mat1992 2,235 Report post Posted September 30, 2023 I don't know if this was the biggest win in Towson football history (ODU, EWash, Delaware in 1993, etc), but this was one of the most important wins considering how poorly we had played at home against Monmouth and Norfolk State. This was as fun a time as I've had watching Towson football in a long time. I think there were five games in one. We played incredibly well in the first half, but were only up 27-20 because for some reason, we decided to continue to kick the ball to Dylan Laube, one of the best returners in the nation. He's also a terrific runner. Towson's defense was pretty much a no-show in the second half, but they had a few plays that either went their way or didn't. One was an interception by Xavier Terry that was called back because of a late-hit on the QB from Robert Javier, that I'm still trying to figure out what he did. There were two PI calls that should have been called against us and UNH, but they were not called, cancelling that out. In the second half, we finally went to the pooch kick. It worked until Rick Santos figured out to put a faster guy back there and he returned it to the 40. If not for Antonio Anderson's blocked FG, we would have lost. But that was the main reason we won the game. The special teams, that allowed a blocked punt for a TD and did not cover well to be kind all game on kickoff returns. Towson's defense bent but did not break as they forced a FG and Devin Matthews got the winning TD at the end. https://towsontigers.com/news/2023/9/30/towson-football-knocks-off-14-17-new-hampshire-in-overtime-road-victory.aspx Kudos to: *Offensive line. Getting back Ralph Paige at center, moving Jean German to left guard and getting him back was huge. They owned the line of scrimmage. *Devin Matthews (116 yards, 2 TDs) and D'Ago Hunter (116 yds, 7 rec. for 71 yds) were exceptional. *Carter Runyan with 5 catches for 83 and a big catch and run in OT to set up the game-winner. He's 6-6 and a big weapon in the middle of the field who can run. *Dion Crews-Harris NG/FB. This dude is about 6-0, 280ish. Moved to NG in the spring. Then got hurt. He made a huge play in the first half, with a sack and wound up with six tackles. Then he was on the field as the FB blocking for Matthews in the win. I'll get to the bad stuff later (12 penalties for 130 yards). But really, this is a big team win. They needed this one badly and there are so many things they need to improve on. But I think we saw there is talent there and we underachieved in those two bad losses. Sometimes that happens under a new coach with a new system. https://unhwildcats.com/sidearmstats/football/individual;team=away 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mat1992 2,235 Report post Posted September 30, 2023 Ok, forgot Zay Perkins with two TDs and one of the best one-handed grabs you'll ever see in the first half. *Nathan Kent aside from the first INT that was underthrown to Cee Chosen was outstanding. Some of those called draws by OC Brian Sheppard were also fantastic and Kent's play-fakes helped. He was 21 of 34 for 252 yards with FIVE TDs with 68 yards rushing. The CATCH is below. vhttps://x.com/The__Bluebloods/status/1708217700382597135?s=20 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AtlantaTiger 205 Report post Posted September 30, 2023 Absolutely outstanding win. Can’t wait to see how some on here might still come for Shinnick. Go Tigers!! 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mat1992 2,235 Report post Posted September 30, 2023 Game winner https://x.com/flofootball/status/1708251443625443555?s=46&t=nScacl1TWT-KyOwj5stBaw Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mat1992 2,235 Report post Posted September 30, 2023 15 minutes ago, AtlantaTiger said: Absolutely outstanding win. Can’t wait to see how some on here might still come for Shinnick. Go Tigers!! I think there's a difference between constructive criticism and the other BS that's going on. He did have a few bizarre calls today including kicking right to one of the nation's best kick returners (Laube) the entire first half, including right at the end of the half when you needed to pin them back. They wound up kicking a FG and then in the second half, he does the wise thing in terms of pooch kicking. A weird 3rd-and-10 draw to Hunter gets about 8 1/2 yards and we punt it away. I thought we go for it there, but somehow got away with it. Then you have the 12 penalties, including about five facemasks. At least we didn't have dead-ball penalties today. