Game Preview:

Towson @ William & Mary (W&M leads series 7-0, 4-0 at Zable Stadium)

Saturday, October 22nd – 3:30 pm

Walter J. Zable Stadium

Setting the Scene: This weekend’s matchup features a William & Mary team that was the preseason pick to win the CAA, and a Towson Tigers team that currently sits atop the conference standings.
After finishing the 2010 campaign 1-10, Coach Rob Ambrose and his Towson Tigers come into this weekend’s matchup against the Tribe sporting a 5-1 overall record (only loss to FBS opponent Maryland) and an unblemished conference record of 3-0.

In the past two weeks, Towson defeated conference foes Richmond and Old Dominion in consecutive thrillers, tallying the go-ahead scores in the final two minutes of both contests. Of Towson’s Cardiac Cats, William & Mary Head Coach Jimmye Laycock said – “They’re very physical.  They play very sound on both sides of the ball – they’ve got good players.  When you’ve got good players who are playing hard and who are well-coached, that’s a tough combination to beat.”

Coach Laycock and the Tribe come into this game riding high after an upset-win over New Hampshire and their high-flying offense.  The victory over the Wildcats breathed life into a season that was steadily turning into a disappointment.

The preseason pick to win the CAA, the 2011 Tribe’s high expectations have been met with a tough reality.  Struggling to find consistent play at the quarterback position, The Tribe enters this contest with an overall record of 4-3 and most likely needing to win-out to make the playoffs.  This weekend the Tribe looks to build upon their performance against UNH and take another step towards resurrecting their season.

Senior LB Jake Trantin has been dealing with a nagging injury. For the Tribe to slow down the Tigers' relentless running attack, Trantin will have to play.

Last weekend’s game in Williamsburg featured New Hampshire Coach Sean McDonnell seeking his elusive first victory against Coach Laycock and the Tribe.  Coach Rob Ambrose and his Towson Tigers squad visit Zable Stadium looking for their first win against William & Mary as a program.

The Matchup:  Towson Tigers (5-1, 3-0) vs. The College of William & Mary Tribe (4-3, 2-2)

The Recent History:  The last time these two teams met was in 2009.  In a game also played in Williamsburg, the fifth-ranked Tribe shut out the Tigers 31-0.  Led by a stout defense consisting of future NFL players Adrian Tracy, Sean Lissemore and David Caldwell, The Tribe held Towson to 200 yards of total offense and successfully kept them off of the scoreboard. Tribe quarterback R.J. Archer contributed one touchdown on the ground and another through the air to pace W&M on offense.

The Skinny:  This Saturday, Coach Rob Ambrose and the Cardiac Cats of Towson come to Williamsburg looking to continue their pleasantly surprising start to the season as William & Mary’s Homecoming game.  The opposing team’s pageantry will be nothing new for the Tigers, as they were also ODU’s Homecoming opponent last weekend.

Their late touchdown on a 4th-and-29 spoiled the Monarchs’ celebration and kept Towson atop the CAA standings.  The Tigers will look to play the spoiler again this weekend and continue to build upon their early season success.

Due to the unfortunate scheduling of Division-II New Haven and uneven play through the first seven games, one loss the rest of the way effectively knocks the Tribe out of contention for a postseason berth.  The Tribe came out looking inspired last weekend against an explosive New Hampshire team and will need to do the same on Saturday if they want to be crowned kings of their own Homecoming.

The Key Match-Up: For the second consecutive week, the crowd at Zable Stadium will get to see a battle between an impressive offense and a hard-nosed defense on Saturday afternoon.

Towson QB Grant Enders, undefeated as the Tigers' starter this season, will have to be on his "A" game yet again against William & Mary Saturday.

Led by quarterback Grant Enders and a three-headed monster at running back that features freshman Terrance West, the Tigers are a perfect picture of offensive balance. On the season, Towson has rushed for 1,359 yards while passing for 1,358 yards.

Coach Ambrose explained that, “Complementary aspects of offenses tend to help each other naturally.  The great thing about football is that it is an ‘outdoor’ game. It is a game that can be effected by the elements.  So having an attack that has balance can allow you to succeed in any circumstance.  It is hard to defend all aspects of an offense.”

Through the first six games, Grant Enders is completing 71.6 percent of his passes and averaging 205 yard per game through the air. On the ground, the Tigers are buoyed by Baltimore’s own Terrance West.

Playing in his own backyard, the freshman has found the endzone an eye-popping 11 times on his way to rushing for 450 yards on 70 carries.  Of his young star, Coach Ambrose said. “We knew he was a talent. He had a very impressive Spring . . . He’s a very physical runner [and] he’s got good vision – he has elusiveness and speed for his size, which is pretty impressive.”

Complimenting West in the backfield are Dominique Booker and Sterlin Phifer who have combined for 100 carries and 526 rushing yards.

Ranked in the top five in the CAA in every offensive category, the Tigers are third in scoring offense (31.3 pts/gm) behind ODU and UNH and second in rushing offense (226.5 yds/gm) behind only JMU.

William & Mary’s Gang Green defense is an equally balanced unit.  The Tribe is talented at all three levels of their 4-3 defense, but it will be the front seven who will prove most important against the Tigers’ impressive rushing attack.

Coming off of his record-setting five-sack performance against UNH last weekend, Marcus Hyde leads a defensive line that is stout at the point-of-attack.  Although playing for the fourth straight game without the services of outside linebacker Dante Cook, All-Conference performer Jake Trantin and early contender for CAA Defensive Player of the Year Jabrel “Claymore” Mines spearhead an elite linebacker corps.

Gang Green is the number one scoring defense in the CAA, giving up only 17.7 points per contest. However, the Tribe has struggled against strong rushing attacks, allowing 271 yards and 214 yards respectively in conference losses against JMU and Delaware.

The play of Gang Green’s front seven will be key to limiting Towson’s powerful rushing attack and upsetting the Tigers’ offensive balance.

The Wild Cards: Until they are able to string together consecutive games with the same starter under center, the wild card for the Tribe will continue to be the quarterback position.

Brent Caprio did a fine job last weekend of managing the game against New Hampshire and limiting his mistakes to an interception on the Tribe’s first offensive drive of the game.

Mike Graham was back at practice this week and speculation is that he may get the nod this weekend. Whoever lines up there for the Tribe, he will need to protect the football, make enough underneath throw to keep Towson’s defense honest, and convert a few third-down throws to keep drives alive.

Like last week, W&M will look to Payton Award Finalist Jonathan Grimes to ignite their offensive attack. For Grimes to be successful, Tribe quarterbacks must limit the three-and-outs and give him enough touches where he has the opportunity to break a couple of big plays like last week against UNH.

The best medicine for an ailing offense is a defense infected with the GUP, so named because its sufferers have a tendency to Give Up Points; Towson’s defense has surrendered 28 or more points in their last three contests.

In fairness, the offenses of Maryland, Richmond, and ODU are certainly more potent than the William & Mary unit that will take the field Saturday. However, the same things could be said about UNH’s opponents prior to last weekend and the Tribe tied a season-high by scoring 24 points.

Due to their inconsistent quarterback play, The College has struggled to sustain drives.  Their only salvation last week was the big play as their scores came on a 72-yard catch and run, a 50-yard catch-and-run, and a 50-yard run.

Absent those plays, the Tribe offense did not look much different than previous weeks.  To effectively treat their GUP, Towson will need to limit William & Mary’s big plays and force them into converting third-downs, which the Tribe only does 36.4 percent of the time.