Towson coach Gordy Combs emphasized his team’s need to slow Columbia’s rushing attack if it was to snap a two-game losing streak.
The Tigers stopped the Lions in their tracks.
Towson yielded a meager 68 rushing yards on 27 carries en route to a 31-24 win at Johnny Unitas Stadium on Saturday night.
“We did a good job stopping the run,” senior linebacker Jordan Manning said. “We were really focused and it forced them to change their game plan.”
But making opponents switch their game plan has been something the Tigers (2-3) have struggled doing this season. Towson entered the game yielding an average of more than 317 rushing yards per game, second-worst in the 118-team Football Championship Subdivision. The defense allowed 24 points to Columbia (0-2), but also forced three turnovers and allowed the Lions to convert just 4-of-13 third-down opportunities.
The Tigers will try to maintain their momentum when they host Northeastern (1-3, 0-0 Colonial Athletic Association) on Saturday at noon at Johnny Unitas Stadium. The Huskies beat UC-Davis, 27-10, on Saturday. Towson lost its only other league game, 45-14, at Richmond, which was ranked No. 1 entering the weekend, on Sept. 13.
Northeastern leads the all-time series 5-3, including a 56-41 win in Brookline, Mass., in 2005, the teams’ most recent meeting.
Towson will need a big game from Manning, who finished with five tackles. The defense, however, was strengthened by the return of safety Drew Mack from a knee injury. The senior captain recorded eight tackles — one for a loss — forced a fumble and defended two passes.
“Drew’s presence helped our defensive morale,” Combs said. “We did the things that we needed to do when we needed to do them.”