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chris Datres 423 Report post Posted September 30, 2023 The back and forth of this game reminded me a little of that wild Coastal Carolina OT win years and years ago. Kudos to the kids for never giving up on it even though they kept allowing scores. Bad news though...this just gave UNH the tiebreaker for a playoff bid over us if it comes down to that. IYKYK 1 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mat1992 2,235 Report post Posted October 1, 2023 On the bad side, the defense. Mason Woods is playing hurt and it shows (2 tackles). OLB Makye Smith wound up with nine tackles and played a pretty good game (aside from one personal foul penalty), but we had too many cornerbacks and safeties with a ton of tackles. S Dorian Davis had nine tackles and CBs Robert Javier and Charles Peoples had eight tackles apiece. They definitely went after Peoples and away from Javier. I thought Peoples was in position a lot and just didn't turn around but we saw that two years ago when he was healthy. We brought in some guys over the summer at CB and S, but haven't really seen them play much. It's going to be an issue against a passing offense unless we get pressure, which we didn't get enough today. Just two sacks and Gibbs was shut out. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TSU88 1,073 Report post Posted October 1, 2023 (edited) Wow, just wow. We didn’t just beat UNH, but we had to overcome a 2nd opponent today…the refs. Two brutal calls-the offensive PI that wiped out, temporarily, a TD and the phantom roughing the passer call. I sincerely hope the refs are just grossly incompetent, otherwise there’s a bribery or point shaving scandal afoot. My random takeaways: (1) I’ve been a major detractor of our QB, but I’m happy to eat a heaping portion of crow today. Other than that INT in the 1st half, he was a dynamic playmaker, both through the air and on the ground. Let’s see if he can build on today, moving forward; (2) Running game was great today. Matthews chewed up chunks of yardage and you can’t say enough about the game Hunter had; (3) I suspect #’s 1 & 2 have a great deal to do with the play of the O-Line today; (4) We seemed to have found a TE in Runyan; (5) Kudos to our WR’s, especially Perkins, aka OBJ, for making some big time plays. Too bad Thompson got cheated out of a TD; (6) As porous as the D was at times today, they came up huge at the end of regulation and in OT; (7) No doubt in my mind that this was the biggest W for the program since 2013; (8) Our special teams are a hot mess, though there was the blocked FG at the end of regulation play; (9) Some of our play calling on offense is maddening at times. Like when we come up to the line and just stand there for 20 seconds, giving opposing D time to catch their breath. Also, some questionable clock management, like running the ball (and chewing clock) when we’re trailing near the end of the game; (10) The personal fouls on D have to stop. To some degree, these mind numbing penalties are a reflection on the coaching staff; (11) The decision to kickoff to UNH’s star return guy at the end of the first half was mind boggling. If we had lost, that horrible decision would have been largely attributable to such an outcome; (12) Whatever today’s outcome would have been, it was also something I think has been sorely lacking in TU football not just this season but in seasons past…FUN & entertaining. I want to win every game (totally unrealistic of course) but, if we’re going to lose some, let’s at least be entertaining. Shootouts (in football) are exciting, especially when, like today, you win; (13) I’ve been very critical of Shinnick, but, at least for this week, all is forgiven Pete!!😆 Edited October 1, 2023 by TSU88 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mat1992 2,235 Report post Posted October 1, 2023 Oh yeah, special teams. Might want to do a whole thread about them later this week, but right now, the celebration is on! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TSU88 1,073 Report post Posted October 1, 2023 (edited) 565 yards total offense, including over 300 yards on the ground, 3 guys with over 70 yards rushing and 5 TD passes. BTW, I was personally happy to see Rishon Holmes get some action today (he ran that reverse in the 1st half that came up a bit shy of the 1st down) as he and I attended the same HS, Milford Mill, though many years apart 😆. And where is 2012?🤔 Edited October 1, 2023 by TSU88 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
