HOW IT HAPPENED
No. 12/14 Rhode Island saw its five-game win streak come to an end in a 28-7 loss at Towson Saturday night.

The Rams (5-1, 3-1 CAA Football) could not get its offense going. Towson (3-3, 2-1 CAA Football) limited Rhody to just 162 yards of offense, including 90 through the air. Rhode Island entered the game averaging 395.4 total yards per game.

After forcing a three-and-out on Rhody's opening possession, the Tigers drove 52 yards in six plays as Devin Matthews punched it in from 1 yard out for a 7-0 lead with 10:39 left in the opening quarter.

Rhody continued to struggle. Its second possession was another three-and-out, and the third possession ended on the team's first fumble of the season when Christian Dixon jarred the ball loose from Ivory Frimpong. Sam Gyeni recovered for the Tigers at the URI 19. Five players later, Matthews scored his second touchdown of the quarter on a 3-yard run, helping push the Towson lead to 14-0 with 3:49 left in the quarter. It was the first points-off-a-turnover by a Rhode Island opponent this season.

The running back tandem of Jaylen Smith and Justice Antrum got the Rhode Island offense going. The duo combined for seven rushes for 68 yards to spark a nine-play, 73-yard touchdown drive for Rhody's first points. Smith broke off a 24-yard rush for the biggest gain of the drive, and Antrum capped things with an 18-yard touchdown run that helped cut the deficit in half, 14-7.

Neither team scored again until Towson marched 80 yards on 14 plays in the third quarter. The Tigers converted twice on third down and once on fourth down on the drive before Chris Ferguson hit Jabari Allen for a 5-yard touchdown pass that helped the Tigers go up, 21-7, with 2:04 left in the third. Towson added a 1-yard touchdown run from Jerry Howard to cap the scoring.

Inside the Box Score

• Redshirt senior Justice Antrum led Rhode Island with 62 yards rushing and one touchdown. 
• The touchdown was his sixth on the ground this season.
• Freshman Jaylen Smith added 38 rushing yards on seven carries.
• Smith compiled 117 all-purpose yards. In addition to the ground game, he also had three kick returns for 79 yards.
• The 14-point lead for Towson in the first quarter marked the first time this year Rhode Island trailed by more than one score this season.
• Senior linebacker Andre Blackett had a career-high 17 tackles. He had 10 tackles in the first half.
• Redshirt freshman linebacker Evan Stewart added 13 tackles. He also broke up his team-leading fifth pass.
• Sophomore defensive lineman Matt Thomas and junior safety Oneil "Buzz"Robinson each had one sack for the defense. Robinson added five other tackles.
• The anchor bearer for the game was Jordan Jones, while Ed Lee, C.J. Carrick and Kasim Hill served as the game captains.

What's Next
Rhode Island stays on the road to play at No. 5/6 Villanova on Saturday, Oct. 23. Game time is 3:30 p.m.