A 2014 season in which the Towson football team won just four of 12 games and finished 10th in the 12-team Colonial Athletic Association might have encouraged doubters to argue that the program's run to the Football Championship Subdivision title game in 2013 was an aberration.
That sentiment might rub players and coaches the wrong way, but not Darius Victor.
"I feel as though we deserved it," the junior running back said Tuesday at the CAA Football Media Day at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. "You get judged by your play. So we played bad, and I was expecting a lot worse. I'm OK with what everybody was saying because nothing's given to you. You have to earn everything that you get. We were hearing that we were a bad team and a one-hit wonder, and we deserved it. It's our job to get the things we want. So we have to play better and see the results. That's what we're looking forward to."
To be fair, the Tigers' 4-8 overall record and 2-6 conference mark might be the anomaly. The program had captured the CAA title in 2011 and shared the crown with three other teams in 2012 before falling to North Dakota State in the FCS championship game.
But in the what-have-you-done-for-me-lately climate of sports, Towson is burdened by last year's disappointment, which may explain why the team was picked to finish ninth in the league's preseason poll.
While the Tigers appear to be far behind Villanova, James Madison and New Hampshire — which are 1-2-3, respectively, atop the poll — coach Rob Ambrose said the players and coaches can make up the difference with their play in the upcoming season.
"Everything's pretty much earned," he said. "In 2011, we were picked to finish last, and we had earned that based on what we had done previously as a program. But what we did in the offseason and how we played our games, we finished as the No. 1 team in the league. So we earned that. Where we sit today preseason poll-wise, we earned that, and if we want anything different, we're going to have to earn something else, and I think our guys are pretty excited about that."
After losing nine of 11 starters on offense in 2014, the Tigers are not as depleted on that side of the football this year. They return nine starters, including the 5-foot-8, 210-pound Victor, who led the conference in total rushing yards (1,305) and tied three other running backs for second in rushing touchdowns (12).
Victor's potency will be impacted by the development of a young offensive line anchored by a pair of 10-game starters in senior guard Jake Schunke and sophomore tackle Jesus Barrio. And a quarterback position that was supposed to be solidified by Miami transfer Kevin Olsen before he was dismissed in May is still in flux as redshirt senior Connor Frazier, junior Heath Dahlgren and redshirt freshman Ellis Knudson compete for starting honors.
But Ambrose revealed that Frazier will be a fixture on offense — either as a quarterback or a wide receiver.
"He's one of the best football players on our team, if not the conference," Ambrose said. "So if he's not the quarterback, that means I have two of them in the huddle, and there will be leadership and there will be intelligence and there will be experience. It doesn't really matter who's in there. So it's a different scenario, and it's not one that I've been privy to in the past, but I'm kind of looking forward to it."
The defense returns seven starters, but graduated defensive ends Ryan Delaire (tied for second in the CAA with 11 sacks) and Drew Cheripko (7½ sacks), cornerback Tye Smith (tied for second on team with 85 tackles) and strong safety Christian Carpenter (57 tackles).
Redshirt sophomore outside linebacker James Simms, the team's leading tackler with 99, is back, and redshirt senior defensive tackle Jon Desir said younger teammates are poised to fill the void created by the graduations.
"We've got some good guys stepping up in their place," Desir said. "So I'm not really too worried about it. I mean, I loved those guys. I loved playing with them, but it's time to move on. We do a next-man-up mentality on defense, so when it's your time to go, you've just got to step up and do what you have to do."
The upcoming season promises a clean slate for the Tigers, but Victor said the team can't afford to forget the lumps it absorbed last year.
"You don't want to be stuck in the past, but you want to remember the past," he said. "So we've got to use that as motivation. We know what can happen, and we can be better, but we don't want to dwell on it because each play is a new play and each down is a new down. That's what we're focused on, moving forward and improving from where we were before."