

 

Sounds like a great get.  Hmmm, we shall see about that.

1 minute ago, mat1992 said:

So if you defend him, you are part of the family? You jumped on him in the first game when they "only" beat a horrible Citadel team by seven on the road. This isn't 2016. This is a pretty good football team and Rob had a bad night. He admitted it. But let's talk about how shitty this team is because they blew the game at home to Villanova in OT and lost to JMU, Duquesne in the monsoon and CAA Champ Maine. 

As for adjustments made on the defensive side of the ball? Is there one person on here who even mentioned the defense other than me? Daniels had a bad night as well. They stunk other than the two forced turnovers.

BTW. This team is being held together by glue right now. The loss of Shane should diminish their offensive explosion. But hey, it's probably Rob's fault because he had Shane returning kicks.

 

Signed,

Mat Ambrose

Nope, but the constant passes he gets and the lack of accountability. Everyone’s fine with playoffs ever 5-7 years.  

I never said citadel is awful, just that they can only run and we weren’t doing a great job stopping the qb. 

Since you have all the answers and excuses, answer this question: what’s he doing differently  on the road then at home. They typically play better on the road which in sports isn’t typical. Something isn’t working there and it isn’t just this group. 

Bring up the injuries, it’s a physical game and happens to everyone. we seem to have had more than most, strength, nutrition, practice issue? Freak issue?

42 minutes ago, griggey20 said:

Good to have you back 2012, it only took 1 loss to a top team in the league

Accountability for questionable, at best, play calling and not being prepared again for a big home game. Is that you Rob?  Serious question, did you not have an issue with the play calling on Saturday?  It’s not little bro anymore, he’s doing it.

There are to many of you on here with black and gold glasses on. No adjustments made at halftime especially on the defensive Side of the ball. 

Take out a crappy nc central team they are 0-4 in the last 4 home games allowing 35, 38, 31 and 52  woof

15 minutes ago, Tigerfan said:

I think Tailgating can be improved. If you want to go just to 1-2 games, do you need to buy a $15 parking pass park to park your car on the stadium lots? I have not been able to get on the stadium lots with a car in the past to tailgate unless I have a $15 pass. Also. would like more parking near the stadium . Seems land is available near the stadium to add more parking/tailgating lots.

Can they add a bar on the Season Ticket holders lot near the basketball arena for beer/wine and food?

 

I feel as though the arena side of the stadiums lots are all "season ticket/paid parking." However I'm guessing most of those are not sold/used.  A few years back I purchased a yearly permit for $50 because it allowed for 4 hours of tailgating rather than just the 3.  It was worth it to me at the time, and helped alleviate the traffic into the lots. Staggering the times, may be something to look into.

12 minutes ago, mat1992 said:

A few things. I would say that the crowd would have been larger had Villanova brought more than 100 people. I also wonder if people turned around when they saw the traffic jam on Osler and TowsonTown. Also, looking through my binoculars at the parking lot, the students had a blast before the same and some during the game. I would say that number would have been close to 9,000 had they actually come into the stadium.

Traffic-wise it seems as though we're not suited for crowds over 5,000 people. I got out of the press conference 20 minutes later and there was still a slight traffic jam getting out so I went to the tailgate, where most people had left. Just wanted to avoid the traffic.

But overall, it's good to see the energy and the improvements of the crowd. Marketing has done a nice job. Wondering what people think can be improved in the game-day experience. Even though I'm in the press box, I'm not sure the music (metal and hard rock from the 70s) fits the clientele on the student-side. I think they played something from Black Sabbath (with RJD) and I'm thinking, I get that they are trying to blast that when the opponent has the ball, but what about when we have the ball? Shouldn't we play something more modern that the students can get into (with a radio edit of course). Don't you want them to get pumped up?

Nova had a mostly full section, but I won't argue with that on that one.

-Traffic coming in is always bad, as its moves SO slow due to the parking people at the entrance of Auburn Dr and then at the top funneling cars into the spots. When I was a student they would literally walk with you to a spot and make you park there.  For groups of cars (which we had) if you were at the end of the aisle or had people 5-10 cars behind you, you were SOL when trying to be next to your group. You would get yelled at and harassed by those parking people. I'm not sure if that is the same now, as I don't typically go to Lot 14. 

Its a two lane road, they need to have the north entrance to Auburn drive, be two lanes in. The left goes into lot 13, the right goes in 14. Keep the South entrance a single lane and have any cars coming through the north side, that need to leave, loop around down near lot 19 and come past the arena and out that way. More cars/traffic/build up is on the northern side, which backs the street up.

It doesn't help that the parking people literally count the seconds down to 4 hours before to let anyone in. A pedestrian bridge over osler would help alleviate the foot traffic as well. Also, any shuttle buses, either from dorms/garages should go into the Osler medical center lot to drop off. That way it doesnt interfere with traffic coming into the stadium lots.

All for safety but the security lines are extremely slow.  Most college students aren't going to wait 15 minutes to be waved with a wand and have their purse locked through. I know theres nothing to be done about this, its the unfortunate world we live in.

Music does suck. The promotions and fan cams, seem lame, but maybe they aren't to current college students? Anyone here a student and agree/disagree?

Do a family pack. 4 tickets, 4 hot dogs, 4 drinks and 4 TU Football Shirts for $75

Do a frat/sorority day or something with clubs/club teams on campus?

56 minutes ago, Tigerfan said:

Having followed football attendance the last 10 years I wonder what our Marketing department does for the return on investment. We have averaged 6-9 thousand  a game for 10 years .

Would be nice for the road games to have a Towson Bar stream the game for alumni.

Probably not much. But the first two games, the attendance was impressive. It looked like the numbers reported, if not more. This is FCS football we aren't going to do much better numbers wise. Delaware has had 15,894 against Del State, 14,489 against NDSU! and 11,782 against Penn. Yes, half their fan base has literally died off within the past decade, but no ones drawing big numbers anymore.. look at FBS  teams such as Alabama, Texas, Michigan etc.  Stanford played a ranked Oregon team in front of 40-50% full stadium Saturday.

Saturday we had:

-An undefeated Top 5 ranked team, that can score and doesn't play a boring brand of offense

-An undefeated top 20 ranked team, with a "brand name" behind them (along with 500-750 of their fans)

-Beautiful weather

-Good start time

- 1,000 free shirts

-A QB and face of the team that is recognizable to people in the area

-An alum coaching

-Parents weekend

-Maryland and Navy off/away

and we got 8,800

Also, I thought I read/saw an ad on TowsonTigers.com that Rec Room or CVP is "showing all away games". Could be wrong, but who knows.

28 minutes ago, TheGoldCrotchPiece said:

not to mention we have nothing in DC....

Usually team bars are out of the actual location where the school is, and with a high alumni base.  So DC, Philly and NYC should definitely have one.  The fine folks at Towson Athletics should have also put together a watch party for the game this upcoming Saturday. Turtle at Towson on the rooftop if its nice? CVP's back patio.  This game is on TV and against an opponent even the less than causal fan knows.  They had 8500+ butts in seats Saturday, would have been nice for them to think of this prior and make a few announcements/ads.