CAA CO-CHAMPION TIGERS OVERLOOKED BY NCAA

Tigers Not Chosen For NCAA FCS Playoffs

TOWSON, Md. – Although Towson University finished the regular season with four consecutive victories and earned a share of the Colonial Athletic Association championship, the Tigers were not selected to play in the NCAA FCS playoffs. The NCAA announced its 20-team field on Sunday afternoon.

The Tigers, who finished the season with a 7-4 record and went 6-2 in the CAA, assembled in their locker room to watch the NCAA selection show. They sat in stunned silence when they learned that Towson was not selected.

“I can’t think of any time when I’ve been more disappointed,” said Towson Coach Rob Ambrose. “These players deserve better than this and they earned the right to play in the NCAA post-season again.

“These guys are champions,” Ambrose added. “We don’t need some people sitting in an NCAA Board Room to validate us. The goal should be to have the best 20 teams competing for the championship.”

The Tigers, who shared the CAA title with New Hampshire (8-3, 6-2), Villanova (8-3, 6-2) and Richmond (8-3, 6-2), were seeking their second straight appearance in the NCAA FCS playoffs. UNH and Villanova were selected to advance to the post-season while Towson and Richmond were overlooked.

In the final four weeks of the season, Towson posted convincing wins over Villanova (49-35) and New Hampshire (64-35). When Towson handed UNH a decisive 64-35 in the regular season finale on Saturday, it seemed like the Tigers had played their way into the NCAA FCS playoff field.

Over the last two seasons, Towson has posted a 13-3 record in CAA games and has won seven of eight CAA road games.

The Tigers also played the third-toughest schedule in FCS football, a slate that included losses to a pair of NCAA FBS teams that are having very good seasons, Louisiana State and Kent State.

Towson loses 14 seniors from this year’s team, including wide receiver Erron Banks (Bound Brook H.S./Bound Brook, N.J.), defensive end Frank Beltre (Randolph H.S./Randolph, N.J.), wide receiver Alex Blake (Friendly H.S./Fort Washington, Md.),  linebacker Brian Boateng (Gaithersburg H.S./Burtonsville, Md.), running back Dominique Booker (Hermitage H.S./Richmond, Va.), defensive end Ben Chroniger (DeMatha H.S./Crofton, Md.), safety Jordan Dangerfield (Royal Palm Beach H.S./Royal Palm Beach, Fla.), quarterback Grant Enders (Old Mill H.S./Millersville, Md.), tight end Cory Kirby (Kent Island H.S./Chester, Md.), defensive tackle Matt Morgan (Horseheads H.S./Horseheads, N.Y.), linebacker Nick Ranko (Foxborough H.S./Foxborough, Mass.), wide receiver Tom Ryan (Father Judge H.S./Philadelphia, Pa.), wide receiver Gerrard Sheppard (McDonogh H.S./Owings Mills, Md.) and defensive end Romale Tucker (Ballou H.S./Washington, D.C.).

Beltre and Dangerfield were All-American performers while Enders was a two-year starter at quarterback. He posted an impressive 16-6 record as the Towson signal-caller.

“These players will always be special to this program,” said Ambrose. “They changed the culture around here and brought respect to this football program.”

TIGER TALES:  In their season-ending four-game winning streak, the Tigers outscored their opponents by a 188-107 margin … In the last four contests, Towson averaged 525.5 yards of total offense per game while allowing 332.2 yards per game … Towson led the CAA in total defense, allowing 313.2 yards per contest.

In their four-game winning streak, the Tigers had a plus-five turnover ratio … Towson turned the ball over only once in the final four games of the year … Towson’s four-game winning streak is their longest winning streak since 2006 when the Tigers opened the season with four wins in a row.

– TowsonTigers.com –

The Towson University football program was robbed of a spot in the 2012 FCS Playoffs today.  The selection committee who determines who makes the cut and who doesn’t, is shrouded in mystery.  No one truly knows the criteria in order to make it except that each conference has one automatic bid.

This year, Towson repeated as champions of the CAA (sharing it with four other teams) and finished with a 7-4 overall record and 6-2 in the CAA.  They finished the season with a 4 game win streak knowing that their playoff hopes were on the line.  All five of their conference road games were against ranked opponents.  They won all but one, against James Madison; a game in which they had the lead in the final minutes but lost 13-10.

Towson finished the season ranked 15^th in the Sports Network FCS poll, the poll widely recognized as the definitive poll in FCS play.  They were never unranked at any point.  They were 1-2 in their non conference schedule, beating St. Francis.  Their two losses came against LSU, who are 3^rd in the BCS rankings, and Kent State who had one loss and won the MAC conference.  They put up points against both teams and even lead LSU at one point in the game.

In the FCS playoffs, 10 teams receive an automatic bid for “winning” their conference.  Villanova received the autobid from the CAA even though 4 teams were co-champions.  They received the bid based on combined record against the remaining 3 teams (Towson, New Hampshire, and Richmond).  Towson beat Villanova by 14 on the road.

The remaining 10 spots are “at large” and take into account the teams who didn’t receive their conference’s autobid. They were given to Cal Poly (Big Sky), Appalachian State (Southern), Illinois State (Missouri Valley), Montana State (Big Sky), New Hampshire (CAA), Old Dominion (CAA), Sam Houston State (Southland), South Dakota State (Missouri Valley), Stony Brook (Big South) and Wofford (Southern).

I have no qualms with ODU making it because they beat Towson and are clearly one of the best teams at the FCS level though they are moving to the FBS level Conference USA next season and their non conference schedule includes imposing Duquesne, Hampton and Campbell (sarcasm implied).  I do, however, wonder how New Hampshire made it over Towson even though the Tigers beat them on the road by 29 points. Also, New Hampshire’s out of conference schedule included Holy Cross, Minnesota, and Central Connecticut.  Overwhelming right? Yeah didn’t think so.

I also take issue with the fact that two teams ranked below Towson (Illinois State at 16^th and South Dakota State at 19^th) made it in over them.  Illinois State’s non conference schedule included Dayton, Eastern Michigan, and Eastern Illinois.  While South Dakota State’s included Kansas, South East Louisiana and UC Davis.  How can you penalize Towson for playing a harder schedule than most teams.

How does the 15^th best team in the FCS not make it into a 20 team playoff that should be comprised of the best teams in the nation? Towson not only should have made it over half these teams but also should have hosted a game. I mean they beat two out of the three teams that made it from their own conference!

My first thought was money. As it should be with the NCAA.  However, Towson sold out their playoff game last year against Lehigh so that couldn’t be it, right?

Towson isn’t the only team that got snubbed.  CAA teams, Richmond and JMU should have also received a bid.  It baffles me how the best conference in the FCS, often referred to as the SEC of the FCS, has so many snubs.

The university, the players, the students, and the fans were robbed of one more game with a group of seniors who brought football back to my school and made Saturdays fun again.  I hope the FCS selection committee can sleep at night knowing that their decisions have no integrity or merit after these decisions.