Chris Datres

If the targeting ejection occurs in the first half, he's only gone for the rest of the game. Only misses first half of next game if the targeting occurs in the 2nd half.

Probably going to take a perfect game out of us to beat JMU anywhere. Definitely can't afford to get into a shootout with them but I don't really think our defense, even at its healthiest, is capable of keeping the Dukes in the teens. Perhaps if there's a deluge of rain throughout the game there could be that chance.

Given our defensive scheme, I'd expect this no-name Bucknell QB to elevate himself to 1st-team All-Patriot League by game's end.

Jordan Dangerfield sighting on the punt team for the Steelers.

In positive news, Street made #2 on Sportscenter's Top Plays.

I know we're banged up on defense but it's not the personnel, it's the scheme. We could have the members of the 2000 Ravens in their prime as our defense and that scheme would F it up. Albany looked at that tape of Nova and Florida and they salivated. Same old shit every freakin week -- let em hit the short stuff, let em convert 3rd and 4th downs, no pressure on the QB, just an absolute sieve. Only reason why we got 14 points was because Albany stepped on themselves inside their own 10 and gave it to us. If that's the way we come off a bye week, then we might wanna skip right to hoops season because there ain't much optimism left for this season.

I’ve had previous experiences at Florida so I knew a little of what to expect. Stadium was about 70% full which isn’t surprising given the opponent. I had a mile walk to the stadium and passed by a few tailgates and was asked about us - where we’re located, who we play, are we any good. When I mentioned Flacco, they all knew that name. I didn’t encounter any sort of negativity anywhere around the stadium nor did I expect any. A quirk in Florida’s schedule has them playing 3 straight weeks of Tigers, 4 overall. So a frat house across the street from the stadium had a large banner that said ‘Beat the Towson Auburn LSU Missouri Tigers.’ Inside the stadium, our section was pretty much left alone even though we were surrounded by students. There were a couple of idiots here and there yelling at Aiden as he was kicking into the net or calling us Tow-suck. But otherwise, no sort of hostilities. The place was loud but I’ve heard it much louder. Of course, our guys have never seen a crowd that big so I wonder what they thought of all that noise. I stood out by the buses after the game and the majority of the players were upbeat and had smiles on their faces when they came out. Stover was real fired up about getting to play. Came over to get a pic with his family after the clock hit zeroes and he had a huge smile. Despite the result, it feels like they truly enjoyed the experience.

Impressions from the front row... 1. It's incredibly frustrating to have moved the ball on all 3 drives in the first half but then get the gun out and shoot ourselves in the foot with it. A dropped snap, a missed FG, a missed blocking assignment...all these things cause fans to pound the bleachers in agony. It would be nice if when we get into these 1-A games that we stop doing stupid stuff to ourselves that caused missed opportunities. 2. I thought the O-line was outstanding in that first half. We're not leading TOP by them being swivel doors. While they weren't opening up massive holes, they were at least winning the LOS long enough to get the necessary yardage to move down the field. They just ran out of gas in the 2nd half and Florida's got too many athletes and speed, plus they were bringing a couple extra guys knowing they could limit Flacco's time in the pocket. 3. Special teams was awful. This is something I come to expect from Towson teams. I know Aiden is a decent kicker but it just seems like whenever we get into one of these games, the special teams lets us down and missing a pretty simple kick and then getting a kick blocked (not the kicker's fault in that case, the rush was immense) just furthers the bias in this fan's mind that our special teams will never be fully reliable. Also, will someone teach the kick returners that they can call a fair catch inside the field of play and get the ball at the 25? Every time we tried a return, I don't think we made it past the 20. 4. The defense. I'm sorry but this is unacceptable. Whatever we did in the 2nd half against Maine hasn't carried over. Nova had an insanely high percentage in 3rd/4th down conversions and Florida had zero problem making things work on those downs today. Mullen preaches that his QB will take what the defense gives him. Trask completed 18 in a row because all he had to do was dink and dunk down the field since we give up an incredible amount of cushion. Ya know what, let's see if the QB can hit a deep ball. Stop giving a 7-yard cushion when it's 3rd and 5. Whatever other passing teams that are on our schedule have to be salivating at the opportunities available after watching film of these last 2 games. We had Florida in a number of 3rd down situations today and all but twice in the first 3 quarters, they succeeded. Today, who cares...but a league game and it kills your season. 5. Proud of the way the guys fought today. They didn't give up. They belonged on the field with Florida for the first half. I wish we could have put some points on the board on those first 2 drives of the game and I wish that we'd have been a little bit more urgent with Stover in the game in the last 2 1/2 minutes (never know when he may have to run a 2-minute drill). But the biggest thing as said here is no injuries and hopefully we can use this bye week to get ourselves right and start smoking teams like we're capable of.

Given that we have the bye week following Florida, I'd find it highly unlikely to see these players at the Swamp on Saturday. Makes no sense to sacrifice your conference season on a 1-A game if you have significant bumps and bruises.

Doesn't matter who it is, EVERY team goes defense first in OT so they know what they need to get in the bottom half of that first inning. I was thinking that had we scored a TD to match Nova's that we'd go for 2 and try to win it right there. I'd have had no problem with that decision. But to go pass-pass on 3rd/4th and 1 from the 7 was a giant mistake. We have the big back in Yeedee, if we can't get that 1 yard on 2 plays, then we don't deserve it. Between that and the defensive breakdowns throughout the game and especially on the final drive, those are the things that bother me the most about this one. Had 4-0/2-0 right there for us and we gave it away.

