It’s the heart of the conference slate in the Coastal Athletic Association, and that includes Towson and William & Mary, who will meet Saturday afternoon in Virginia for William & Mary’s 2023 homecoming game.

Both teams lost on Oct. 7 and had the following week off, so they’re coming into this week’s meeting well-rested and probably motivated to get back into the win column.

Towson (2-4, 1-2) finished in the middle of the CAA standings last year, and the Tigers will need to turn things around if they want to finish similarly this season, especially with the conference expanding from 13 to 15 teams.

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The Tigers are coming off a 24-17 homecoming loss to UAlbany that was evenly matched from a numbers standpoint, with a fourth-quarter score from the Great Danes being the difference. 

William & Mary opened the 2023 season with four consecutive victories, but the squad is on a skid that includes losses to Elon and Virginia. 

Despite the slide, the Tribe are ranked No. 13 in the American Football Coaches Association FCS Coaches Poll and No. 13 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25. They still have plenty of time to chase down another CAA title, which they shared with New Hampshire in 2022.

Currently, Delaware is the only team unbeaten in CAA play (3-0), with three teams behind the Blue Hens at 3-1. William & Mary is tied with UAlbany and Monmouth at 2-1.

Before the bye week, Virginia held William & Mary scoreless in the second half to escape with a 27-13 victory. The win was fueled by a 17-point second quarter.

The series between Towson and William & Mary began in 1992, though they didn’t meet again until a dozen years later. 

William & Mary won the first seven meetings, before dropping three in a row to the Tigers. Including consecutive wins in 2021 (40-14) and 2022 (44-24), William & Mary holds the advantage in the series, 11-7. Towson has won six of their 10 meetings in Williamsburg, however. 

When Is The Towson Vs. William & Mary Football Game?

Towson will take on William & Mary at Walter J. Zable Stadium at Cary Field in Williamsburg, Virginia, on Saturday, Oct. 21 at 3:30 p.m. ET

How To Watch The Towson Vs. William & Mary Football Game

Football action is streaming live on FloFootball and the FloSports app, including the Towson and William & Mary football game during Week 8.

Replays and postgame highlights also will be available on both platforms. 

What To Know About Towson Football

The Towson football team is in its first season under new head coach Pete Shinnick, and they’re coming off a 6-5 (4-4 in CAA play) season. 

The Tigers picked up their first conference win with a thrilling 54-51 overtime victory Sept. 30 against New Hampshire, who shared the CAA title with William & Mary a year ago. 

Towson scored with 20 seconds left in regular to force overtime, then scored a touchdown in OT to secure the win. New Hampshire was ranked in the top 15 at the time.

A week later against UAlbany, Towson had a chance to win in dramatic fashion again, but the Tigers were unable to get into the end zone after finding their way to the UAlbany 1-yard line with less than a minute to go. 

A bright spot for Towson, however, was that UAlbany entered the matchup with 23 sacks in five games this year, and the Tigers’ offensive line helped keep quarterback Nathan Kent safe the whole way.

The redshirt junior quarterback was 19-for-31 in the loss for 217 yards. He didn’t have any touchdown passes, and he threw and interception. 

For the year, Kent has completed 111-of-193 passes for 1,166 yards and eight touchdowns, plus five interceptions. His passer rating of 116.8 puts him 11th among CAA quarterbacks.

As a team, Towson ranks ninth in the CAA in total offensive yards per game and 10th in yards allowed.

What To Know About William & Mary Football

William & Mary has won six consecutive games at home, as well as five of its last seven homecoming games.

The Tribe will return Zable Stadium with the CAA’s best rushing attack at 239.7 yards per game, which ranks eighth nationally among FCS teams. 

William & Mary leads the nation in total defense (242.7 yards per game), is second in passing defense (140 yards per game), third in scoring defense (13.5 ppg) and third-down defense and sixth in sacks per game (3.17). 

The defensive standouts for the Tribe are senior defensive lineman Nate Lynn and senior linebacker Kevin Jarrell. 

Lynn leads the CAA in sacks (eight), which is third nationally, and his 28 career sacks are the highest among active Division I players. His 12 career forced fumbles also leads active Division I players. He has two forced fumbles this year.

Jarrell leads the Tribe in total tackles with 38, which is 19th in the CAA.

William & Mary kicker Caden Bonoffski has connected on 11-of-12 field goal attempts this season, and his 91.67 conversion rate is No. 1 in the conference and No. 4 nationally. He is tied for first in the country in field goals made.

What’s The Weather Forecast?

Temperatures during the day Saturday in Williamsburg, Virginia, will be in the high 60s, but they’ll drop into the low 50s at night. With a 3:30 p.m. ET start, the teams should see it all.

There will be a 24 percent chance of rain during the day, too, but that will almost completely disappear into the night. Winds will be steady all day at 5-15 mph. 

Archived Footage On FloFootball

Video footage from the event will be archived and stored in a video library for FloFootball subscribers to watch for the duration of their subscription.

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