Towson Football-The Best Sports Story in Maryland

[andy7171]

Towson football — the best sports story in Maryland
Ambrose has 6-1 Tigers primed for Saturday night showdown vs. Delaware


Go ahead, find me a better comeback story than the one Towson University's football team is writing this fall.

Think about it: this is a team that went 1-10 last season. A team with a grand total of two wins the year before. A team picked to finish last in the Colonial Athletic Association. A team that had lost 26 of 28 conference games going into this year.

Now the Tigers are 6-1 and ranked 13th in the nation among FCS teams. It's their best start since 1987. In fact, they're the most improved team in Division I — FBS or FCS.

And now they're anticipating a sell-out crowd at 11,000-seat Johnny Unitas Stadium on Saturday night for the Delaware game.

Imagine that: a full house at Unitas Stadium, a place where crowds were often so sparse you thought you were at a tractor-pull.

Maybe you have to know how downtrodden the football program was to truly appreciate this roll the Tigers are on.

The comeback story begins with the coach, Rob Ambrose. When he left as offensive coordinator at Connecticut three years ago to coach his alma mater, he was appalled at what he found.

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[andy7171]

Good press in the Baltimore Sun!?! What the!

[dbackjon]

Nice!! Winning does that!

[Ivytalk]

WTG, Towson!

[89Hen]

Overrated.

[mcveyrl]

Andy, could you please list the other sports stories in Maryland you were up against?

[bluehenbillk]

Knowing the pu##ies in Towson I'm going to predict at least 2,500 or more empty seats on Saturday night because it will be "too wet" or "too cold" to sit out at a football game.

And, besides what a process of elimination:

-The Ravens just crapped the bed on MNF
-The Terp football team is in the tank & hoops hasn't started yet
-Navy hasn't won a game since early September
-John Beck is now the Redskin starting QB
-No one has followed the O's since Ripken retired
-Hopkins lacrosse doesn't start till February

Are there any sports left to be the "best sports story"?

Just having fun with you Andy, enjoy your limelight.

[andy7171]

Knowing the pu##ies in Towson I'm going to predict at least 2,500 or more empty seats on Saturday night because it will be "too wet" or "too cold" to sit out at a football game.

And, besides what a process of elimination:

-The Ravens just crapped the bed on MNF
-The Terp football team is in the tank & hoops hasn't started yet
-Navy hasn't won a game since early September
-John Beck is now the Redskin starting QB
-No one has followed the O's since Ripken retired
-Hopkins lacrosse doesn't start till February

Are there any sports left to be the "best sports story"?

Just having fun with you Andy, enjoy your limelight.

You don't disappoint billk!

[andy7171]

Oh and we are 700 short of an all time attendance record, with two games left on the schedule.

[93henfan]

Comcast SportsNet MA had about a five minute segment on Towson last night, with an interview with Ambrose. They asked him about Delaware and he said he considers it a rival game and that his team is juiced up for it.

[mcveyrl]

Oh and we are 700 short of an all time attendance record, with two games left on the schedule.

So it'll be close...good luck.

[andy7171]

Comcast SportsNet MA had about a five minute segment on Towson last night, with an interview with Ambrose. They asked him about Delaware and he said he considers it a rival game and that his team is juiced up for it.

It's most certainly a one way rivalry. Just like us and JMU. There is a good article on this subject on TowsonTigers.com.

TOWSON, Md. - For the 13th time in school history, the Towson University football team will be taking the Delaware Blue Hens on Saturday night.

Many of us look at Delaware and James Madison as rivals in football. But as much as I hate to admit it, I believe it to be a rivalry just on the Towson side. Towson is 4-8 all time against the Blue Hens, and only 5-17-1 against Madison. At one point, Towson was 4-4 against Delaware, but the last four games have all been losses for the Tigers. The beauty of being in a conference is the rivalries you can build. For Towson, however, that has been tough.

First off, Towson continued to move up in divisions early on in its history. You have to remember that the school did not even have a football team until 1969. The Tigers started and stayed at Division III for 10 years. Included during those 10 years was an undefeated season in 1974 and a loss in the 1976 national championship game against St John's of Minnesota.

During those 10 seasons, the Tigers played in-state rival Frostburg State every year. They also played Johns Hopkins from 1970-1975. But, during those 10 years, the Tigers were not in a conference. So, even though you played many of the same schools, it didn’t have the same cache.

In 1979 the Tigers moved to Division II, giving out scholarships for the first time. Towson had great success in its eight seasons at the Division II level, going to the playoffs three times. You have to remember during that period, only eight schools made it into the playoffs.

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[93henfan]

Everyone considers JMU a rival. mostly because they act like assclowns everywhere they go and in everything they do.

[DirtyDukes]

But you love us assclowns.

[CAA Flagship]

[SumItUp]

Towson has been one of the best stories in all of FCS this year. If they can continue their current success through the remaining conference games and make a deep run in the playoffs, it might be the best story in all of college football.

[Captain Ahab]

This turnaround twas predicted by tha crew ov tha Pequod. Captain Ambrose whipped his crew into shape in jus shy ov 2 year. It be a shame we didn't sail fur a game Andrew.
May yur winds follow you fer tha rest ov tha year.

[CAA Flagship]

Towson has been one of the best stories in all of FCS this year. If they can continue their current success through the remaining conference games and make a deep run in the playoffs, it might be the best story in all of college football.

Old Dominion

[Captain Ahab]

Towson has been one of the best stories in all of FCS this year. If they can continue their current success through the remaining conference games and make a deep run in the playoffs, it might be the best story in all of college football.

Old Dominion

Hork off butterflies!

[State Line Liquors]

While I'm happy for Towson's new found success, I do have the sense that there may be a bit of a premature celebration taking place. I'm disappointed enough in the product from UD this year that I'd consider myself foolish to predict a Hen victory this weekend. But I'd be lying if I said there wasn't some talk from unofficial channels out of Newark about the Hens hiding in the weeds with a tomahawk, waiting to take the scalp of an unsuspecting newcomer to winning, this weekend.

[93henfan]

While I'm happy for Towson's new found success, I do have the sense that there may be a bit of a premature celebration taking place. I'm disappointed enough in the product from UD this year that I'd consider myself foolish to predict a Hen victory this weekend. But I'd be lying if I said there wasn't some talk from unofficial channels out of Newark about the Hens hiding in the weeds with a tomahawk, waiting to take the scalp of an unsuspecting newcomer to winning, this weekend.

It's 2011. We'll miss their scalps and split our foot.

[State Line Liquors]

It's 2011. We'll miss their scalps and split our foot.

(puffs peace pipe). It's never as bad or as good as it actually seems. (passes peace pipe to the left)

[tribe_pride]

I actually think that the best sports story in Maryland is that the whiny Gary Williams is no longer the Maryland Bball coach.

Towson football is a close second

[andy7171]

I actually think that the best sports story in Maryland is that the whiny Gary Williams is no longer the Maryland Bball coach.

Towson football is a close second

As a non UMD fan , I say BLASPHEMY!


GW turned sh!t around! He is GARYLAND.

[MadMaxMonarch]

It really is a great story. Maybe the best in FCS.