After coming up well short against one local rival last weekend in Annapolis, the Tigers will return home to Towson this Saturday to face another in Morgan State. The two Baltimore programs have met on a regular basis since 1979 and annually since 1998. This game will be the 21st meeting between Towson and Morgan State, with the Tigers holding a 15-5 all-time edge. The 15 victories over the Bears are the most over any other school in Towson football history. Towson holds a 29-10 record in home openers, including an impressive 14-2 mark under Combs. This will be the eighth time that the Tigers will open their home schedule against the Bears. Morgan State has not won an away game in this series since 1981.
"One of our goals as a team is to always be the I-AA champ in the state of Maryland," head coach Gordy Combs said. "We always play each other, so winning this game is one of our biggest goals every year."
The two campuses are separated by just a little more than four miles, only five exits on I-695. The 'Battle of the Beltway' has always been one of the biggest games of the season for both teams. The close proximity between Towson and Morgan St. adds extra incentive to win the game.
"They hang out at the same places; the clubs, the barbershops, the malls," Combs said. "They see each other a lot. Our players and their players socialize and hang out because of proximity, and that absolutely fuels the rivalry."
The rivalry was born when Morgan defeated Towson 34-7 in 1979. The loss was Towson's first of the season and spoiled what would have been an unblemished 10-0 record. Since dropping the first three games to the Bears, the Tigers have won 17 of the last 19 meetings, including three in a row.
Seven points or fewer have decided nine games in the rivalry. When Towson beat the Bears 28-21 last season, it was the seventh time that a Towson team has defeated Morgan by a touchdown or less.
"I think the majority of the guys who are playing this know how tough the past two games [against Morgan State] have been," Combs said. "We won on a field goal two years ago and Kenny Scott made the big interception last year when it was tied to set up the go-ahead touchdown. I think that guys who played as sophomores and juniors and are now seniors understand what a big game this is."
This Morgan State team will be far more experienced than Bear teams in the past. MSU returns 18 starts from last year's team, including 10 on the offensive side of the ball. Despite graduating the team's top rusher Chad Simpson, Morgan State will showcase a powerful running game with all five starters on the offensive line intact and a capable rusher in Devan James.
"I think [with] the quality offensive line that they have, and the fact that a lot of the guys they have returning are all conference choices and preseason all-conference picks, they are going to try and run the football," Combs said. "They first couple series are going to be big for our defense and coaches to figure out what they're going to try to do."
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