Well, now that we pissed away an opportunity to have Gameday show up in Gainesville for our game... Who's making the trip to join me in the Swamp on Saturday?

Ideal time for tailgates and getting home in time for the night games. Thankfully, 4:00 means the Florida heat will be waning a bit AND our sideline will be in shade for 3/4 of the game. Had this been a noon game, our sideline would be broiling. Only drawback of a 4pm start is the potential for the daily thunderstorms so hopefully we can avoid that. At least now I don't have to leave at 8am to get thru traffic and deal with Gainesville parking.

Any time you beat a team that has or then goes on to beat a 1-A team (no matter who it is), you’re gonna get a little extra credit. Or does that only work for UNH?

Kentucky was missing 2 DL and got one booted for targeting in the 4th quarter. Stoops lost them this game by some of his decision making on both sides of the ball. Also didn't help that they got a little conservative on offense once they got inside the target zone and they left it on the freshman kicker to hit a 35-yarder from the right hash but he never got enough draw on the ball. Trask looked decent in the pocket but he really wasn't pressured too much and did have the presence of mind on a broken option play to flip it as he was going down for a loss.

And I 100% stand behind what I said. You have a dynamic playmaker who can take the ball to the house every time he touches the ball so why wouldn't you give him that opportunity while in all that space. This injury could have happened just as easily on a 2-yard dive play given the way knees and ankles just buckle nowadays. Look at the Florida QB who broke his leg/ankle last nite on a simple scramble that he got twisted around in. Actually, don't watch it...not a pretty injury. It sucks that Shane's out but let's not question the 'how'.

Good motivation for the newcomers to get one of their own after seeing their teammates all giddy.

Make sure you get us a good seed, Tim!! https://towsontigers.com/news/2019/8/26/general-leonard-to-serve-as-chair-of-ncaa-di-mens-lacrosse-committee-for-2019-20.aspx

A number of Penn State fans (not me) had similar hand-wringing about Saquon Barkley bringing kicks back but that worked out pretty well. I think you try to get the ball in the hands of your playmakers as many times as you can and Shane's speed on a KOR can be a big field position changer much like it was against Delaware. Can't go through these games worrying about injuries.

Watched the 2nd quarter of that game and Nova was not afraid to pitch it around the field. I hope our new defensive scheme will be ready for that task. Also, watching this Miami-Florida game, the Gators have 9 sacks and constant pressure on the QB so that could be a real wakeup call for our O-Line.

Definitely like the white helmet with the Tiger head on it. I'm a giant fan of the gold jerseys in all sports.

I'm with ya. Hopefully we're getting plenty of cash in this deal because otherwise, it'll be a bust since how many people are going to want to foot the bill? I'll just listen to Spiro.

Blazer definitely brings up some good points -- don't have to shoot for the stars, can still get the lower-end of the power 5 conferences -- Rutgers, Vandy, Wake, etc. Those schools could definitely stand to market themselves to the Baltimore recruiting market. But an athletic department that doesn't want to schedule teams that might/will likely blow us out is an athletic department with a loser mentality. We're not gonna try to schedule Carolina, a team that will guarantee a sellout and a nice financial kick in the ass, because there's gonna be more blue in the stands and we might lose by 25? That's a bad precedent to set. I would hope that no one anywhere would think like that...but nothing would surprise me about ours. One last issue about scheduling the biggest of the big teams -- they won't play on campus. The last time we played a 'home' game against Maryland, we had to play it at the Arena in '95 and we got hosed. We can call up Duke or Kansas or someone of that caliber and they'll be like, 'sure we'll play you but let's go downtown or to DC. Duke's done that to Temple for years -- we won't play in your 10,000-seat on campus arena but we'll gladly go down Broad Street to Wells Fargo. That's the arrogance of those schools and unfortunately, the little guys give in because the payday is that much bigger.

The remedy is....well, it's pretty tough. Why can Elon and UNCW get Ol' Roy into their building? Probably because someone in both programs has a special connection to Roy and he'll do them a favor and bring his Heels in to stomp them. Does Pat have any of those type of connections? No idea. Scheduling at our level is not easy at all because it takes two to make a matchup and I've gotta think that they reach out to a number of A-10/MAC/Big East etc. teams to bring in but the vast majority of those teams are, frankly, too scared to take a road game against a school like us. Why won't Maryland come play us at SECU even if it was a 2 or 3 for 1? Same goes for a Georgetown or a Virginia/VA Tech or a West Virginia. It's because those coaches look at it as a no-win proposition. They don't feel like they need to come into the Baltimore market with their team to mine recruiting and playing against someone like us does nothing for their power rating especially if they should happen to <gasp> lose to us. As a result, we have to scrounge around and get what we can. Personally, I think it's right that we play the Baltimore teams just like I think it's right that all the Philly teams play against each other (even more so if Drexel gets left out). We can't help it that those teams might be down or that people in Baltimore aren't basketball fans enough to pay attention to the locals. I also give Pat and Tim credit for getting us into these various tournaments these last couple of years. Fort Myers was perfect for us, Bahamas was the right class but we weren't ready for it, and Charleston is definitely a step up but it'll be a great barometer to show us what we need to do for the conference season. As for the Goucher game, I don't like it from the standpoint that it's a D3 game that's essentially an exhibition. But having it as the 2nd game of the season and a tune-up before Florida and the Charleston Tournament will get everyone a good amount of reps because depth is going to be necessary in 3 games in 3 days against 3 likely difficult opponents. I'm just curious to hear others' opinions on who they think we should be bringing in and if they understand how scheduling these games works.

What's your solution then?

No surprise you'd have that reaction.