Flacco-Smith combo proves to be a winner
WR’s first 200-yard game helps snap three-game skid
Caleb Smith said he can remember the last time he put up 200 receiving yards in a football game.
“Never,” he said with a smile.
So one might expect that his six-catch, 200-yard, one-touchdown showing in No. 21 Towson’s 31-24 win against Delaware on Saturday before an announced 5,522 at Johnny Unitas Stadium would be significant to the redshirt junior.
Not necessarily.
“It’s meaningful because we won the game,” the 6-foot-1, 195-pound wide receiver said. “We needed this win. It’s [quarterback] Tom [Flacco]’s birthday. It was a good win. Our offense is rolling now. Our O-line was blocking really well. We ran the ball really well. We haven’t run the ball that much in a while. It was just a good offensive and defensive win.”
Smith’s performance highlighted the Tigers’ victory, which was only their second in the last six games and ended a three-game losing streak in the Colonial Athletic Association. Towson improved to 5-4 overall and 2-3 in the conference, while the Blue Hens fell to 4-5 and 2-3.
Entering the game with 19 catches for 288 yards and no touchdowns, Smith became the first Tigers player to compile at least 200 receiving yards in a game since Christian Summers finished with 232 yards and two scores on six catches in a 35-28 win against St. Francis in 2016.
Coach Rob Ambrose — who played with Smith’s father Rodney, a defensive lineman who was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 2000 — expressed pride at seeing the younger Smith’s development.
“As an alum, there is something special about watching one of these guys’ kids come [and] grow through the program to the point where he’s excelling against incredibly good competition,” Ambrose said. “We preach this all the time: opportunity and obligation. This young man to my right has made the most out of his opportunities in a way that I don’t think any of us could have seen coming.”
Against Delaware, all nine of Smith’s catches went for 10 yards or more, and seven of them led to first downs. Flacco, the redshirt senior who completed an efficient 17-of-23 throws for 294 yards and one touchdown, said he targeted Smith a team-high 13 times because only one cornerback shadowed Smith.
“You can’t leave this guy one-on-one,” said Flacco, who turned 25. “That’s kind of what they were doing. So I was going to keep coming back to him consistently. I didn’t even realize how great of a game he had until I looked at these stats. … It’s just a credit to him, how strong he is and how athletic he is. I can’t say enough about Caleb. We all know what he’s capable of, and I hope this is a coming-out party for him, and I hope he keeps doing it for the rest of the season.”
Blue Hens coach Danny Rocco admitted that the defense was more concerned with redshirt senior Shane Leatherbury, who entered the game leading Towson in receptions (38) and yards (519).
“That’s where our attention was early on in the week,” he said. “We knew [Flacco is] willing to spread the ball around. He’s going to find the right guy to get the ball to, and today, I guess [Smith] had the nine catches and had a huge day against us.”
The Flacco-to-Smith connection began early. On the Tigers’ fourth offensive play, Flacco found Smith on a short out route to the right that he turned into a 22-yard gain, and another 14 yards were added when Delaware redshirt freshman safety Noah Plack was flagged for a personal foul while shoving Smith out of bounds.
The next play, Flacco hit Smith on a deep post for a 40-yard gain to the 1-yard line, and senior running back Yeedee Thaenrat dove into the end zone to give Towson a 7-0 lead.